Alexander Huber on Choktoi Ri

Still crazy after all these years. This title of a song by Paul Simon could also stand above the lives of many climbers – if they have survived their daring adventures into old age. Being a little crazy – and I mean that in a positive way – is just part of the game. Alexander Huber, the younger of the two Huber brothers, will celebrate his 50th birthday this Sunday.

The list of his successes is long. Thus Alexander opened several rock climbing routes in the eleventh degree, climbed (with his two years older brother Thomas, Toni Gutsch and the US-American Conrad Anker) for the first time through the West Face of the 7,108-meter-high Latok II in the Karakoram in 1997, stood one year later without bottled oxygen on the summit of the eight-thousander Cho Oyu or climbed free solo difficult routes in the Alps such as the “Hasse-Brandler-Diretissima” through the North Face of Cima Grande (in 2002) or the “Schweizerführe” at the 3,838-meter high Grand Capucin in the Montblanc region (in 2008). Last summer, Huber and his German climbing partner Fabian Buhl opened a new 2,200-meter-long route via the South Buttress of the 6,166-meter-high Choktoi Ri in the Karakoram (see video below).

Alexander lives with his wife and three children on a farm near Berchtesgaden. I called him a few days before his big birthday.

Alexander, you are about to turn 50. Is that a day like any other for you?

Alexander at the trade fair “Outdoor” in 2017

It’s certainly not a day like any other, because I’m well aware that another decade has passed. But it won’t be a special birthday for me, I already know the feeling from my previous big birthdays.

If you compare yourself today with Alexander, who was 25 years old, do you still recognize yourself?

I still absolutely recognize myself as I was then. You go your own way in life. There are many things that change, some things remain the same. Maybe I’d like to be 25 again, but my sense of reality tells me that it won’t happen that way. And it’s not like everything was better at the age of 25. There are also things that are better at 50.

Have your priorities changed?

The priorities are constantly changing. This is a completely normal process in life. It would be a miracle if it wasn’t so.

Have you become more cautious?

Yes, in the sense that I no longer do the wild actions like at the age of 25 or 35. That also has a lot to do with my sense of reality. I know that I pulled things off at a level I don’t have anymore. That means I can’t top the things I’ve already realized anyway. And that’s why I just take it easier and do the things that are possible for me.

Last summer you opened with Fabian Buhl a new route via the South Buttress of the six-thousander Choktoi Ri. How good did it feel – after some failed expeditions in the Karakoram?

Such a success always feels good. It’s fun to reach the summit. That’s the reason why you set off at all. But it is quite normal in the life of a climber that there are actions that don’t lead to success. Especially on larger expeditions, I have a success rate that is well below 50 percent. If you can’t cope with that, you have no business going to these mountains with ambitious goals. If anybody claims to be a “Mister 100 Percent Success”, I can only say: Well, then he never really tried to push himself to the limit. I prefer to keep pushing my limits and taking a setback from time to time instead of trying things that are easy to get.

But on Choktoi Ri, it ran smoothly for you.

Yes, although we had a difficult season due to the meteorological conditions. Also in the Karakoram you notice the impact of global warming. There was a lot of bad weather this year. But in terms of tactics we performed extremely well, so that in the end the result was success. Only a single wrong tactical decision would have meant that we would not have made it. We did well, but also had the bit of luck that you need.

Fabian is 28 years old, more than 20 years younger than you. Were you already a little bit in the role of the mentor, who passes on his experience?

With Fabian Buhl on top of Choktoi Ri

Sure, that’s the role you automatically take on. Of course I am a mentor of Fabian. But in the end I was looking for a competent climbing partner for my idea. One of Fabian’s strong points is that he is incredibly motivated, has incredible fun while climbing and is not afraid of anything, he really enjoys every effort. That’s exactly the kind of partner you need on a mountain. This is the only way it can work.

Was it perhaps also a model for you for the next few years to be en route in a team of only two?

I’ve done that before, so it’s not a new model for me. In principle, I prefer to be on the road in a team as small as possible. But it also depends on the goal. To tackle, for example, Latok II in a team of two, would almost mean to ignore the danger of the mountain. If something happens, you have only a minimum safety reserve.

Is there a highlight in your climbing career that stands out and that you particularly like to remember?

I am happy that I was able to set my highlights in very different fields of climbing and that I have always kept alpinism alive and interesting for me. It all started for me on top level with alpine sport climbing. Today I can’t imagine being a sports climber with the same enthusiasm again, it would probably have become much too boring for me. But if you look at what alpinism is all about – be it in Antarctica, Patagonia, the Yosemite Valley, the Dolomites, doing speed climbing, free solo climbing, difficult alpine routes, expeditions, eight-thousander, sports climbing in the eleventh-degree – then all you can say is: Cool to have such a sport that can be interesting on top level even after thirty years.

Extreme climbing, here in Mount Asgard on Baffin Island

Let’s look ahead, what goals do you still set yourself as a climber?

I only set myself medium-term goals. In the long run I can only say: I want to be happy with what I do. But what exactly will that be? I don’t know. It will happen. I am lucky to have come through my climbing almost injury-free. I’m still healthy, nothing hurts me, and that’s why I continue to go to the mountains. But of course it can look completely different from one day to the next.

Is there already a concrete project for 2019?

The only thing I know for sure is that I will not go on expedition. I still want to climb various routes here at home in the Alps. But the concrete project for 2019 is not to travel to the Himalayas or the Karakoram.

And how will you spend your birthday?

Like every year. I’ll celebrate my birthday with my friends.

