{{short description|German climber and mountaineer (born 1966)}} {{other people||Thomas Huber (disambiguation)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}} {{Infobox climber | image = Thomas_Huber01.jpg | caption = Huber in 2009 | name = Thomas Huber | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|11|18|df=y}} | birth_place = Palling, Bavaria, West Germany | death_date = | death_place = | relatives = Alexander Huber (brother) | education = | occupation = | height = | weight = | typeofclimber = {{flatlist| * Sport climbing * Traditional climbing * Big wall climbing * Alpine climbing}} | highestgrade = | highestredpoint = {{Climbing grade|8b+}} | highestonsight = | knownfor = * Several first free ascents of big walls | firstascents = | namedroutes = | majorascents = | website = {{URL|http://www.huberbuam.de}} | updated = 15 December 2022 }} '''Thomas Huber''' (born 18 November 1966) is a German rock climber (especially big wall climbing) and mountaineer (especially alpine climbing). He lives in Berchtesgaden with his family. His brother and regular climbing partner is Alexander Huber, and the two are called "Huberbuam" (Huberboys) in the Bavarian dialect;<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=ThomasHuber - In Another World - A Personal Climbing Journey |url=https://www.commonclimber.com/thomas-huber.html |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=COMMON CLIMBER |language=en}}</ref> they were the subject of the 2007 documentary film ''To the Limit''. In 2001, Huber won the 10th Piolet d'Or award with Iwan Wolf for their ascent of the direct north pillar of Shivling.

==Early life and education== Thomas Huber was born on 18 November 1966, in Palling, Bavaria as the first child of Thomas and Maria Huber.<ref name=miles>[http://huberbuam.de/en/our-milestones.html Our Milestones] Thomas and Alexander Huber. retrieved 20 November 2017</ref>

His father was a climber known for early speed ascents of now classic climbs.{{Citation needed|date=July 2024}} He took him and his brother Alexander Huber into the mountains. He has been climbing since he was 10 years old. In early April 1980, at 13 years of age, his father took them to climb their first 4000m peak, the Allalinhorn.<ref name=miles/> In 1982, he climbed the Rebitsch Crack 5.10/A0 on the Fleischbankpfeiler in the Wilder Kaiser with the youth climbing team.<ref name=miles/>

In 1983, he and his brother spent their first climbing vacation without their father.<ref name=miles/> They started at the little village of Ellmau, and spent a week at the Gaudeamushütte in the Wilder Kaiser to pursue routes on the east face of Karlspitze or the Bauernpredigtstuhl.<ref name=miles/> Towards the end of the holidays, they went for their first ascent, starting out at the Reiter Alpe for the Wagendrischelhorn south face. Their route was named Rauhnachtstanz, 5.10.<ref name=miles/>

==Career== Since 1992, Huber has been a state-certified mountain and skiing guide. He is most famous for climbing big walls in the Himalaya.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.eoft.eu/athletes/thomas-huber/|title=Thomas Huber|publisher=Mammut/Gore-Tex European Outdoor Film Tour|accessdate=28 May 2015}}</ref>

In 1997, Huber, his brother Alexander, Toni Gutsch, and Conrad Anker went to climb Pakistan's Latok II, in his first trip to the Karakoram. At the time, Huber felt he was still inexperienced, but he credits his strong team and good weather for the successful ascent, which encouraged him to become a professional mountaineer.<ref name=":0" />

On 31 May 2000, Huber and Swiss climber Iwan Wolf climbed ''Shiva's Line'', a 1500m route of the North Pillar of Shivling, considered one of the most challenging routes in the Himalayas, with an overhang graded at A4/VII. For the accomplishment, the pair were awarded the 2001 Piolet d'Or.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Piolet d'Or awarded to Thomas Huber and Iwan Wolf |url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/events/piolet-dor-awarded-to-thomas-huber-and-iwan-wolf.html |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=PlanetMountain.com}}</ref>

The 2007 documentary ''To the Limit'' shows him and his brother speed climbing.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.fandango.com/thomashuber/overview/p196334|publisher=Fandango|title=Thomas Huber Filmography|accessdate=15 December 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://seattletimes.com/html/movies/2008130145_mr22limit.html |title="To the Limit": Extreme climbing — and sibling rivalry|date=22 August 2008|first=Tom|last=Keogh|work=The Seattle Times}}</ref>

In 2014, Huber and his brother committed to climbing Latok I's north face in Pakistan, one of the last unclimbed problems in the Himalayas.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Nestler |first=Stephen |date=April 2, 2014 |title=Huber brothers try to climb Latok I North Face |url=https://blogs.dw.com/adventuresports/index.html%3Fp=22972.html |access-date=July 23, 2024 |work=Deutsche Welle}}</ref> He would commit the next decade to climbing Latok over the course of several expeditions. The next year, he returned for another unsuccessful attempt, where he and his brother were nearly scraped from the mountain by an avalanche. Huber described the experience as follows: “It is clear to me that 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.”<ref>{{Cite web |last=Magazine |first=Gripped |date=2015-11-13 |title=The Huber Brothers and Their Latok 1 Dreams |url=https://gripped.com/video/the-huber-brothers-and-their-latok-1-dreams/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Gripped Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref>

In July 2016, Huber had a sixteen-meter free fall while being filmed at a wall on the Brendlberg in the vicinity of Berchtesgaden and suffered a skull fracture.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.dw.com/abenteuersport/thomas-huber-danke-dass-ich-leben-darf/|title=Thomas Huber: "Danke, dass ich leben darf!" – Interview |work=Abenteuer Sport |publisher=DW.com |date=19 July 2016}}</ref>

