{{short description|German rock climber}} {{other| Alexander Huber (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}} {{Infobox climber | image = Alexander Huber 2025 BHO-2320.jpg | caption = Huber in 2025 | spouse = Kristina Huber | name = Alexander Huber | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1968|12|30|df=y}} | birth_place = Trostberg, Bavaria, West Germany | relatives = Thomas Huber (brother) | education = LMU Munich (Physics) | occupation = Theoretical physicist, professional rock climber, and mountain guide | height = 176 cm | weight = 62 kg (sport climbing) | typeofclimber = {{flatlist| * Sport climbing * Traditional climbing * Free solo climbing * Big wall climbing}} | highestgrade = | highestredpoint = {{Climbing grade|9a+}} | highestonsight = {{Climbing grade|7c+}} | highestfreesolo = {{Climbing grade|8b+}} | knownfor = {{flatlist| * First to redpoint at grade {{Climbing grade|9a+}}, second to redpoint at {{climbing grade|9a}} * First to redpoint a big wall at grade {{Climbing grade|8a}}, and at grade {{Climbing grade|8c}} * First to free solo {{Climbing grade|8b+}}, second to free solo {{climbing grade|8b}} * First to free solo a big wall at grade {{Climbing grade|7a+}} * First individual free ascent of the ''Salathé Wall'' (1995) * First free solo of the ''Brandler-Hasse Direttissima'' (2002)}} | firstascents = {{ubl|''Om'' (9a/5.14d, 1992) | ''Weisse Rose'' (9a/5.14d, 1994) | ''Open Air'' (9a+/5.15a, 1996) | ''Tsering Mosong'' (VII 5.10c A3, west face Latok II, 1997) | ''El Nino'' (5.13c/A0, 1998)| ''Freerider'' (5.12d, 1998) | ''{{ill|Bellavista (climb)|lt=Bellavista|it|Bellavista (arrampicata)}}'' (8c, 2001) | ''Zodiac'' (5.13d, 2003) | ''{{ill|Voie Petit|it}}'' (8b, 2005) |''{{ill|Pan Aroma|it}}'' (8c, 2007) | ''Eternal Flame'' (5.13a, 2009)}} | namedroutes = | majorascents = | website = {{URL|http://www.huberbuam.de}} | updated = 17 July 2023 }} '''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 {{climbing grade|9a}} graded route by ascending ''Om'' in 1992, and has come to be known as the first-ever person to redpoint a {{climbing grade|9a+}} 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 {{climbing grade|8a}} graded big wall in history. His 2001 ascent of ''{{ill|Bellavista (climb)|lt=Bellavista|it|Bellavista (arrampicata)}}'' in the Dolomites was the first-ever redpoint of an {{climbing grade|8c}} 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 {{climbing grade|7a+}} big wall in history, the 580-metre ''Brandler-Hasse Direttissima'' in the Dolomites. In 2003, he free soloed the second-ever grade {{climbing grade|8b}} sport-climbing route with ''Der Opportunist'' in Austria, and in 2004, he became the first-ever person to free solo an {{climbing grade|8b+}} 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.<ref name=bio>{{cite book | first=Alexander | last=Huber | title=The Mountain Within (Der Berg in mir) | publisher=Skyhorse Publishing | date= 2010 | isbn=978-1-60239-988-4 | edition=English}}</ref>
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).<ref name=bio/>
==Climbing career==
===Sport climbing===
Huber came to prominence as a sport climber in the early 1990s, at a time when Wolfgang Gullich was considered the world's strongest sport climber. Huber attributes the initial conservative {{climbing grade|8c+}} grading of Gullich's famous 1991 route, ''Action Directe'', which persisted for many years until it was eventually shown to be a "hard 9a", for suppressing the grades of Huber's own routes such as ''Om'', ''Weisse Rose'', and ''La Rambla''.<ref name=PM10/> In 2008, when Adam Ondra made the first repeat of Huber's 1996 route ''Open Air'' and graded it {{climbing grade|9a+}}, that the climbing media began to realize that Huber was probably the first-ever person to climb at that grade, several years before Chris Sharma's groundbreaking ascent of ''Realization'' in 2001.<ref name=PM13/><ref name=CM/> Huber felt that ''Open Air'' was his limit, and he decided to focus on big wall climbing.<ref name=PM10/><ref>{{cite web | magazine=Alpin | date=January 2019 | accessdate=18 July 2023 | title="I had a lot of sun": Alexander Huber turns 50! | url=https://www.alpin.de/home/news/28929/artikel_ich_hatte_sehr_viel_sonne_alexander_huber_wird_50.html}}</ref>