On the six-thousander Panmah Kangri

“My tactic of arriving later in the season didn’t work this time,” Thomas Huber tells me after his return from the Karakoram, adding that it was a “fully mixed” expedition. “It started incredibly well, but unfortunately it didn’t end the same way.” As reported before – the 51-year-old, the older of the two Huber brothers, had left at the beginning of August with 33-year-old South Tyrolean Simon Gietl, 59-year-old German climber Rainer Treppte and French cameraman Yannick Boissenot towards Latok I in order to tackle the 7,145-meter-high mountain via the north side.

Meeting with his brother

“In the beginning everything was in a flow,” reports Thomas. The journey was without any problems, and at the entrance to the Choktoi valley there was a very nice and emotional moment: “We met my brother Alexander and his climbing partner Fabian Buhl, who had experienced a great adventure on Choktoi Ri and were all smiles.” After the meeting with the two climbers, who started their way home, Thomas Huber and Co. pitched up their base camp.

After one week on top of a 6000er

Thomas Huber with Simon Gietl, Rainer Treppte and Yannick Boissenot (from r. to l.)

For acclimatization, the team then climbed the 6,046-meter-high Panmah Kangri. “It was going perfectly. After a week on site, we stood on our first six-thousander, the next stage was Latok III,” says Thomas. “We climbed up to Camp 1 at 5,700 meters and then down again.” Their plan was to climb via the South Pillar to the summit at 6,946 meters. “We calculated three days if everything went well and the conditions were good.”

Three weeks of dense clouds

But it turned out quite differently. The weather changed – and remained bad. “We didn’t see the summit for three weeks,” says Huber. Dense clouds were hanging over the Choktoi Valley, it snowed. Summit attempts were out of question. Once, says Thomas, they climbed up again to Camp 1 on Latok III but returned due to snowfall.

A lot of snow in the wall

North Face of Latok I, on the right the North Ridge

Huber, Gietl, Treppte and Boissenot also explored the approach to the not yet successfully climbed North Face of Latok I, “our actual destination this summer”, as Thomas says. “However, we totally rejected our plan.“ The wall was “snow-covered like in winter”, there was a lot of spindrift. “The Koreans and Russians who had previously attempted the North Face this summer had been injured by avalanches,” says Thomas. “Now I understand why.“

Touch and go!

The risks in the wall were not calculable, that already applied to the access, says Thomas. “The North Face seems invincible. If you go there, you have to say ‚Good-bye life‘ – and then touch and go!” According to Thomas, already the seracs on the way to the access, are “very active. You simply need luck there.“ Their possible alternative goal, the direct route via the North Ridge to the summit, is feasible, says Thomas – but not under the conditions that prevailed at the beginning of September.

Great atmosphere in the team

“We tried everything that was possible and justifiable from a reasonable climbers’s point of view,” Thomas Huber sums up. “More couldn’t be done, we simply have to accept that. It certainly wasn‘t the last time we were in the Choktoi valley. “I just like it over there,“ says Thomas. „We had a good time and a great atmosphere in the team. That’s what I took home with me.”

Luka Strazar, Tom Livingstone, Ales Cesen (from l. to r.)

It is one of this year’s most spectacular successes on the highest mountains in the world: The two Slovenians Ales Cesen (36 years old) and Luka Strazar (29) and the British Tom Livingstone (27) managed the only second ascent of the 7,145-meter-high, extremely difficult Latok I in the Karakoram – the first ascent from the north side at all. Since the legendary first attempt in 1978 by the Americans Jeff and George Henry Lowe, Michael Kennedy and Jim Donini via the North Ridge, who were forced back by a storm about 150 meters below the summit, this task had been a too hard nut to crack for about 30 expeditions. ”The ridge itself remains a challenge for the future,” said Tom Livingstone modestly in an interview with the British Mountaineering Council (BMC).

Deviated from the North Ridge

The route of the successful trio

In the upper part of the mountain the trio left the North Ridge, climbed over an ice field to the right towards the West Col and then crossed to the left through the North Face to the highest point. “Our priority was climbing the mountain from the north side, doing that via the ridge was the second priority,” Tom said. For safety reasons, they decided to deviate from the route via the ridge. Livingstone recalled in this context the fatal fall of Russian climber Sergey Glazunov while abseiling from the upper part of the North Ridge and the subsequent helicopter rescue of his team mate Alexander Gukov. The trio had followed the drama of the two Russians during their acclimatization phase.

“Scottish conditions” at the summit

Strazar in the middle part of the North Ridge

Tom reported on consistently poor bivouac sites on small ledges in the snow: “We didn’t sleep much over six nights on the mountain. In terms of difficulty it wasn’t super-hard but the length of the route, the altitude and the sleeplessness made it feel very strenuous.” According to Livingstone’s words, there were “Scottish conditions” at the highest point of Latok I: very snowy with poor visibility. “There was no enthusiastic celebration at the summit, because we knew that we had only managed the half way,” expedition leader Ales Cesen reported in an interview with the broadcaster RTV Slovnija. “Only when we were back on the glacier below the wall, we shouted with joy and hugged.”

“More than just well done”

Luka just before the point where the route bends off the north ridge

German top climber Alexander Huber – who was tackling at the same time together with his 27-year-old compatriot Fabian Buhl the South Buttress of the 6166-meter-high Choktoi Ri, located near Latok I (both want to report their experiences shortly) – bows to Cesen’s, Strazar’s and Livingstone’s performance. “More than just well done,” the 49-year-old commented on the success on Instagram.

His older brother Thomas Huber (51) was at the time of the coup by the Slovenian-British trio with his climbing partners Rainer Treppte (59), South Tyrolean Simon Gietl and French cameraman Yannick Boissenot still on their way to Latok I. Their destination too: the northern side of the seven-thousander. Before their departure, Thomas had left open to me whether they wanted to tackle the North Ridge or the also still unclimbed North Face.

P.S.: Because of my vacation, which has meanwhile unfortunately ended, this report comes a few days later than you are used to from me.

