TOPtoTOP - The longest climate expedition in the world. Without pointing fingers.
Dario and Sabine Schwörer have been traveling on foot, by bike and on their boat Pachamama for over 20 years. Across the seven seas, to the seven highest peaks in the world (TOPtoTOP). They sail around the world with their children, collect data for climate research, give talks at schools - and prove it: Hope is an attitude. And change starts with one step. TOPtoTOP Global Climate Expedition is a Swiss non-profit organization whose mission is to inspire young people to protect our planet.
We talk to people who live their lives differently. Consciously. Courageously. Consistently. Not to impress - but to inspire. The story of the Schwörer family is not a classic trip around the world. It is an expedition. An educational project. A research mission. And above all: a demonstration of love for our planet. What began as an idea in the Swiss Alps has become a global movement with an impact in over 100 countries. Why they set off. What drives them. And how to find a home on the road - Dario talks about it in the OLLI interview.
What made you set off back then? Was there a moment when you realized: We have to go?
I still work as a mountain guide today - it makes up about half of our income. I love the mountains. Their clarity, their power. But at some point I realized that my office was melting. The permafrost that holds the rocks together - my daily terrain - began to thaw. Not theoretically, but right under my feet. And suddenly there was this question in my head: what can I do? Not someday - but now. I wanted to get out of theory and into reality. I wanted to touch people, not teach them. And I knew that if you want to move people, you first have to show them what's at stake - and what's possible.
Sabine, my wife, was immediately on board. A nurse, a person with heart and attitude. We had both grown up with the outdoor life. We were both convinced that living by example does more than lecturing. So we invited twenty friends for a weekend. A hut, a fire, one big question: how can we help the planet?
That's how TOPtoTOP was born. Our idea: travel to all 26 Swiss cantons, look for the best environmental project in each region, speak at schools and inspire children - and climb the highest peak in each case. All on foot. Muscle power instead of a motor. And what happened next wasn't planned - but it was crucial: we saw that sparkle in the children's eyes. Children think freely, ask honest questions. And when they not only see nature, but feel it - in their faces, hands, noses - then something changes. During our school visits, this is often when the best ideas emerge: bold, different, solution-oriented. That's when we knew: This is not a project. This is our path.
"We didn't just want to talk about it. We wanted to do something."
And how did it turn into a circumnavigation?
At the beginning we thought: Let's do this for a few years. Maybe four. Travel through the climate zones. Look for good examples. Climb the highest peak on every continent, cross the oceans - using only muscle power and nature. Without airplanes, without fossil fuels. And we needed a ship for that. Pachamama. An expedition sailer made of aluminum, built for heavy seas. Solar and wind power, a small emergency engine - and nothing else that makes noise. We got a loan.
The idea was simple: buy the boat, go on an expedition, sell the boat. What we hadn't planned on was that the boat would one day become our home.
Sabine was working at the hospital in Davos at the time. Her idea of life was different. She wanted to set up a hospital in Africa - which is still on her list, by the way. But she was ready to embark on the adventure. On one condition - or rather two. I promised her that the journey would take four years. And that I would find a piano in every port. I did my best. I really did - at least with the piano.
The beginning was tough. No time off, no privacy. No going back. But what counts is not the comfort, but the compass. And our compass has always led us in the right direction - and if you stay on course, you can reach your destination in small steps.
How do you live as a family on a sailing ship?
Pachamama became not only our home - but the birthplace of a new reality. Our daughter Salina was born in Patagonia in 2005 - in a small health center, accompanied by an indigenous Mapuche midwife. No medical team - just Sabine, me and a Swiss army knife. Unconventional? Yes. But it worked. The Swiss ambassador in Chile heard about this birth - and brought us together with Victorinox. The result was a partnership as unconventional as our lives.
At the time, we couldn't imagine continuing this expedition with children. But everything changed along the way. When Salina arrived, a project became a way of life. A boat became a home. And our journey became a family - with six children, born in five different countries.
Sure, it's not always easy. There is no retreat, no children's room, no WLAN at the touch of a button. But there is the ocean. Dolphins in the morning. Snowstorms in Alaska. School lessons in the dinghy. Discussions about world maps instead of influencers. And conversations that have more to do with real life than with school grades. We have experienced many education systems - from a monastery in the Himalayas to an international school in Singapore. Our children probably learned the most in places where there were no classrooms. Where you had to know when the weather was going to change. How to repair a leak. Or how to get in touch with people whose language you don't speak. Having children on board was never planned - but looking back, it was the best thing that could have happened to us. They were our best door openers. Our most honest critics. And sometimes our best teachers.
What did you see along the way - and what was the result?
We saw climate change - not in models, but in faces. With the Inuit, who have had to kill their sled dogs because the ice is melting too soon. With the Kuna, who have already had to leave 60 of their 365 islands because of rising sea levels. We spoke to people who are not responsible for CO₂ emissions, but are the first to pay for them. And we have learned:
Climate change is not a statistic. It is everyday life. And injustice.
