BURSTLegendary German climber Alex Huber, 55, has made the first ascent of Mythos, 5.14c, at Barmsteine in the Berchtesgadener Alps. The pitch is a monster rope-stretcher coming in at 76 metres tall.
Earlier this year, Huber made the first ascent of a multi-pitch 5.13+ called Uberleben. Before that, he was told that he had a brain tumor, which was removed and benign. Planet Mountain talked to Huber about his year, read the interview here.
“With the crux after 60 meters! It’s a real mind game,” Huber said. “There’s a long section, about 25m high, where there is no single good hold or foothold. A continuous series of really tiny crimps that lead to the crux, a really thin sequence that’s extremely technical. Super. Power won’t get you anywhere here, what you need is precision and good footwork on these dodgy moves.”
In 2002, Alex Huber free-soloed the classic 18-pitch Hasse-Brandler on Cima Grande in the Dolomites – watch below. At the time, it was one of the boldest free-solos in the range, with 500 metres of steep climbing up to 5.12a. Then in April 2004, Huber made history by free-soloing Kommunist 5.14a – watch below. After his climb, he said, “The long, reachy moves demand powerful climbing and don’t give me any chance to think about what I am doing,” He called his 5.14 free-solo a “search for my limits” and said he found them.
Huber on Cima Grande
Huber on Kommunist
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