Ogre II and I (r.), they reached the col

Three attempts, then it was over. As reported, Alexander Huber, the Swiss Dani Arnold and the two East Tyroleans Mario Walder and Christian Zenz abandoned their expedition on the 7285-meter-high Ogre I in Pakistan and returned home. They had wanted to reach the summit of the mountain, which so far has been scaled only three times, over the still not mastered East Pillar. I spoke to Alexander, aged 48, the younger of the two Huber brothers, about the failed expedition.

Alexander, you wrote on Facebook that you knew what the mountain wanted to tell you. What was the message?

We set off to the mountain three times and were able to control the situation with maximum risk management three times. But we noticed every time that we were running extremely late. There was only a very short time window to move safely on the mountain. In this case you have to be en route with full steam to get out of the danger zone on time. We did it three times, and it turned out well. But one day it won’t work so well, and then you are in the middle of this extremely dangerous terrain and can not get out.

In addition, we had such a bad snow. We fought through slush, at 6,100 meters, and in the middle of the night! Those were brutal conditions. This is clearly due to climate change. So better stay away if you want to survive.

Alexander Huber

Was it an unanimous decision to abandon the attempt?

Absolutely unanimous. It was clear to all of us that under such circumstances we do not even have the slightest chance of coming close to the summit at all. And if I know I’m not going to reach the summit, because the snow is so lousy, it’s better to leave it be. We have also seen the snowfields above and realized that an avalanche had swept down there. Of course, it doesn’t ensure a good atmosphere if you see that the snow conditions above are still problematic and very dangerous.

Climate change leaves traces

You mentioned climate change. Once again, it was extremely warm in the Karakoram this summer. Do you think it’s an alternative to arrive at a later date?

I experienced it two years ago on Latok, last year in Greenland and now again: Climate change is so clearly noticeable that it almost hurts. As in the Alps, mountaineering will also have to change in the Karakoram. Probably in the future climbers will first acclimatize on an easy seven-thousander and then travel to such a difficult mountain as Ogre towards the end of August, for only two or three weeks. This is the only scenario I can think of so far, so that you can tackle such a dangerous mountain with the strength you need. For sure, I’m going to do it this way next time.

So, you will try for the third time to scale Ogre I?

Maybe. In 1993, I first envisaged this mountain as a goal, along with some friends from the Bavarian town of Traunstein. However, in the end we decided to go to Latok II, where I went with Thomas in 1997. [With Toni Gutsch and the American Conrad Anker, they succeeded the first ascent via the West Face of Latok II]. In 1999, we tried to climb Ogre I [With Gutsch and Jan Mersch, they tried in vain to climb via the South Pillar to the summit]. This was the beginning of my thinking about mountaineering and climbing on the very high mountains. That’s why Ogre is somehow anchored in me. If it fits, I’ll go back there. But if I do so, then certainly with completely changed tactics.

East Pillar of Ogre I

This summer, there was hardly anything to be gained on Ogre I. “The weather was almost always rather bad,” German top climber Alexander Huber writes on Facebook about his expedition to the 7285-meter-high mountain in Pakistan. The conditions were marginal. “A little old snow from the winter and a lot of fresh snow from early summer in the structure of the snowpack. In addition always high temperatures. Summing up, piles of slush.” The 48-year-old, the younger of the Huber brothers, had wanted to reach the summit along with the East Tyroleans Mario Walder and Christian Zenz and the Swiss Dani Arnold via the still unclimbed East Pillar. Even before departure, Alexander had described Ogre I to me as “one of the most exclusive peaks of our planet, one of the most difficult spots to reach”. This was confirmed: Climbing was only possible after night schedule.

Terminus at the foot of the pillar

Dangerous ascent to the col

“During our three ascents to the col between Ogre I and Ogre II, we had to expend much energy to control the objective risks, “ reports Alexander. “Seracs, collapsing snow cornices, rockfall and wet snow avalanches, the first at 6 a.m., left us little room. Every activity had to take place between midnight and 5 a.m., then we had to wait in the tent for 19 hours until next night’s action.“ The plan to be en route only at night “unfortunately worked only half way”, writes Dani Arnold on his website, “because it took a few hours before the snow got hard in the night and until the sunrise we had little time to climb.” Finally, the decision was made: The entry to the East Pillar was the terminal stop of the night train – “far from the possibility to get close to the summit,” says Alexander Huber. “We are ready to give very much for a mountain: energy, motivation, willingness to suffer, commitment, risk tolerance. But if it is hopeless, we realize quickly that it is time to say no.”

Only three ascents

So the number of successful ascents on Ogre I remains at only three. The first was made 40 years ago, on 13 July 1977, by the British climbers Chris Bonington and Doug Scott. The descent became a drama with a happy end: Scott broke both ankles, Bonington two ribs. Nevertheless, both of them, supported by the other team members, reached the base camp one week after their summit success – one of the great survival stories on the highest mountains in the world.  In 2001, Alexander’s brother Thomas and the two Swiss Urs Stoecker and Iwan Wolf succeeded the second ascent of the mountain, in 2012 the Americans Kyle Dempster and Hayden Kennedy the third one.

Having taken the risk seriously

Nothing to be gained

For Alexander Huber it was his second failed attempt on Ogre I. In 1999, he had tried with his brother Thomas, Toni Gutsch and Jan Mersch in vain to climb via the South Pillar to the summit. The decision to turn around again was anything but easy, Alexander admits: “But I think we understood what the mountain wanted to tell us. And the mountain will be there even longer!” Dani Arnold also bears the failure on Ogre with dignity. “I am disappointed now,” writes the 33-year-old. “I am convinced, however, that it won’t turn out all right some day if you take an objective risk too often. Apart from that, I also think it is stupid if you don’t take serious what is foreseeable.”

