Alexander Huber (born 30 December 1968) is a German rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport. He came to prominence in the early 1990s as the world's strongest sport climber after the passing of Wolfgang Güllich. He is the second-ever person to redpoint a graded route by ascending Om in 1992, and has come to be known as the first-ever person to redpoint a route from his 1996 ascent of Open Air.

In the decade following the mid-1990s, Huber, often partnered with his brother Thomas, also came to be regarded as the strongest big wall free climber of his generation, with groundbreaking first ascents in Yosemite (El Nino in 1998, and Zodiac in 2003), the Karakoram (Latok II in 1997, and Eternal Flame in 2009). Huber's 1995 ascent of the Salathé Wall in Yosemite was the first-ever complete redpoint of an graded big wall in history. His 2001 ascent of ' in the Dolomites was the first-ever redpoint of an graded big wall in history.

Huber is also known as one of the greatest free-solo climbers for both big-wall and sport-climbing routes. In 2002, he free soloed the first-ever grade big wall in history, the 580-metre Brandler-Hasse Direttissima in the Dolomites. In 2003, he free soloed the second-ever grade sport-climbing route with Der Opportunist in Austria, and in 2004, he became the first-ever person to free solo an graded sport route with Kommunist, also in Austria.

Early life and education

Huber was born in Trostberg in Bavaria, the second of three children. His father Thomas, a climber who had ascended the north face of Les Droites, and his mother Maria, took the children mountaineering from a young age. By 1986, aged 18, Huber and his brother Thomas had climbed Utopia (VIII+, 7a+) on the Wartsteinwand, and in 1988, they ascended Vom Winde Verweht (X−, 8a+) on Scharnstein in the Berchtesgaden Alps.

By 1992, Huber trained as a fully qualified UIAGM mountain guide. In 1997, Huber graduated with a Master's in Physics and received a post-graduate position as an assistant at the Institute for Theoretical Meteorology at LMU Munich. In 1998, Huber decided to become a full-time professional climber, one year after Thomas; the pair are known as the "Huberbuam" (Huberboys).

Big wall climbing

From the mid-1990s onwards, Huber (often partnered with Thomas), began to focus almost exclusively on big wall climbing in which he would become one of the most important big wall free climbers in history. In 1995, Huber became the first person to lead all 36-pitches of the Salathé Wall, and thus became the first-ever person to redpoint a big wall route at the grade of . Over the following decade, Huber made the first free ascent (or partial free ascent with minor aid), some of the most iconic big wall routes in Yosemite, including El Nino (5.13c A0, 1998), Golden Gate (5.13a, 2000), El Corazon (5.13b, 2001), and Zodiac (5.13d, 2003).

  • 1991 – Shogun , Karlstein, Bavaria, first ascent, and Huber's first grade .
  • 1992 – Om , Triangel, Bavaria, first ascent, and second-ever in history.
  • 1994 – Weisse Rose , Schleierwasserfall, Austria, first ascent.
  • 1995 – Salathé Wall (5.13b, VI, 36-pitches), El Capitan, Yosemite, first-ever redpoint at the grade (Skinner and Piana co-led the FFA in 1988).
  • 1998 – El Nino (5.13c, VI, A0, 30-pitches), El Capitan, first (almost free) ascent bar a down-abseil on pitch-13 (A0); was the third route to be freed on El Capitan and the first on the North America Wall.
  • 1998 – Freerider (5.12d/5,13a, VI, 30-pitches), El Capitan, first free ascent, and in 15:25 was the first El Capitan route inside 24 hrs. Huber discovered it on the Salathe; it became a classic that Huber called the "Astroman of the new millennium"; free soloed by Alex Honnold 2017.
  • 2001 – ' (10-pitches, 500-metres), on the Cima Ovest, Dolomites, Italy, first free ascent through the huge roof; first-ever big wall route at 8c; Huber later discovered subsequent climbers had "treated" some holds to soften grade.
  • 2001 – El Corazon (5.13b, 35-pitches), El Capitan, first free ascent; combination of Salathé Wall, Albatross, Son of Heart and Heart Route.
  • 2003 – Free Zodiac (5.13d, VI, 16-pitches), El Capitan, first free ascent of the overhanging 1972 aid route; with the famous "Nipple pitch".
  • 2004 – Zodiac (5.8, A2+, 16-pitches), El Capitan, speed record on the 1972 aid climbing version of Zodiac in 1:51:34 (fastest route on El Capitan).
  • 2005 – ' (16-pitches, 450-metres), on Grand Capucin, Mont Blanc, first free ascent of famous 1997 route.
  • 2007 – ' (9-pitches, 450-metres), the Cima Ovest, first free ascent; starts per Bellavista but breaches roof.
  • 2007 – The Nose (5.9, A1), El Capitan, Yosemite, speed record with Thomas Huber on the aid climbing version of The Nose in 2:45:45.
  • 2008 – Sansara (6-pitch, 200-metres, east face Grubhorn), and Feuertaufe (7-pitches, 250-metres, south face Sonnwand), FFAs at .

