Meet the woman climbing the highest mountain in every European country in under a year

Fancy conquering the highest mountain in every European country? If that sounds like a ridiculous proposition, consider this. Until a year ago, Emma Svensson was a complete climbing novice. Yet now she is on the way to scaling 49 European summits – all inside a year. 

"In August I climbed Elbrus, the highest mountain in Europe, but I quickly became restless," she said. "So, spontaneously, I decided this would be a great target, and started straight away. That might seem crazy but for me it's never far from idea to action. I was on the top of Elbrus on August 1, 2017 so I have until August 1, 2018 to climb all 49 peaks."

That's all the highest points in 51 European countries – Italy and France share Mont Blanc/Monte Bianco, while Mount Korab straddles the border between Albania and Macedonia. However, she'll actually be tackling more mountains than that. 

"When I did the research I found that there are some grey areas," she explains. "For example, the highest mountain in Spain is Teide, on the island of Tenerife. But that's not geographically considered to be part of Europe – the highest mountain on the mainland is Mulhacen. So I'll do both, just in case."

She'll also be going to the Faroe Islands (highest point: Slættaratindur, at 882 metres) and Greenland (highest point: Gunnbjørn Fjeld, at 3,694m) as well as Denmark, and to Mount Pico on the Azores (2,351 metres) as well as mainland Portugal. 

Some will be easier than others. The highest point in Lithuania, for example, Aukštojas Hill, stands at just 294 metres above sea level. But others present a serious challenge. Around 100 people die each year on Mont Blanc, for example. Is this really a challenge for a novice?

"Most people think I'm a little bit mad but I have some experience," says Emma. "I did my first expedition - Mount Whitney in California - a year ago and spent a week on Franz Josef Glacier in New Zealand with a guide in the spring, learning all the basic skills and camping in winter conditions. And since I'm from Sweden I have a lot of experience with snow and winter weather."

She's already ticked Mont Blanc anyhow, along with 20 other peaks. 

"The most enjoyable so far was Mont Blanc," she says. "Many mountains on my list only require hiking, and I like it more when it becomes a bit more technical. You need to do some acclimatisation, and then hike up to a hut where you spend the night before the summit attempt. It has dangerous sections, scrambling, exposure, glaciers, narrow ridges you have to traverse. The Alps have everything. High mountains, snow, lots of lifts and mountains huts to stay and so many routes to explore."

The toughest climbs so far, says Emma, have been Elbrus, Russia's highest mountain, and Grauspitz, the highest peak in Liechtenstein. The former involved a climbing from 3,800m to the summit, at 5,642m, and back down, in a single day. "That's a lot of up and down all at once – I should have worked out more," she jokes. The latter was tackled after heavy snowfall. "I didn't take crampons or an ice axe and it was really slippery and steep – almost impossible to walk on," she says.

For solitude, however, Grauspitz was hard to beat. "I didn't see a single person throughout the whole climb," she explains. "Likewise for Moldovaenu Peak in Romania and Maglic in Bosnia. I was not expecting these two climbs to be so beautiful and since I was all alone it was a special experience. I would never have seen these places if it wasn't for the project and I was blown away. I'm going back to Balkans soon and I expect it will be pretty deserted in the mountains of Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania too."

Conversely, Mount Olympus in Greece and Elbrus were quite busy, she says. So too was Mulhacen in Spain. "Mulhacen was quite a boring mountain," she adds. "Just a really long walk on dry rocks that seemed to take forever."

Mountain high | The 49 peaks

The best single view so far was the from the top of Triglav, Slovenia's highest peak. "You could see four countries on a clear day," she says. "From The Dolomites in Italy and the Alps in Austria to the coastline of Croatia."

Andorra was another highlight. "The whole country is pretty much a ski resort," explains Emma. "Very modern and cosy at the same time. And the hike to the top of Coma Pedrosa was one of my favourites so far." This was despite coming face to face with a couple of bears ("I just scared them away," she says).

Bulgaria was notable for the quirky hotel she found herself holed up in. "The Festa Winter Palace in Borovets is like something from a Wes Anderson movie, and I was pretty much the only one there," she explains. 

Have there been any worrying moments? 

"A lot of people have told me they would never travel alone and climb mountains as a woman and that I'm brave for doing that," she says. "But I have always felt safe so far. In my experience everyone you meet in the mountains is so nice."

Next up for Emma is another trip to the Balkans, while she is looking forward to returning to the Alps (Austria and Switzerland still need to be crossed off her list), as well as Iceland and Norway, next year. "My favourite country of all is Iceland," she says. "I have been 15 times but am still waiting to climb the highest mountain this spring. If you have never been to Iceland you should put that on top of your list – it's just the most beautiful place in the world."

Her winter "break" will involve at trip to South America to tackle Aconcagua, the continent's highest mountain. 

And once it's all over? "It would be cool to climb Everest one day but I have much to learn before then. And it's also very expensive to climb mountains! I had to sell my apartment to cover the costs of this project," she says. 

But despite the financial expense, she says it's worth it. "First it was more about me doing something new in my life," Emma explains. "But I've come to realise it's also because I want to inspire others and show them that an adventure like this can be done by a regular woman. You don't have to be a professional."

For more on the project, see 49peaks.com