===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.<ref name=UKC2>{{cite web | website=UKClimbing | url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/alex_huber-1899 | date=14 June 2009 | accessdate=18 July 2023 | first=Jack | last=Geldard | title=Alex Huber}}</ref><ref name=PM90>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/alpinism/eternal-flame-nameless-tower-climbing-history-and-alexander-huber-interview.html | date=13 October 2009 | accessdate=18 July 2023 | first=Nicholas | last=Hobley| title=Eternal Flame, Nameless Tower - climbing history and Alexander Huber interview}}</ref> 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 {{climbing grade|8a}}.<ref name=PMFreerider/><ref name=BMC>{{cite web | website=British Mountaineering Council | url=https://www.thebmc.co.uk/yosemite-land-of-freedom | title=Yosemite - Land of freedom | first=Ken | last=Wilson | date=27 August 2003 | accessdate=18 July 2023 | author-link=Ken Wilson (mountaineering writer)}}</ref> 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).<ref name=UKC2/> Huber's most famous Yosemite route was his easiest, his 1998 ascent of ''Freerider'' (5.12d/5.13a), a route which is only second in popularity to ''The Nose''.<ref name=PMFreerider/><ref name=BMC/> The Huber brothers set several Yosemite speed records including a speed record for ''The Nose'' of 2:45.45, in 2007.<ref name=PMFreerider/>
In 2001, Huber made the first free ascent of ''{{ill|Bellavista (climb)|lt=Bellavista|it|Bellavista (arrampicata)}}'' through the huge roofs of the north face of Cima Ovest in the Dolomites (the birthplace of big wall climbing), which was the world's first-ever big wall route at the grade {{climbing grade|8c}}.<ref name=PM45/> In 2005, Huber freed the famous ''{{ill|Voie Petit|it}}'', the hardest big wall route in the French Alps at the time at {{climbing grade|8b}},<ref name=ALP7/> and in 2007, he returned to the Cima Ovest to free the route ''{{ill|Pan Aroma|it}}'', also at {{climbing grade|8c}}.<ref name=PM65/><ref name=CL8/> During this period, Huber also made important big wall ascents in the Karakoram (''Tsering Mosong'' on Latok II, 1997),<ref name=AAJ20/> in Patagonia (''Golden Eagle'' in 2006 and ''El Bastardo'' in 2008, on Fitz Roy),<ref name=ALP40/><ref name=PM40/><ref name=ALP50/> in Antarctica (''Sound of Silence'' on Ulvetanna Peak, 2008),<ref name=PM3/><ref name=CL7/> and on Baffin Island (''Bavarian Direct'' on Mount Asgard, 2012).<ref name=AAJ10/> In 2009, Huber and his brother Thomas freed the famous high-altitude big wall route, ''Eternal Flame'' (5.13a), on the Nameless Tower in Pakistan.<ref name=PM75/><ref name=ALP75/>
===Free solo climbing===
Huber has made some of the most important free solo climbing ascents in history.<ref name=CFS/><ref name=Alpinist/> In 2002, Huber free soloed at 17-pitches of the 580-metre ''Brandler-Hasse Direttissima'' (5.12a) on the Cima Grande in the Dolomites, which was the first-ever free solo of a {{climbing grade |7a+}} graded big wall route in history.<ref name=Alpinist/><ref name=GR40/> In 2003, he free soloed the sport climbing route, ''Der Opportunist'' in Austria, which was only the second-ever free solo of an {{climbing grade|8b}} graded route in history.<ref name=PMEVOL/><ref name=CFS/><ref name=CM2/> In 2004, Huber free soloed ''Kommunist'' in Austria, which was the first-ever free solo of an {{climbing grade|8b+}} graded route in history;<ref name=PMEVOL/><ref name=CFS/><ref name=Alpinist/> Huber called this solo a "search for my limits".<ref name=Alpinist/><ref name=CM2/> Huber said that after his 2008 free solo of the multi-pitch 280-metre route ''Locker Vom Hocker'' {{climbing grade|7a+}}, he largely stopped doing free solo climbs at very extreme grades saying: "You mustn't forget that free soloing is very, very risky indeed. Even for the best climbers who seemingly have everything under control".<ref name=Alpinist/><ref name=PMFreerider/>
