Between Peaks and Purpose
Autor: Szandra Szogedi
Zuerst veröffentlicht bei / First published at: Between Peaks and Purpose
In a world where ambition often ends with accolades, Sabrina Filzmoser is charting a different trajectory, one that loops through towering summits, forgotten villages, and the indelible hearts of those she meets along the way. Her journey is measured in nothing less then human connections, cracked roads, glacier winds, and a fierce, almost stubborn resolve to inspire transformation where it’s needed the most.
Just days ago, Sabrina emerged from the remoteness of northern Pakistan, specifically Skardu, nestled deep in the Karakoram range, only to appear, fresh-faced and focused, at the IJF Congress in Budapest. A whirlwind detour: two days, three flights, seven bags brimming with judo kits and barely enough time to breathe. By sunrise of this fine morning, she left to head straight back, Vienna, Istanbul, Islamabad, before rejoining the mountains that await her, both literally and figuratively.
“I had to wait for my trekking permit,” she explains, casually, as if this bureaucratic hurdle were merely another pebble in her cycling shoes. “Then I will cycle another couple of segments to Askolé and Paiyu and begin the trek over the Baltoro Glacier. It is over 100 kilometres of pure ice, leading to one of the planet’s most untouched corners.”
This is no mere trek. Sabrina’s destination is K2, the “Savage Mountain.” At 8,611 metres, it’s the world’s second-highest peak and by far the more perilous cousin of Everest. Fewer reach its summit, and fewer still dare to do it without supplemental oxygen. She plans to ascend the mountain, facing not just nature’s ferocity but also political sensitivities in the region where Pakistan meets India. For most, simply surviving K2 is a feat. For Sabrina, it’s the continuation of a broader vision, what she calls “Sea Level to Summit.” It’s not about conquest, she insists. It’s about connection. It’s about peace.
Judo for Peace, Climbing for Change
Filzmoser is no stranger to extreme challenge. A former elite judoka, she competed at the highest levels and collected medals across continents, but it’s what she has chosen to do after stepping off the mat that defines her now. Her K2 expedition began not from a well-funded base camp, but by bicycle from Karachi, two and a half thousand gruelling kilometres north through searing deserts, crumbling roads, and volatile borders.
Her goal? To bring not only her strength but her sport to regions where judo isn’t just an athletic pursuit, it’s a metaphor for resilience. Travelling with her: bags of judo gis, and a mission. “I visit clubs, meet girls and boys training in the most basic of facilities, and offer sessions wherever I go,” she says. “Sometimes it’s taekwondo clubs, sometimes other types of martial arts participants, sometimes just curious villagers. They wait for me at the end of the day to learn a technique or two.” The gear she carries becomes more than apparel, it becomes access. An opportunity. A uniform for peace.
Sabrina’s mission, however, is far from a solo pursuit. She works alongside Karakorum Expeditions, a local outfit who help establish base camps and manage logistics. More poignantly, she climbs with the help of porters, residents of the region who, often with little more than sandals and stoicism, carry vital loads over punishing terrain.
“They are incredible,” she reflects. “They smile, offer you food, even cook for you. Many have never been to school but they know every stone on the glacier. You give them socks for the ice, and they will sell them. Not because they are ungrateful, but because that is life there. That is survival.”
In Pakistan’s northern valleys, daily income can hover around two dollars. Yet what these communities lack in economic means, they deliver tenfold in hospitality. Sabrina speaks with genuine awe of roadside encounters where she is handed fruit, water, and scarves by families with barely enough for themselves. It’s these moments that nourish her as much as her energy gels and electrolyte sachets.
Heat, Hunger, and Hard Lessons
Cycling through the southern plains was no easier. Facing 50°C temperatures, she consumed little more than protein bars and spicy evening meals, skipping all street food and untreated water to avoid stomach infections that could jeopardise the entire mission. “I had to trust the chilli,” she jokes, referring to the blistering spices that act as natural disinfectants.
The physical toll is obvious, sun exposure, exhaustion, logistical hurdles, and more. Yet when asked about her emotional state, she offers something more nuanced: “After such isolation, stepping into Budapest’s polished order felt jarring. It was clean. Civilised, but almost too much. You can’t just flick a switch and readjust.”
When asked whether she feels like an athlete off the mat, Sabrina’s answer is both revealing and honest. “At one point, I was training for Olympic medals. Now, I still set my own goals. I don’t answer to sponsors or federations. I decide where I go, what I do, and why. Still in a way, yes my lifestyle is similar and the mindset somewhat too.”
Her transition from judo champion to peace ambassador wasn’t seamless. There were injuries, many…, and with each came the need to pause, reassess, recalibrate. In those moments, she sought growth elsewhere, earning pilot licences, studying, learning languages. It’s as though she refused to let her identity be anchored to victory alone.
“Now, even if I don’t reach the summit of K2, it’s already a success,” she says, firmly. “The journey, the people, the girls who want to cycle, the villagers who cook for me, the judo sessions under tin roofs, that’s the victory.”
Legacy in Motion
One of the most powerful chapters of Sabrina’s unfolding story is the subtle revolution she is helping ignite, especially among young women. In conservative cities like Skardu, girls are often forbidden to ride bicycles beyond school grounds but Sabrina gifted her own cycle to a local club and plans to lead a symbolic ride with young girls upon her return.
“We tried it two years ago and couldn’t leave the schoolyard. This year, the community is ready.” In every sense, Sabrina’s expedition is about shifting perceptions, breaking ground, both literal and ideological, and creating pathways where there were none.
While some in the mountaineering community chase records, she is chasing relevance. Her eyes aren’t fixed solely on the summit, but on the ripples her footprints leave behind. “I don’t care if I am the first woman to cycle from sea level to Skardu. What matters is showing others it can be done. That it should be done; and maybe next time, it won’t be a foreigner, it will be a local girl on her own bike.”
Whilst she wholeheartedly repeats her greatfullness to the Pakistan Judo Federation for all their support, she prepares to return to the ice, the silence, and the sheer vertical challenge of K2, Sabrina carries with her not only a lifetime of preparation but a future full of promise, for a generation learning, through her, that the highest peaks are not unreachable but just waiting for the right reason to climb.
Images/Video: Sabrina Filzmoser
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