That's why we wanted to do more than just observe. We collected data - ice, air and water samples - sometimes in regions where no one else goes. We worked with universities such as ETH Zurich. We carried out eDNA analyses on biodiversity, sifted through microplastic streams and supported research projects. But we probably had the biggest impact in the classroom. We visited over 175,000 children in more than 100 countries. Not lectures, but encounters. Stories. Questions. Answers that are not perfect - but honest.
With the Global Climate Solution Award, we honor young people who submit sustainable ideas, innovations or inventions. We invite the winners to where we are. This motivates them - and has an impact back in their schools, cities and countries.
Our projects are roughly divided into three areas: scientific assignments, educational programs - i.e. school visits, workshops and expeditions with students - and spontaneous encounters on the road.
Like the project with the Maasai in East Africa: the people were driven off the land - away from the water. In order to extract groundwater, some sent their young women to work. Not out of wantonness, but out of necessity. We didn't want to let that stand. So we collected money, organized materials and helped to install rainwater systems on the roofs of school buildings. Since then, there has been soup for the pupils. And clean drinking water for 10,000 people. It wasn't a grand master plan - just concrete help. But it has set a precedent: today, many schools in East Africa use similar solutions. And it shows us what is possible if you just get started.
Were there moments when you seriously thought about giving up?
Yes, more than one. In 2004, south of South America. We were on our way to Antarctica when we collided with a drifting container in the night. Rudder damaged. The hull was leaking. For three weeks, we tried to keep the ship afloat in a makeshift manner. Without help. And Sabine was pregnant. There was no panic button. Just improvisation. Trust. And the rule we had given ourselves: We can give up - but only after twenty serious attempts. We were nowhere near twenty. So we kept going.
Of course, there were also other doubts. When there was no wind for days. When the weather works against us. Or when you're asked in Vanuatu why you actually drive a car - even though you know how many people die every year. This kind of change of perspective hits you. But these are not reasons to stop. They are reasons to keep going.
"The compass is more important than time."
What remains - and what do you want to pass on?
Our children have grown up with this life. They don't know garden furniture, but they do know how to read the weather. We never asked them to carry on our mission. But we wanted to show them that you can live with conviction - not against something, but for something.
Salina left the boat at 13, completed her A-levels - and now works in marine conservation, on projects for corals and sea turtles. She is currently doing her Dive Master. She will be joining us again from October - to visit schools between the Arctic and the Sahara with us. The most important thing is that they believe in the good. And they know that you don't have to be perfect to make the world a better place.
When we speak at schools today - whether in the Arctic or in Africa - we don't talk about problems. We talk about challenges. And about how we can turn them into opportunities. Because the world is full of beauty, full of people who do good. And that's exactly what we tell others. Hope is contagious.
"Our watches should not measure seconds, but moments."
Is there a project, a place, an idea for which you are looking for supporters?
Yes, several actually. But what we are currently looking for most urgently is a teacher to join us on the next stage of our journey. Someone who is ready to rethink school. Out there, on the road, in the middle of real life.
Then there's this book, which should have been written long ago. The publisher is waiting. The stories too. We just need someone to write them down with us - with heart, with depth.
And a movie. Not about what was. But about what is to come. Mount Winston, Antarctica, the last "top". And afterwards: one last great circumnavigation - on the trail of natural wonders. To show that change is possible.
For five years, we have been researching microplastics at the edge of the pack ice - the womb of the planet, as I call it - with Save the Arctic. Students, pupils, PhD students - they've all been on board. And we always say: Our doors are open. For anyone who wants to come. If you want to come along, now is the time.
What does ONE LIFE - LIVE IT mean to you?
If you only live life for yourself - at full throttle, regardless of losses - it might feel good for a while. But it doesn't make you happy in the long run. Life becomes truly fulfilling when it is connected to something meaningful. When you share it - with others, with the environment, with something that lasts. Sharing is the best thing. For others. For the earth. For all of us. Perhaps this is where change begins: not with a pointing finger. But with an open heart.
TOPtoTOP in figures:
Name of the expedition
- TOPtoTOP Global Climate Expedition
Starting point
- 1999, Switzerland
Countries traveled
- Over 100
Distance traveled
- 132'000+ nautical miles
- 25'000+ kilometers by bike
- 1'000'000+ meters of altitude on foot and on skis
Family on board
- 6 children (currently 2 permanently on board)
School lectures worldwide
- Over 1,000 presentations at schools
- 175'000+ participating pupils
Plastic collection campaigns
- 85,000+ kg of plastic waste collected - often together with schoolchildren
Research & science
- 150+ samples on microplastics and eDNA in collaboration with universities (including ETH Zurich)
Current campaigns (2024)
- Swiss TOPtoTOP 2.0
- Save the Arctic
Awards & media
- UNEP patronage, WWF ambassadors
- Several TV documentaries & international reports
- Book: The Schwörers: How the world became a nursery
- Film: Home is the Ocean
Sometimes it doesn't take a loud bang, a revolution or a manifesto. Just two people who decide to live differently. More courageous. Simpler. With a compass instead of a watch. Dario and Sabine and their family show what is possible if you don't wait for others - and don't wait for the world to change on its own. If their story has touched you - stay tuned. Follow them, support their projects, tell others what gives hope.