==Notable climbs==
===Sport climbing===
Huber was considered one of the world's best sport climbers.<ref name=PM10>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/alexander-huber-interview.html | title=Alexander Huber interview |first=Nicholas | last=Hobley | date=30 October 2008 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref>
* 1991 – ''Shogun'' {{climbing grade|8c}}, Karlstein, Bavaria, first ascent, and Huber's first grade {{climbing grade|8c}}.<ref name=PM13>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/alexander-huber-om-and-adam-ondra.html | title=Alexander Huber, Om and Adam Ondra | date=19 June 2009 | accessdate=16 December 2022 | first=Nicholas | last=Hobley}}</ref> * 1992 – ''Om'' {{climbing grade|9a}}, Triangel, Bavaria, first ascent, and second-ever {{climbing grade|9a}} in history.<ref name=PM13/><ref name=PMEVOL>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain.com | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/the-evolution-of-free-climbing.html | title=The evolution of free climbing | date=23 December 2012 | first=Maurizio | last=Oviglia | access-date=4 January 2022}}</ref> * 1994 – ''Weisse Rose'' {{climbing grade|9a}}, Schleierwasserfall, Austria, first ascent.<ref name=PMEVOL/><ref name=PM13/> * 1994 – ''La Rambla'' (35-metre version) {{climbing grade|8c+}}, Siurana, Spain. first ascent; the route was extended to 40-metres and graded {{climbing grade|9a+}} in 2003; Huber maintains his original route was the same difficulty.<ref name=PM10/> * 1996 – ''Open Air'' {{climbing grade|9a+}}, Schleierwasserfall, Austria, first ascent; in 2008, Adam Ondra made the first repeat and proposed {{climbing grade|9a+}}, making ''Open Air'' the first 9a+ in history (several years before Chris Sharma's ''Realization'').<ref name=PMEVOL/><ref name=CM>{{cite magazine | url=https://www.climbing.com/news/groundbreaking-515-gets-second-ascent/ | title=Open Air: Groundbreaking 5.15 Gets Second Ascent | first=Dougald | last=McDonald | date=15 June 2012 | accessdate=22 December 2021 | magazine=Outside}}</ref><ref name=PM13/>
===Big wall climbing=== For a period in the late 1990s, Huber dominated big wall free climbing in Yosemite Valley, as well as in the Alps:<ref name=PMFreerider>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/el-capitan-freerider-alexander-huber-yosemite-masterpiece-celebrates-20th-anniversary.html | title=El Capitan Freerider: Alexander Huber Yosemite masterpiece celebrates 20th anniversary | date=5 October 2018 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref>
* 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).<ref name=PMFreerider/><ref name=BMC/><ref>{{cite journal | journal=American Alpine Journal | url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199606700/Freeing-the-Salath-The-Greatest-Rock-Climb-in-the-World | title=Freeing the Salathe, the greatest rock climb in the world | first=Alexander | last=Huber | volume=38 | issue=70 | accessdate=16 December 2022 | pages=69–70 | date=1996}}</ref> * 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''.<ref name=BMC/> In 2019, Sonnie Trotter avoided the down-abseil to create the ''Pineapple Express''.<ref>{{cite web | magazine=Climbing | url=https://www.climbing.com/places/pineapple-express-inside-the-first-ascent-of-an-all-free-el-capitan-5-13/ | first=Sonnie | last=Trotter | author-link=Sonnie Trotter | date=11 December 2019 | accessdate=16 December 2022 | title=Pineapple Express: Inside the First Ascent of an All-Free El Capitan 5.13}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/sonnie-trotter-frees-north-america-wall-variation-el-capitan.html | date=7 December 2018 | accessdate=16 December 2022 | title=Sonnie Trotter frees North America Wall variation on El Capitan}}</ref> * 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.<ref name=PMFreerider/> * 2000 – ''Golden Gate'' (5.13a, VI, 41-pitches), El Capitan, first free ascent; a combination of the ''Salathé Wall'' and ''Heart Route''.