Alex Huber
The 36 year old bavarian mountain guide graduated as a physist back in 1997. But instead of trying to get a job he was looking for different goals, in the mountains.
Climbing, in all its varieties, all over the world is his passion. Combining will-power and supreme physical fitness he has fulfilled many of his climbing dreams: Climbing superhard sport routes up to the grade 9a, free climbing alpine face like ‘Bellavista’, 8c, in the Dolomites, free ascents on the big walls of El Capitan, the first ascent of the west face of Latok II in the Karakoram, as well as his breathtaking free solo ascent of the Brandler Hasse rout in the Italian Dolomites are the most notable achievment of his climbing career.
Alex offers two slide and film presentations, with breathtaking photos and video illustrating the fascinating world of climbing in all its varieties. Freeclimbing, Speedclimbing, Free Soloing, High Altitude Climbing.... modern alpinism gets more and more colourful, but also more and more challenging.
Opera Vertical
Speed: In 2003, the brothers Alex and Thomas Huber put their eyes on a free ascent of the 'Zodiac’, one of the mega classic aid climbs on El Capitan in Yosemite and in doing so, also found another challenge on that route: to climb it as fast as possible. After the first free ascent they returned the following spring and finally climbed the route in an unbelievable 1hr 51.34seconds… the fastest ever ascent on any route on El Capitan.
Free Solo: Climbing without any kind of protection whatsoever – no rope, no harness, nothing but climbing shoes and a chalk bag. This is an activity for those with a cool and precise knowledge of their own ability. What is possible? How far does it go? Up to which grade is it possible to control the moves, so that you could climb it without protection? In April 2004, Alex free solo'd ‘Kommunist’ in Austria. The hardest route (F8b+) solo'd up to that date, with the crux being a long way from the the ground…
Highline Slacklining: is very popular in Yosemite Valley and, even though it is not directly related to climbing, most of its most avid followers are climbers. In 2004 Alex was successful to import this breathtaking sport to the Alps and made an impressive, 16 meters long highline in an extremely exposed position…
India: A free ascent of the route 'Capsico’ on the North Buttress of Arwa Spire in the Garwhal Himalaya was the objective for Alex and Thomas Huber. How so often, the dreams are different to reality. Instead of hard granite they found a completely ice clustered face and they had to change their tactics…
Vertical Horizon
Bellavista: After the first ascent in the winter of 2000, the roof of Bellavista became Alex's freeclimbing dream. The route, tackling the overhanging 80 metre roof of Cima Ovest Di Lavaredo in the Dolomites, is steep difficult and wild. Climbing at F8c, akin to a sport route, but without the bolts!
Sportclimbing: Hard training, an asthetic lifestyle and a relaxed atmosphere form the basis for hard sports climbing. Routes like 'Adrenaline', 8c+ are the steps on the long path to hard Alpine routes
El Corazon: The Heart - the famous formation on El Capitan's south west face. Following this prominent line Alex opens his now 5th free climb on this big wall. Deep, tight chimneys, never ending corners, giant roofs, featureless slabs and tiny cracks - this climb offers a bit of everything.
Patagonia: The wild and windy land at the very southern tip of Argentina offers some of the most fascinating mountains in the world. The difficult climbing combined with near permanent bad weather and strong winds make ascents of the asthetic summits of Cerro Torre and Fitz Roy a real challenge.
Free Solo: Climbing without any form of protection at all - no harness, no rope - is without doubt the most committing form of alpinism. Safety is generated only by the climbers' skills and mental strength. In August 2002 Alex free solo'd the Direttissima on the 500 metre high north face of Cime Grande in the Dolomites.