Alexander Huber

Ogre has on the Huber brothers almost the same effect as the singing of the Sirens in Greek mythology: the two German top climbers can hardly escape the call of this fascinating granite giant. Time and again in their long careers Alexander and Thomas Huber have set off to the Ogre massif in the Karakoram or the nearby peaks of the Latok group. In 1999, they failed in their attempt to climb the 7,285-meter-high Ogre I. Thomas succeeded the second ascent of the mountain in 2001, along with the two Swiss Urs Stoecker and Iwan Wolf. The first ascent was made almost 40 years ago, on 13 July 1977 by the British climbers Chris Bonington and Doug Scott. The descent became a drama with a happy end: Scott broke both ankles, Bonington two ribs. Nevertheless, both of them, supported by the other team members, reached the base camp one week after their summit success – one of the great survival stories on the highest mountains in the world.

Easier doing it with friends

Yesterday Alexander Huber set off to Ogre. His team includes the two East Tyroleans Mario Walder and Christian Zenz and the Swiss Dani Arnold. With Dani (and Thomas Senf), Alexander had opened a new route through the Matterhorn North Face last March. With Mario and Christian, he had succeeded  the first ascent of a route on the mountain Ritterknecht in East Greenland in summer 2016. “It’s good to be on the road with partners you know,” says Alexander Huber. His three companions are not only good, competent climbers, but also friends, says the younger of the two Huber brothers. “You have to spend a lot of time together, often moments of tension. The better the human chemistry fits, the better it is.” I talked with the 48-year-old about his expedition before he left for Pakistan.

Alexander, you are heading to Ogre, a seven-thousander in the Karakoram. What exactly are you planning?

Ogre I (l.) and Ogre II, the East Pillar leads from col to the left

We would like to climb the East Pillar. This route has not yet been completed. (Several attempts on the east side of Ogre failed, e.g. in 1992, a Spanish team turned around in a snowstorm at 6,500 meters.) But it is not so much the idea to create a first ascent on this mountain, but to reach the summit at all. It is one of the most exclusive peaks of our planet, one of the most difficult spots to reach. Thomas realized the second ascent of Ogre in 2001, since then there was only one further ascent (in 2012 by the Americans Kyle Dempster and Hayden Kennedy). That shows, this is not an easy summit, but that’s exactly why we want to go there.

Only three ascents – and there was no lack of attempts, there were well above 20 expeditions on this mountain. What makes it so difficult?

The Ogre is simply an incredibly complex mountain with many objective dangers, arising from the seracs, which are practically on all sides. That’s why the East Pillar is our goal – because, from my point of view, it is free from objective dangers. Seen from a distance, I believe we can avoid all the seracs on this route. We will see what happens in reality. But I hope that we can explore and realize the maximum safe way to the summit of Ogre.

Ogre means “man-eater”. Does this mountain justify its name?

The first ascenders of Ogre, Bonington (l.) and Scott (in April 2015)

Actually you cannot really say that. There was an accident in which a climber was killed. (On a German expedition, which tried in 1993 to climb via the Ogre South Pillar, the Swiss Philipp Groebke fell to death.) However, it’s certainly not the man-eater in itself. For this, the mountain is too challenging. Meaning that all of those who try to climb Ogre are  competent, strong climbers who know exactly what they are doing. Usually mountaineering becomes dangerous when incompetent people try to reach a summit. The best example of this in the Himalayas is surely Mount Everest. There will be a lot of fatalities in the future too because many people want to climb the mountain without having the necessary skills. In this respect, Ogre doesn’t deserve its name. It’s not a man-eater.

However, Ogre is not its original name, but Baintha Brakk. Baintha is a meadow on the edge of the Biafo Glacier, from where the highest point of the mountain can be seen as the dominant peak. Brakk means peak. So it is the peak that you can see from the meadow Baintha. In any case, I think we should return to the original names of the mountains. Mount McKinley is Denali, Mount Everest from the Tibetan side Chomolungma, from the Nepalese side Sagarmatha, K 2 is Chogori, and Ogre is Baintha Brakk.

Alex, Mario and Dani (from l. to r.) on the summit of the six-thousander Panmah Kangri in 2015

The past summers in the Karakoram were very warm. This led to the failure of many expeditions. What kind of weather will give you a real chance on Ogre?

If we have the same conditions as two years ago (then the Huber brothers were en route with Mario Walder and Dani Arnold in the Latok group), when the zero-degree line was at 6,500 meters and higher over several weeks, we will get into trouble again. I think mountaineering will change in the future due to climate change anyway. The mountaineers have to adjust to this. If the zero-degree line continues to move up, we will have to switch to the fall or spring season. I have now chosen the summer season again, because I am convinced that on the way to the summit of Ogre it is important that you do not have low temperatures in the summit area. Perhaps we are lucky that this time the conditions fit. The weather is difficult to interpret. But these are the challenges we are now confronted with.

You have already canceled an expedition to Pakistan in 2014 because of the explosive political situation. Do you go there again with a queasy feeling?

Unfortunately, you cannot travel in Pakistan like you did 20 years ago. I have been able to get to know Pakistan at a time when the division did not exist between the Western world and the Muslim, Arab world. At that time you could move freely in this country. If you are traveling across the countryside today, you can never be sure that there will not be any terrorist attacks, especially against tourists. That’s why there is no more tourism in Pakistan. The people who still travel to the country are exclusively mountaineers who have a very specific goal. When we go there, we are really undercover on the road, which means we are not visible.

Royal Robbins (1935-2017)

One of the great pioneers in rock climbing has gone: Royal Robbins died yesterday in Modesto, California after a long illness at the age of 82 years. “My father faced challenges in his climbing, his writing, his business, his role as a father and husband, and later in life in his debilitating illness,” said his daughter Tamara Robbins. “Through it all, he rose to the occasion, taking the challenges on with grace and humility. For that, he’s my hero.” In the late 1950s and 1960s, Robbins had set standards in bigwall climbing.