<ref>{{cite journal | journal=American Alpine Journal | url=https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200117200 | title=El Capitan: Golden Gate | date=2001 | first=Alexander | last=Huber | volume=43 | issue=75 | page=172}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | accessdate=16 December 2022 | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/golden-gate-the-huber-brothers-climb-el-capitan.html | title=Golden Gate, the Huber brothers free climb El Capitan | date=10 April 2001}}</ref> * 2001 – ''{{ill|Bellavista (climb)|lt=Bellavista|it|Bellavista (arrampicata)}}'' {{climbing grade|8c}} (10-pitches, 500-metres), on the Cima Ovest, Dolomites, Italy, first free ascent through the huge roof; first-ever big wall route at 8c;<ref name=PM45>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/bellavista-alexander-huber-climbs-8c-on-cima-ovest-di-lavaredo.html | title=Bellavista, Alexander Huber climbs 8c on Cima Ovest di Lavaredo | date=23 July 2001 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref> Huber later discovered subsequent climbers had "treated" some holds to soften grade.<ref>{{cite web | website=British Mountaineering Council | url=https://www.thebmc.co.uk/hubers-dolomite-routes-repeated | title=Huber's Dolomite routes repeated | date=21 July 2010 | accessdate=17 December 2022}}</ref> * 2001 – ''El Corazon'' (5.13b, 35-pitches), El Capitan, first free ascent; combination of ''Salathé Wall'', ''Albatross'', ''Son of Heart'' and ''Heart Route''.<ref>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | accessdate=16 December 2022 | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/alexander-huber-and-el-corazon.html | title=Alexander Huber finds and frees El Corazon on El Capitan | date=12 November 2001}}</ref> * 2003 – ''Free Zodiac'' (5.13d, VI, 16-pitches), El Capitan, first free ascent of the overhanging 1972 aid route;<ref>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | date=16 October 2003 | accessdate=16 December 2022 | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/alexander-and-thomas-huber-free-the-zodiac.html | title=Alexander and Thomas Huber free the Zodiac}}</ref> with the famous "Nipple pitch".<ref>{{cite web | magazine=Alpinist | url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web16f/newswire-zodiac-free | title=Zangerl and Larcher make the third free ascent of Zodiac on El Capitan | first=Derek | last=Franz | date=30 November 2016 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref> * 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).<ref>{{Cite web| date=15 June 2012 | url=http://www.climbing.com/news/hubers-smash-zodiac-record/|title=Zodiac Record|magazine=Climbing|first=Dougald |last=MacDonald| access-date=2 July 2013}}</ref> * 2005 – ''{{ill|Voie Petit|it}}'' {{climbing grade|8b}} (16-pitches, 450-metres), on Grand Capucin, Mont Blanc, first free ascent of famous 1997 {{ill|Arnaud Petit|fr}} route.<ref name=ALP7>{{Cite web|url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/ALP14/climbing-notes-huber|title=Grand Capucin, Voie Petit|magazine=Alpinist|first=Alexander | last=Huber|date=1 December 2005|access-date=2 July 2013}}</ref> * 2007 – ''{{ill|Pan Aroma|it}}'' {{climbing grade|8c}} (9-pitches, 450-metres), the Cima Ovest, first free ascent; starts per ''Bellavista'' but breaches {{interlanguage link|Gerhard Baur|lt=Bauer's|de|Gerhard Baur}} roof.<ref name=PM65>{{Cite web|url=http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=35748|title=Alexander Huber frees Pan Aroma 8c on Cima Ovest di Lavaredo, Dolomites|publisher=PlanetMountain|date=8 August 2007|access-date=2 July 2013}}</ref><ref name=CL8>{{cite web | magazine=Climbing | url=https://www.climbing.com/news/huber-climbs-dolomites-mega-roof/ | title=Huber Climbs Dolomites Mega-Roof | first=Dougald | last=McDonald | date=10 August 2007 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref> * 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.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=35856|title=The Nose speed record by Alexander and Thomas Huber|publisher=PlanetMountain|date=18 October 2007|access-date=2 July 2013 }}</ref>