High-altitude climbing

thumb|Alexander and Thomas on the summit of [[Mount Asgard, 2012]]

Huber took part in several expeditions to famous big wall climbing locations including the high-altitude walls of Trango Tower, the stormy towers of Patagonia, and the extreme-cold of Ulvetanna in Antarctica; climbing usually with his brother Thomas, but also often part of a larger climbing team in an alpine style approach:

  • 1998 – Tichy Route, northwest ridge of Cho Oyu (8,188-metres), Himalaya, Nepal, Huber climbed the eight thousander by the "standard route" to understand effects of extreme altitude.
  • 2002 – In Patagonia, ascends: Cerro Torre (via Compressor Route, V A1), Fitz Roy (via Franco-Argentina, VII), and later Cerro Standhardt (via Exocet, 6b, winter ascent); in 2008, Torre Egger.
  • 2006 – Golden Eagle (5.11, V, A1, 800-metres), southwest face Aguja Desmochada, Fitzroy, first ascent.
  • 2008 – El Bastardo (5.11, V, A1, 500-metres), south face Aguja de la Silla, Fitzroy, Patagonia, first ascent.
  • 2008 – Eiszeit (VII+, A4, 24-pitches, 750-metres), west face, and Skywalk (VII−, 10-pitches, 450-metres), north pillar of Holtanna, both first ascents, in Antarctica.
  • 2008 – Sound of Silence (VIII-, 5.11a, A2, 20-pitches, 800-metres) on the west pillar of Ulvetanna, in Antarctica, first ascent.
  • 2012 – Bavarian Direct (5.13b, 28-pitches, 700-metres), on Mount Asgard, Canada, first free ascent of the 1997 aid climb with Thomas Huber.

Free solo rock climbing

Huber was one of the few climbers to free solo extreme grades in both single-pitch and big wall routes.

  • 2002 – Brandler-Hasse Direttissima (5.12a, 17-pitches, 580-metres) of Cima Grande, Dolomites; the first-ever big wall solo at grade .
  • 2003 – Der Opportunist (18-metres), Schleierfall, Austria; the second-ever free solo of an graded route.
  • 2008 – Locker Vom Hocker (8-pitches, 280-metres), Schüsselkarspitze, Germany; Huber's last extreme-level free solo.

Filmography

  • Speed climbing The Nose:

See also

  • List of grade milestones in rock climbing
  • History of rock climbing
  • Barbara Zangerl, Austrian female big wall climber

References

Further reading

  • Official Website
  • Biography
  • VIDEO: Alexander Huber free solo of Kommunist (2004), Bergsteigen (2007)
  • VIDEO: Alexander Huber free solo of Brandler-Hasse Direttissima (2002), Gripped Magazine (2021)