Legendary routes

Robbins in the “Salathé” in 1961

Robbins opened numerous routes on the granite walls of the Yosemite National Park, among others, along with Tom Frost and Chuck Pratt, the legendary 1,000-meter-high “Salathé Wall” on El Capitan, which was then considered to be the most difficult rock climbing route through a big wall. Robbins fought for a clean climbing style. In 1995, Alexander Huber, the younger of the Huber brothers, managed the first red-point ascent of the route, means free and lead climbing, in a single push. The “American Direct” on the west side of the Petit Dru in the Mont Blanc region, which Robbins opened in 1962 with Gary Hemming, is nothing more than history. After several rockfalls, the legendary original route no longer exists in the upper part.

Hunger for adventure

In the 1970s, Robbins increasingly suffered from arthritis. He then turned to extreme kayaking. Here, too, he managed numerous first descends. “I love it very much, and it is very rewarding, but I am first, last, and always a climber,” Robbins once said. “I will climb until I drop, and it would be the last thing I would give up.” Later, Robbins also led a very successful company for outdoor textiles bearing his name. In the heart, however, the entrepreneur always remained an adventurer: “We need adventure. It’s in our blood. It will not go away,” wrote Robbins. “The mountains will continue to call because they uniquely fulfill our need for communion with nature, as well as our hunger for adventure.”

Adam Ondra cheered after his success

What a hotshot! The 23-year-old Czech Adam Ondra succeeded his free climb through the mostly vertical, partly overhanging “Dawn Wall” in the granite of El Capitan within only eight days. It was the only second free ascent of the rock route, which is regarded as the most difficult in the world. At the beginning of 2015, the Americans Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson had “freed” the “Dawn Wall” after 19 days in the approximately 900-meter-high wall, a milestone of climbing history. They had been preparing for it for more than seven years. Ondra spent just two and a half weeks on El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. Kevin Jorgeson finds the success of the young Czech “totally badass”, as he wrote to the magazine “Rock and Ice”: “For Tommy and I, the question was whether it was even possible. We left lots of room to improve the style and Adam did just that! Super impressive that he was able to adapt to the Dawn Wall’s unique style and sort out so many complex sequences so quickly.” The German climbing scene is also thrilled.

“As if Bolt had won the marathon”

Climbing also in the night

Alexander Huber, aged 47, the younger of the Huber brothers, writes to me, that Ondra’s performance “equates to his ability: masterly, brilliant”. Alexander’s older brother values Adam’s success in a similar way. “This is the statement of the new generation per se,” tells me Thomas Huber (who, by the way, celebrated his 50th birthday on Friday last week): “For me it is the greatest achievement in climbing of our times. Now the bar is high!” Stefan Glowacz is also blown away. “I’ve been climbing for more than 40 years, but this performance is simply unbelievable,” writes the 51-year-old on Facebook. “It is amazing to see how the young generation catapult climbing into ever new dimensions that were hardly thought possible hitherto.” Ondra’s performance is “a kind of fusion of passion, obsession and extraordinary ability, but above all, an unprecedented mental performance,” says Glowacz, pointing out that it was Adam Ondra’s first big wall experience: “Somewhere I read this comparison: It is as if Usain Bolt had won the marathon race too.”

“Dawn Wall” within in 24 hours?

For years already, experts believe Adam Ondra to be the world’s best sports climber. During his climb of the “Dawn Wall” on El Capitan, he was accompanied by his countryman Pavel Blazek and the Austrian photographer Heinz Zak. Ondra led all 32 pitches ofthe route. “The first two days I was as nervous as a cat,” Adam said in an interview with the Czech climbing website emontana. In his words climbing the two key pitches (No. 14 and 15) was “like holding razor blades. But apart from them there are the pitches which I consider to belong among the best ones I have ever climbed.” It is quite possible that Ondra will soon be back on the route. “I would love to climb it a lot faster than this time”, says Adam, putting the bar high: “I think climbing ‘Dawn Wall’ in 24 hours is a nice challenge. It won´t be my ambition for the next year, that´s what I am sure of. I would like to take a mental rest for a few seasons but it would be interesting as a dream for life.” As absurd as this dream may sound, this hotshot could really do it.

Alexander Huber had already visited East Greenland last year, but in another season. “You just cannot imagine in arctic winter that everything is completely free of snow in summer. This shows quite clearly the effect of climate change”, tells me the 47-year-old, the younger of the two Huber brothers. “It’s very unusual that the zero-degree line in Greenland is permanently at a height of 2500 to 3000 meters.”

Attractive alternative destination

Ritterknecht

Huber and Co. re-planned without further ado and decided upon an attempt on the East Pillar of the 2020-meter-high Ritterknecht, which many climbers know under the Danish name Rytterknægten. The distinctive mountain in the so-called “Schweizerland” (Swiss land) was first climbed in 1938 by an expedition of the “Academic Alpine Club Zurich”. The group led by climber André Roch had scaled more than a dozen peaks in East Greenland for the first time. Alexander had picked up the East Pillar as a possible goal last year. “That was part of the motivation to start the journey. A 1000-meter-high pillar with an impressive massive shape. Of course, it’s an attractive goal for an alpinist to climb such a pillar.” Huber found out that apparently no one had climbed it so far. “We made a first ascent of this pillar, which was a great thing.”

Made what was possible

Successful team: Schneider, Huber, Zenz, Walder (f.l.t.r.)

Within 24 hours the quartet climbed via the pillar to the summit and back to their camp on the glacier. It was “a powerful ascent,” Mario Walder wrote in his expedition report. The climbers called their new route “Carpe diem”, what literally means “Pluck the day”. The motto also applies to the expedition, says Alexander Huber: “We have used and enjoyed our chances. We have just done what was possible and accepted it contendedly.” The climbers were on the way for three weeks. The special attraction of an expedition to the Arctic lies in the “absolute remoteness,” says Alexander. “An Inuit has led us to the end of the fjord. And from that moment we were the only people who were traveling in this mountainous region.”