* 2008 – ''Sansara'' (6-pitch, 200-metres, east face Grubhorn), and ''Feuertaufe'' (7-pitches, 250-metres, south face Sonnwand), FFAs at {{climbing grade|8b+}}.<ref name=Alpinist2/><ref name=Alpinist5/> * 2012 – ''Nirwana'' {{climbing grade|8c+}} (200-metres), Sonnwendwand, Austria, first free ascent of one of the hardest multi-pitch rock climbs in the world.<ref>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/alpinism/alexander-huber-sonnwand-nirwana-above-the-loferer-alm-in-austria.html | title=Alexander Huber, Sonnwand Nirwana above the Loferer Alm in Austria | date=4 April 2013 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | magazine=Desnivel | url=https://www.desnivel.com/english/fabian-buhl-nirwana-200-m-8c-plus-is-one-of-the-biggest-multipitch-challenges-of-the-world/ | date=20 November 2014 | accessdate=16 December 2022 | title=Fabian Buhl: "Nirwana (200 m, 8c+) is one of the biggest multi-pitch challenges of the world" | first=Isaac |last=Fernández | language=es | trans-title=es}}</ref>
===High-altitude climbing=== [[File:Huberbuam (2012).jpg|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:<ref name=PM90/>
* 1997 – ''Tsering Mosong'' (VII 5.10c A3, 26-pitches), on the 1,000-metre west face of Latok II, Karakoram (starts at 6,100-metres), first ascent with Thomas Huber, Conrad Anker and Toni Gutsch.<ref name=AAJ20>{{cite journal | last1 = Huber | first1 = Alexander | first2=Thomas|last2=Huber|author-link2 = Thomas Huber |first3=Conrad|last3=Anker|author-link3=Conrad Anker |first4=Toni |last4=Gutsch | title = The West Face of Latok II: ''El Cap on top of Denali'' | journal = American Alpine Journal | volume = 40 | issue = 72 | pages = 34–42 | publisher = American Alpine Club | location = New York | year = 1998 | isbn = 0-930410-78-5 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ju90XdsRB-AC&dq=Tsering+Mosong+huber&pg=PA34 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref> * 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.<ref name=PM10/><ref name=UKC1>{{cite web | magazine=UKClimbing | url=https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/alex_huber-1899 | title=Alex Huber Interview | first=Jack | last=Geldard | date=14 June 2009 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref> * 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.<ref name=ALP40>{{cite web | magazine=Alpinist | url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/ALP17/climbing-notes-huber | date=1 September 2006 | accessdate=16 December 2022 | title=Aguja Desmochada | issue=17 | first=Alexander | last=Huber}}</ref><ref name=PM40>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/alpinism/golden-eagle-first-free-ascent-in-patagonia.html | date=9 March 2011 | accessdate=16 December 2022 | title=Golden Eagle, first free ascent in Patagonia}}</ref> * 2008 – ''El Bastardo'' (5.11, V, A1, 500-metres), south face Aguja de la Silla, Fitzroy, Patagonia, first ascent.<ref name=ALP50>{{cite web | magazine=Alpinist | url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web07-08w/newswire-patagonia-frenzy-weather-window | first=Erik | last=Lambert | date=30 January 2008 | accessdate=16 December 2022 | title=Weather Window Triggers Patagonia Frenzy}}</ref> * 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.<ref name=PM3>{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/alpinism/antarctic-new-routes-for-huber-siegrist-and-richl.html | date=4 February 2009 | accessdate=16 December 2022 | title=Antarctic, new routes for Huber, Siegrist and Richl}}</ref><ref name=CL7>{{cite web | magazine=Climbing | url=https://www.climbing.com/news/hubers-siegrist-pioneer-huge-antarctic-walls/ | title=Hubers, Siegrist Pioneer Huge Antarctic Walls | first=Dougald | last=McDonald | date=28 January 2009 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref> * 2008 – ''Sound of Silence'' (VIII-, 5.11a, A2, 20-pitches, 800-metres) on the west pillar of Ulvetanna, in Antarctica, first ascent.