Markus Gschwendt, 38, has two children: Aron 16 and Robin 14. He is a Viennese entrepreneur for IT-Consulting and he manages his kayaking-school "Runout Adventures".
His preferred sporting activities are mountaineering, climbing, ice-climbing, backcountry-skiing and kayaking. Markus is certified instructor and trainer for canoeing/kayaking as well as a guide for speleology.
Since 2002 he has mainly focused on high mountains. He successfully climbed many 5000m, 6000m and two 7000m peaks in self-organised groups or soloing, using simple logistics. In 2006 Markus was awarded the Kasparek-ice-axe from the “Bergsteigergruppe“ of the Austrian Alpine Club (ÖGV) for his various climbing achievements.