Vulnerable

Immediately prior to departure from Iceland to Greenland Alexander Huber was informed about the 16-meter fall of his brother Thomas from a rock face in the Berchtesgaden region. “For me this was quite a dramatic moment, because I did not know whether I should set off or not. Before I flew, I wanted to know that he was alright.” Although Thomas – as reported – got off lightly, Alexander was shocked.: “Things like that bring to your mind how vulnerable you are as a human.”

P.S. Alexander Huber has just returned from the rocky mountain massif Picos de Europa in northern Spain. There he and his German climbing partner Fabian Buhl succeeded in free climbing the classic route “Suenos de invierno” (Winter Dreams) on the 2518-meter-high Naranjo de Bulnes for the first time – within nine hours. The Spanish climbers who had done the first ascent of the route in winter 1983 had spent a total of 69 days in the wall.

Thomas Huber

“Contrary to all the reports: I am okay,” Thomas Huber writes on Facebook. “I had 1000 guardian angels.” According to the website bgland24.de, the 49-year-old German top climber fell 20 meters deep from a rock wall on the Brendlberg in the Berchtesgaden region in Bavaria, when he was preparing for filming on Tuesday. Thomas meanwhile said it was a 12-meter-fall. He had opened a new route in the wall in late May. The climber was taken to the hospital of the town of Traunstein. Thomas is said to have suffered a fracture of the skull in the fall. Reportedly he was immediately operated for a blood clot.

Latok I climb has to be postponed

The rock face on the Brendlberg

Thomas had actually planned to fly to Pakistan in August along with Toni Gutsch and Sebastian Brutscher. Their goal: the completion of the route via the North Ridge of the 7,145-meter-high Latok I in the Karakoram. Since the legendary first attempt in 1978 by the Americans Jeff and George Henry Lowe, Michael Kennedy and Jim Donini, who were forced back by a storm about 150 meters below the summit, more than 20 attempts to master the route have failed. In June Thomas had visited these climbing pioneers in the United States.

This plan of the older of the two Huber brothers (Alexander is just on expedition in Greenland) has to be buried in the files again for a while. Now it is important that he will recover completely. Thomas, get well soon, I’ll keep my fingers crossed that you get quickly back on your feet!

Alexander Huber in Innsbruck

The Huber brothers will continue to go on joint expeditions, but probably not to Latok I. Whereas Thomas Huber raved about the still unclimbed North Face of the 7,145-meter-high granite mountain in the Karakoram when I met him three weeks ago, his younger brother Alexander seems to have definitely written off the project due to their experiences last summer. I talked to the 46-year-old climber at the Alpine Trade Fair in Innsbruck last week.

Alexander, on Latok III, during your acclimatization for climbing the North Face of Latok I, you were are almost blown out of the wall by the blast wave of an ice avalanche. Your brother told me that never before it had been so close. Have you felt like he did?

It was definitely close. We had noticed the serac and therefore placed our camp far away from it. We were lucky that we had dug out a small platform to position the tents perfectly. The small snow edge of this platform has saved our lives. Otherwise we would have been blown away. In this respect, our risk management worked. But it was much, much closer than I ever imagined. And that’s shocking.

Did this extreme experience break your morale to tackle your original goal, the North Face of Latok I?

Yes, it broke our morale. But even if the serac had not collapsed, we would have noticed the bad conditions on the mountain the next day. We would have realized that it was impossible to climb further up and that we shouldn’t be there under such conditions and at such high temperatures.

Alex, Mario and Dani (l. to r.) at the summit of Panmah Kangri

What is your feeling when you remember this expedition?

I can accept it very well because it even was as it was. Mario (Walder), Dani (Arnold) and I climbed a small six-thousander at the end. In respect of mountain sports, that was not relevant at all because it was one dimension of difficulty lower than Latok I. But for me, it was a wonderful experience that I will always associate with this trip to Pakistan. To my mind, the expedition has got a name now: first ascent of Panmah Kangri, 6,046 meters, a beautiful free-standing mountain. Even though it is not extreme, we just have to be satisfied that finally everything turned out all right. We couldn’t achieve more than we did. If you have a problem dealing with this, you shouldn’t go to the mountains. We are doing an outdoor sport where the conditions decide whether we can climb or not. If you don’t want this, you have to look for another sport.

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Last year, you had already planned to go to Latok I but then called off your expedition due to the uncertain political situation in Pakistan. How did you experience the country this time?

In Baltistan, it was peaceful. In my view, there was no danger in the mountains. You can’t compare the situation there with this on Nanga Parbat. Whereas Nanga Parbat is easily accessible, the mountains of the Karakoram are remote and in addition located in a Shiite region where the Taliban are usually not as strong. I felt very safe in Baltistan. But if it had been possible, I would have avoided traveling on Karakorum Highway. Terrorism is a cold danger that you don’t sense. It only turns to be hot when it happens. You are traveling there in a state of continuing uncertainty. We didn’t notice any danger on Karakorum Highway, we saw nothing. But that doesn’t mean that it is really safe.

Alexander (r.) and Thomas – in the Karakoram last summer

Are you still fired up for the North Face of Latok I?

It is clear to me: The North Face of Latok I is so incalculably dangerous that I feel no more motivation to tackle it. I’m looking for other difficult goals without this incalculable risk.

Do you speak as a family father?

No, that has nothing to do with the fact that I have a family. I do love my life and want to experience it. Also in the past, I back-pedaled when I thought that the goals were too dangerous.

It’s a sign of strength to be able to do so.