<ref name=PM3/><ref name=CL7/> * 2009 – ''Eternal Flame'' (5.13a, 24-pitches, 650-metres), Nameless Tower, Pakistan, FFA of the historic 1989 Güllich, Albert et. al. route.<ref name=PM90/><ref name=PM75>{{Cite web|url=http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?l=2&keyid=36990|title=Eternal Flame, Nameless Tower, first free ascent by Huber brothers|website=PlanetMountain|date=1 October 2009|access-date=2 July 2013}}</ref><ref name=ALP75>{{cite web|url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web09x/newswire-hubers-redpoint-eternal-flame|title=Hubers Redpoint Eternal Flame|magazine=Alpinist|first=Erik | last=Lambert|date=1 October 2009|access-date=2 July 2013}}</ref> * 2012 – ''Bavarian Direct'' (5.13b, 28-pitches, 700-metres), on Mount Asgard, Canada, first free ascent of the 1997 aid climb with Thomas Huber.<ref name=AAJ10>{{cite journal | journal=American Alpine Journal | url=http://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/13201212146/Mt-Asgard-South-Tower-Free-Bavarian-Direct-The-Belgarian-first-free-ascent|title=Mount Asgard, South Tower, Free Bavarian Direct | first1=Alexander | last1=Huber |first2=Thomas | last2=Huber | volume=55 | issue=87 | page=180 | date=2013 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref>
===Free solo rock climbing===
Huber was one of the few climbers to free solo extreme grades in both single-pitch and big wall routes.<ref name=CFS>{{cite web | magazine=Climbing | url=https://www.climbing.com/people/free-solo-rock-climbing-alex-honnold-history/ | title=Free Solo Rock Climbing and the Climbers Who Have Defined the Sport | first=Alison | last=Osius | date=4 June 2022 | accessdate=26 November 2022}}</ref><ref name=Alpinist>{{cite web | magazine=Alpinist | url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08x/wfeature-solo-huber | date=16 July 2008 | accessdate=16 December 2022 | title=Solo, Part IV: Alexander Huber|author=Editorial}}</ref>
* 2002 – ''Brandler-Hasse Direttissima'' (5.12a, 17-pitches, 580-metres) of Cima Grande, Dolomites; the first-ever big wall solo at grade {{climbing grade|7a+}}.<ref name=Alpinist/><ref name=GR40>{{cite web | website=Gripped Magazine | url=https://gripped.com/video/this-is-still-a-gripping-free-solo-video-alex-huber-on-a-20-pitch-5-12a/ | title=This is Still a Gripping Free-Solo Video – Alex Huber on a 20-Pitch 5.12a | date=2 November 2021 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref> * 2003 – ''Der Opportunist'' {{climbing grade|8b}} (18-metres), Schleierfall, Austria; the second-ever free solo of an {{climbing grade|8b}} graded route.<ref name=PMEVOL/><ref name=CFS/><ref name=CM2/><ref name=Alpinist/> * 2004 – ''Kommunist'' {{climbing grade|8b+}} (22-metres), Tyrol, Austria; the first-ever free solo of an {{climbing grade|8b+}} graded route;<ref name=PMEVOL/> Huber found his "limit".<ref name=CFS/><ref name=CM2>{{Cite web|url=http://www.climbing.com/news/huber-solos-5-14/|title=Huber Solos 5.14|magazine=Climbing |first=Dougald | last=MacDonald|accessdate=16 December 2022 | date=7 May 2004}}</ref><ref name=Alpinist/> * 2004 – ''Mescalito'' {{climbing grade|8a}} (20-metres), Karlstein, Drugwall, Germany, first free solo of route; Huber found it his scariest solo (starts at 50m).<ref name=Alpinist/> * 2006 – South Face of Dent du Géant {{climbing grade|5.11b}} (200-metres), Mont Blanc; first free solo of the route.<ref name=Alpinist/> * 2008 – ''Swiss Route'' (up and down) on Grand Capucin {{climbing grade|5.10d}} (400-metres), Mont Blanc; first free solo, which Huber also downclimbed.<ref name=Alpinist2>{{cite web | magazine=Alpinist | url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08f/newswire-huber-alps-solo-5.14 | title=Alex Huber on Fire: Free Solo and New 5.14s | first=Erik | last=Lambert | date=2 September 2008 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref><ref name=Alpinist5>{{cite web | magazine=Alpinist | url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08f/newswire-huber-magic-summer | title=Alex Huber's Magic Summer | date=17 September 2008 | first=Peter | last=Nelson | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref> * 2008 – ''Locker Vom Hocker'' {{climbing grade|7a+}} (8-pitches, 280-metres), Schüsselkarspitze, Germany; Huber's last extreme-level free solo.<ref name=PMFreerider/> * 2009 – ''Tour Muriciana'' {{climbing grade|6c}} (8-pitches, 285-metres), on Mallo Pison, Mallos de Riglos, Spain; first free solo of the route.<ref name=PM10/>
