Sexten is an Italian community with 1,880 inhabitants in the easternmost part of South Tyrol. The most important settlements are the main town of Sexten and the village of Moos, about two kilometers further into the valley.
Sepp Innerkofler (born October 28, 1865 in Sesto, South Tyrol; died July 4, 1915 at Paternkofel) was an Austrian mountain guide and innkeeper.
In 1898, Sepp took over the 2405 m high Dreiinnenhütte on the Toblinger Riedel as a hut manager, which was expanded several times under his leadership into accommodation with 40 storage spaces. In his native Sesto, he opened the Hotel Dolomitenhof in the Fischleintal in 1903.
Sepp Innerkofler became known as a mountaineer through the first ascent (1890) of the north face of the Kleine Zinne in the Sexten Dolomites. This achievement was also remarkable in that it was “only” a new difficult route (according to today’s UIAA scale, difficulty level IV) up a mountain that had already been climbed – the summit of the Kleine Zinne had already been reached for the first time in 1881 by Michel and Johann Innerkofler been. In addition, he had already climbed the wall past the key point single-handedly before he turned back and, in keeping with the customs of his time, led the tourist Hans Helversen to the summit with his cousin Veit.
After the start of the First World War, he was able to recognize early war preparations on the Italian side during his mountain tours in the Austria/Italy border area. After Italy declared war on Austria in May 1915, the military situation in the Alps was precarious for Austria because the main force of the army was on the Serbian-Russian front. To protect the Alpine border, following an old tradition, Tyrolean Standschützen were formed, consisting of young people or older men who did not belong to the age group required for military service.
Innerkofler formed a group of mountain guides within the Standschützen. Based on precise local knowledge and mountaineering skills, they organized a successful war of movement in the mountains. The success was that the front in the Alps could be held until reinforcements (Kaiserjäger) arrived and an Italian breakthrough was prevented. Innerkofler fell in battle on July 4, 1915 while trying to recapture the peak of the Paternkofel, which was occupied by Italian Alpini. He was accompanied by Forcher from Sexten (who was also wounded in the action), Rogger and his brother-in-law Andreas Piller (all mountain guides) as well as Franz von Rapp and Josef Taibon. There are several versions circulating about the circumstances of his death:
The two Italian negotiators remained with the Austrians as a bargaining chip for the rescue operation.
Other sources claim that Innerkofler was the victim of his own barrage. Innerkofler's son Pepi is said to have given this representation on the 60th anniversary of his death. Like his brother Gottfried, Pepi is said to have followed the events with binoculars.
As was confirmed by Benitius (also: Benitus) Rogger, who was involved in the attempted summit storm, the fact that several of the hand grenades he threw against the Italian summit position was said to have contributed to the event's fatal outcome for Innerkofler did not ignite. The dead Innerkofler was recovered and recognized by de Luca and the Alpini. The body was initially buried at the summit of the Paternkofel and the grave was decorated with a simple wooden cross with the inscription “Sepp Innerkofler, Guida” (German: Sepp Innerkofler, mountain guide) out of respect for the person of Innerkofler. In 1918, the body of his son Gottfried and friends was exhumed and reburied in the Sesto cemetery after the front line had changed.