I mean, this is absolutely necessary. Gamblers have never got far in the mountains. It is still possible to become well-known very quickly with relatively little skills but high willingness to take risks. But there are enough examples to prove that it doesn’t go well for a long time.

Thomas Huber on Choktoi Glacier, behind him the North Face of Latok I (l.) and Ogre (r.)

It was a hot, but from the climbers’ perspective a meager summer in the Karakoram: Most expeditions left Pakistan without summit successes. The German “Huberbuam” Thomas and Alexander, the Swiss Dani Arnold and the Austrian Mario Walder also returned empty-handed, but alive and “in one piece” – which was not a matter of course considering their experiences at the Latok group. Thomas, aged 48, the elder of the Huber brothers, told me the story.

Thomas, this summer you actually wanted to tackle the North Face of the 7,145-meter-high Latok I which has not yet been climbed. This did not happen. Why?

We have seen the North Face only from afar. We realized pretty soon that is was impossible to climb the wall under these conditions. It would have been possible to tackle the North Ridge. But this did not happen too, because another mountain battered us so that we lost our motivation and courage to push ourselves to the absolute limit again.

Latok III (arrow shows the pillar and the huge serac above)

Which mountain did batter you this way?

It started with the fact that there was a lot of snow in the Karakoram. We had about one and a half meters fresh snow in our Base Camp. At the same time it was very, very warm. This led to wet snow avalanches. We tried in vain to climb a 6000-meter-high mountain that we had chosen to acclimatize. We then switched to Latok III to acclimatize for Latok I. Latok III is nearly 7,000 meters high. We wanted to take a safe route via the south pillar. At night in Camp 1 at 5600 meters, we were surprised by an ice avalanche. Although it hit the ground 500 meters from our tents, the blast wave literally blew us in our tents from our campground. We stopped just before the abyss. We all were ashen-faced. Dani Arnold, who has already experienced a lot, said that never before in his life it had been so close. We then digged our tents one meter deep into the snow and fixed them. During the night, three more ice avalanches came down from the serac. In the morning, we saw the huge avalanche cone below our tents and only said: “We descend. Let’s get out of here!” We lost a backpack with crampons and all the other staff. So we were also forced to continue our descent.

Nevertheless you have already experienced many dangerous situations such as this. Why did this impress you so much?

We have already experienced a lot, but we’ve never before been so much in the hands of fate. That was a new experience in our lives as climbers.

On the left, the serac from where the ice avalanches came down

Did all four climbers feel like this?

Yes. We sat in the Base Camp and talked about what had happened. We were glad that we had survived. But then there were also discussions. As the temperatures were not decreasing but the weather was incredible good, I said: “We should dig ice caves for our tents and always climb at night. Then we might have a chance to climb Latok III.” But Alexander, Dani and Mario opposed. It was clear that I had to accept the team’s decision.

Then we tried a second time to climb the mountain that we had chosen for acclimatizing before, but failed again, because it was just too hot. I proposed to bring the material down and move to the North Ridge of Latok I because I thought it was safer. This was rejected again. At the end the weather forecast was so bad that we finished our expedition two weeks earlier than initially scheduled. I climbed alone to Camp 1 on Latok III to recover our material. Alexander, Dani and Mario could warm their climbing hearts with a summit. At the third attempt they were able to scale the 6000-meter-high mountain that was probably still unclimbed. They named it Panmah Kangri.

Latok I

Had you already written off Latok I when you experienced the ice avalanche on Latok III?

We realized at a very early stage early that it was impossible to climb the North Face of Latok I. We also talked to the Slovenians with Luka (Lindic – The Slovenians also quit their project to climb the wall). They called it the “Suicide Line”. It would have been like joining a death squad to climb one the two possible lines through the wall. We are climbers because we love life and not because we want to be dead heroes. In my opinion, the North Ridge would have been feasible because it is later illuminated by the sun. But there was a 3: 1 team decision against me. I was a bit unhappy, but in the end also grateful and happy that we survived. We have returned as friends, and that was okay.

Have you now given up the project Latok I North Face?

In this style, definitely. But you can not forget this wall. If you’ve ever stood below it, you, as a climber, are thinking: How can I make the impossible possible? I have some ideas about it, but I still have to think about it a bit longer. Never say never! Maybe I will go back there again.

Survived!

Alexander has three children, you too. Does that hold you back in extreme situations like now on Latok III?

I’m a family man for already a long time, so I can not say that it has the effect to hold me back generally. I know this situation for 16 years. I don’t think about my family any more when everything is going well on the mountain. But they are in my mind again when the danger lies directly in front of me. I definitely believe that in this case I decide, because of my children, with a more positive approach to life, rather than simply saying: “Go on! It’ll be all right!” I think, I start saying no earlier now. But if something happens like on Latok III, I can assess this very rationally afterwards. Seracs can just collapse. Whenever you go to the mountains or anywhere else, life itself is life-threatening. But I think, if you are really aware of the danger, you can handle even extreme situations in a safe way.

The entire team

Last year, you cancelled your Latok I expedition shortly before departure – due to the uncertain situation in Pakistan. How did you experience the country this time?

I have experienced Pakistan in a very nice way, not to say in a completely unspectacular way. Sure, you have to get used to the armed police. On every street corner, someone is standing with a Kalashnikov. But we were always safe, even driving twice over the Karakorum Highway. Actually, I can only recommend to anyone who has a good travel agency: Go to Pakistan! It’s an incredibly beautiful travel destination, especially in the Karakoram. For me it’s one of the most beautiful countries in the world. Unfortunately, the media often wrongly call Pakistan a terrorist country. In the meantime there is terror all over the world. You have to act correctly, choose the right place and the right route. Then you can travel in Pakistan in very safe way.

Without a queasy feeling?