==Bibliography==
*{{cite book | first1=Alexander | last1=Huber | first2=Thomas | last2=Huber | title=The Wall: A New Dimension in Climbing | publisher=David & Charles | date=2001 | isbn=978-0715311783 | edition=English}} *{{cite book | first1=Alexander | last1=Huber | first2=Heinz | last2=Zak | date=2002 |title=Yosemite: Half a century of dynamic rock climbing | edition=1st | publisher=Bergverlag Rother | isbn=978-3-7633-7511-0}}<ref>{{cite journal | journal=American Alpine Journal | url=https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200446000 | first1=Steph | last1=Davis | author-link=Steph Davis | title=Yosemite: Half a century of dynamic rock climbing | date=2004 | volume=46 | issue=78 | page=460}}</ref> *{{cite book | first1=Alexander | last1=Huber | first2=Willi | last2=Schwenkmeier | date=2004 |title=Drei Zinnen (Three Peaks) | publisher=Bergverlag Rother | isbn=978-3-7633-7513-4 | edition=1st}} *{{cite book | first1=Alexander | last1=Huber | date=2009 |title=Free Solo | publisher=Bergverlag Rother | isbn=978-3-8354-0594-3 | edition=1st}} *{{cite book | first=Alexander | last=Huber | title=The Mountain Within (Der Berg in mir) | publisher=Skyhorse Publishing | date= 2010 | isbn=978-1-60239-988-4 | edition=English}}<ref>{{cite web | magazine=Alpinist | url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web10x/wfeature-review-huber-mountain-within | title=Book Review: The Mountain Within | first=Luke | last=Bauer | date=12 August 2010 | accessdate=16 December 2022}}</ref> *{{cite book | first1=Alexander | last1=Huber | first2=Thomas | last2=Huber | title=Eiszeit (Ice Age) | publisher=Frederking & Thaler | date=2011 | edition=1st | isbn=978-3-89405-775-6}} *{{cite book | first1=Alexander | last1=Huber | first2=Nicholas | last2=Mailänder | title=Der Weg nach draußen (The Way Out) | publisher= Berg & Tal | date=2011 | edition=1st | isbn=978-3-939499-11-4}} *{{cite book | first=Alexander | last=Huber | title=Die Angst, dein bester Freund (The Fear, your best friend) | isbn=978-3-7110-5090-8 | date=2013 | publisher=Ecowin Verlag | edition=1st}}
==Filmography== * Speed climbing ''The Nose'': {{cite AV media | title=To the Limit | date=2007 | people=Pepe Danquart (Director) | type=Motion picture | publisher=Hager Moss Film | asin=B001CP1UMY}}
== See also ==
*List of grade milestones in rock climbing *History of rock climbing *Barbara Zangerl, Austrian female big wall climber
==References== {{reflist}}
===Further reading=== *{{cite book | title= Alexander und Thomas Huber: zwei Brüder, eine Seilschaft (two brothers, one rope team) | first=François | last=Carrel | date=2017 | edition=German | publisher=Malik Verlag | isbn=978-3-89029-483-4}}
==External links== *[http://www.huberbuam.de Official Website] *[http://www.bergfieber.de/berge/bergsteiger/bios/huberalex.htm Biography] *[https://www.bergsteigen.com/news/videos/video-alex-huber-free-solo-im-kommunist10-8b/ VIDEO: Alexander Huber free solo of Kommunist (2004)], Bergsteigen (2007) *[https://gripped.com/video/this-is-still-a-gripping-free-solo-video-alex-huber-on-a-20-pitch-5-12a/ VIDEO: Alexander Huber free solo of Brandler-Hasse Direttissima (2002)], ''Gripped Magazine'' (2021)
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huber, Alexander}} Category:1968 births Category:Living people Category:People from Traunstein (district) Category:Sportspeople from Upper Bavaria Category:German rock climbers Category:German mountain climbers Category:Free soloists Category:German male non-fiction writers Category:21st-century German non-fiction writers Category:Mountain guides Category:LMU Munich alumni Category:Climbing and mountaineering writers