By August 2016 he had recovered enough to go on the next expedition, once again to Latok I.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blogs.dw.com/abenteuersport?s=huber&x=0&y=0|title=Thomas Huber: "Ich fahre mit lachendem Herzen" |work=Abenteuer Sport |publisher=DW.com |date=13 August 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Thomas Huber: a ground fall, Latok I and the gratitude for being alive |url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/alpinism/thomas-huber-a-ground-fall-latok-1-and-the-gratitude-for-being-alive.html |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=PlanetMountain.com}}</ref> The attempt was unsuccessful. In 2019, he once again attempted the north face of Latok I, but was unsuccessful,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Routen |first=Ash |date=2019-06-21 |title="Goodbye, Life": Huber Returns to Latok's Legendary North Ridge » Explorersweb |url=https://explorersweb.com/goodbye-life-huber-returns-to-latoks-legendary-north-ridge/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Explorersweb}}</ref> but returned for another attempt in 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Benavides |first=Angela |date=2024-07-17 |title=Thomas Huber Back to Latok I » Explorersweb |url=https://explorersweb.com/thomas-huber-back-to-latok-i/ |access-date=2024-07-23 |website=Explorersweb}}</ref>

In late July 2025 Huber took part in the rescue attempts for German climber and former biathlete Laura Dahlmeier, who went missing after being hit by a rockfall while climbing Laila Peak in northern Pakistan.<ref>[https://www.welt.de/sport/wintersport/article6889c2faeba40421e07de11f/Laura-Dahlmeier-soll-Kontakt-zu-Partnerin-gehabt-haben-Suche-wieder-aufgenommen.html Sven Flohr:"Sechs Bergretter machen sich auf den Weg zur verunglückten Dahlmeier"] welt.de, 30 July 2025, retrieved 30 July 2025</ref>

==Personal life== Huber lives in Berchtesgaden with his wife and three children. In 2011, he was diagnosed with a kidney tumour, which was removed and turned out to be benign. For two months afterwards he felt weakened.<ref>[http://www.tz-online.de/aktuelles/muenchen/so-gewann-ich-den-kampf-gegen-nierentumor-thomas-huber-tz-1330161.html ''So gewann ich den Kampf gegen den Nierentumor''], tz, 21 July 2011, retrieved 20 November 2017.</ref>

==Notable achievements==

* 1994 First redpoint ascent of ''{{interlanguage link|The End of Silence (climb)|lt=The End of Silence|it|The End of Silence (arrampicata)}}'' (5.13d/X+/8b+), one of the hardest multi-pitch climbing routes in the world at that time<ref name=bio>[http://www.bergfieber.de/berge/bergsteiger/bios/hubertom.htm Thomas Huber Biography] www.bergfieber.de, n.d. (In German)</ref> * 1996 Free ascent of the route "Salathé Wall" on El Capitan in Yosemite Valley; Winter solo ascent of the Eiger north face * 1997 First ascent of the route "Tsering Mosong" (VII+, A3+) on Latok II, 7108m,<ref name=bio/> Pakistan. * 1998 First ascent of ''El Niño'' on El Capitan, and ''Freerider'', the first male free ascent of an El Capitan route in one day with Alexander Huber * 1999 Second ascent of the south west wall of Latok IV (6445m),<ref name=bio/> Pakistan. * 2000 First ascent of the direct north pillar of the Shivling (6543m)<ref name=bio/> with Iwan Wolf and winner of the Piolet d'Or * 2001 First ascent of Baintha Brakk III (6800m), second ascent of Baintha Brakk I (7285m),<ref name=bio/> Pakistan. * 2003 First free ascent of "Zodiac" (5.13d/X+/8b+) on El Capitan with Alexander Huber<ref name=bio/> * 2004 Speed record on El Capitan, "Zodiac", in 1:52h<ref name=bio/> * 2007 Speed record on El Capitan, "The Nose", in 2:45,45h<ref name=bio/> * 2008 First ascent of the west wall of Holtanna in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, together with brother Alexander and Stephan Siegrist<ref name="huberbuam.de">{{cite web|url=http://www.huberbuam.de/aktuell/d_index.htm|title=''Endstation Eiszeit''|website=huberbuam.de.|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130803052328/http://www.huberbuam.de/aktuell/d_index.htm|archivedate=3 August 2013}}</ref><ref name="minus46-28">Interview: ''Bei minus 46 Grad in der Wand'', Alexander und Thomas Huber, Ostfriesische Nachrichten, 24 January 2009, p 28.</ref> * 2008 Ascent of Ulvetanna in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, together with brother Alexander and Stephan Siegrist<ref name="huberbuam.de" /><ref name="minus46-28" /><ref>[http://www.spiegel.de/video/video-56915.html ''Extremklettern – Die „Huberbuam“ in der Antarktis''] Spiegel Online Video, 19 March 2009.</ref> * 2009 First free ascent with Alexander of ''Eternal Flame'', (5.13a), on Trango ("Nameless") Tower (6,239 m), Pakistan.

==Publications== * Alexander Huber and Thomas Huber: The Wall. BLV, 2000, {{ISBN| 3-405-15685-8}} * Thomas Huber: Ogre - Gipfel der Träume, BLV, 2002, {{ISBN|3-405-16374-9}}

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== * http://www.huberbuam.de * {{IMDb name|2545875|Thomas Huber}} * {{IMDb title|09592821|To the Limit}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Huber, Thomas}} Category:1966 births Category:Living people Category:People from Traunstein (district) Category:Sportspeople from Upper Bavaria Category:German mountain climbers Category:German rock climbers Category:Piolet d'Or winners