I hadn’t this feeling this time. And I’m sure that I won’t have it the next time. I think the Pakistani military does a very good job and has the situation more or less under control.

Thomas and Alexander Huber, Dani Arnold, their Pakistani companion Rasool, Mario Walder, Seppi Dabringer (from right)

The eternal attraction of Latok I. There is hardly another seven-thousander that has been such a hard nut to crack for top climbers from all over the world for the past decades. The first ascent of the highest of the four Latok summits was made 36 years ago. The Japanese Tsuneo Shigehiro, Sin’e Matsumi and Yu Watanabe succeeded on 19 July 1979. They had climbed up from the south via a buttress to the east East Ridge and from there to the highest point. More famous because notorious are the still unconquered North Ridge – and the also unclimbed North Face. This summer, the “Huberbuam”, the German brothers Alexander and Thomas Huber, will try to master this big wall.

Only postponed

Already last year, the Huber brothers had wanted to tackle the North Face of Latok I. “The project has already been tried many times by really good climbers. But so far, the wall has resisted vehemently”, Alexander told me then. “We need a lot of luck to be successful. But my goodness, if you do not try you can not make it.” Just before the scheduled departure the climbers called off the expedition due to the uncertain situation in Pakistan. Not canceled, only postponed.

Strong team

The North Face of Latok I

Yesterday the team of the Huber brothers left Skardu in Baltistan heading for Latok I, where they are expected to arrive today or tomorrow. The team includes the Austrian cameraman Seppi Dabringer and two more climbers: the 37-year-old Mario Walder from Austria and the 31-year-old Dani Arnold from Switzerland. Mario has already been on expedition with the Huber brothers several times. In 2009 they succeeded in free climbing the legendary route “Eternal Flame” on the 6251-meter-high Nameless Tower in the Karakoram, doing it for the first time redpoint, means in one push without fall. Dani has recently made headlines in particular with his speed records on Matterhorn and Eiger in Switzerland. In 2013 he made the third winter ascent of the legendary 3128-meter-high Cerro Torre in Patagonia, along with Thomas Huber (and Stephan Siegrist and Matias Villavicencio). Thus it is really a strong team that will try to climb the North Face of Latok I.

Their next coup on Choktoi Glacier?

The 48-year-old Thomas and the 46-year-old Alexander Huber have pitched their tents on the Choktoi Glacier several times during their long climbing career. So in 1997, when they succeeded in first climbing the 2.000-meter-high West Face of Latok II (along with their compatriot Toni Gutsch and the American Conrad Anker) – a milestone in big wall climbing. In 2001, Thomas (and the Swiss Urs Stoecker and Iwan Wolf) made the second ascent of the extremely challenging 7285-meter-high Ogre, a neighboring peak of the Latoks. All Ogre expeditions before had failed since the first ascent by the British climbing legends Chris Bonington and Doug Scott in 1977. Maybe the next coup of the “Huberbuam” in this area will follow this summer: on the North Face of Latok I.

They did it: Caldwell (l.) and Jorgeson

A milestone in the granite of El Capitan in Yosemite! After 19 days the US climbers Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson reached the top of the extremely difficult, about 900-meter-high Dawn Wall after having climbed it free for the first time. They made climbing history. “I hope it inspires people to find their own Dawn Wall, if you will. We’ve been working on this thing a long time, slowly and surely”, 30-year-old Jorgesan said according to the New York Times. “I think everyone has their own secret Dawn Wall to complete one day, and maybe they can put this project in their own context.” As reported, it had taken Kevin seven days alone to master the extremely difficult 15th of 32 pitches of the route. “I think the larger audience’s conception is that we’re thrill seekers out there for an adrenaline rush. We really aren’t at all. It’s about spending our lives in these beautiful places and forming these incredible bonds”, 36-year-old Caldwell said. “For me, I love to dream big, and I love to find ways to be a bit of an explorer.” Tommy is climbing with only nine full fingers. In 2001 while working with a table saw, he accidentally cut off a part of his left index finger.

Alexander Huber: “Great performance!”

Alexander Huber

“The press tends to use terms like ‘the climb of the century’”, the German top climber Alexander Huber points out, whom I asked to assess the performance of the two US climbers in the Dawn Wall. “Of course we can not know what else will happen in the remaining 85 years of the century. So, if you look at it objectively, the term is exaggerated.” Nevertheless, the younger of the two Huber brothers is delighted. “The route is definitely the most difficult alpine rock climbing route in the world. In this regard, all I can say is: Hats off! Great performance!”, says the 46-year-old.

In 1970, the legendary Warren Harding and Dean Caldwell (no relation to Tommy) had opened the route via the Dawn Wall in 27 days. They used more than 300 bolts, what led to some criticism in the climbing community at that time.

Alexander (r.) and Thomas Huber

The Huber brothers have cancelled their planned expedition to Latok I in Pakistan – “because of the political situation in Pakistan”, Alexander and Thomas Huber write on Facebook.  “Of course the dream of this giant wall is still in our mind and we hope next year we will get another chance.” Actually the German climbers and their team comrades Dani Arnold and Mario Walder had their bags packed to start to Pakistan. “But the risk was no more calculable”, says Alexander when I call him. “First the offensive of the Taliban, now the offensive of the Pakistan army in North Waziristan. There will certainly be more terrorist attacks.”

Searching for a new goal

The Huber brothers and their friends wanted to try an ascent via the unclimbed North Face of the 7125-meter-high Latok I in the north of Pakistan. They also heard that there were hardly any flights to avoid driving over the Karakorum Highway, Alexander says. “All in all, it’s simply too dangerous. I have no more fun if I can’t assess the degree of risk.” And what are they going to do now after cancelling their expedition to Pakistan? “Now we have to sort out things and search for a new goal … and very soon we will be on the ‘road of adventure’ again. We let you know”, the Huber brothers write on Facebook.