Dani Arnold Gets Prestigious Climbing Award
He's one of the most accomplished alpine soloists ever. This is the 12th year the award has been given out
Swiss climber Dani Arnold, 40, has become the 12th climber to receive the Paul Preuss Prize, which is awarded in memory of the Austrian alpinist it is named after. He was selected by a jury of climbers who are part of the International Paul Preuss Society.
Arnold has been at the cutting edge of alpinism for the past 20 years, and he currently holds the speed solo records on all six of the famous north faces of the Alps. Here are the years and times that Arnold climbed them in: Eiger in 2011 in 2 hours and 28 minutes, Matterhorn in 2015 in 1 hour and 46 minutes, Pizzo Badile in 2016 in only 52 minutes, Grandes Jorasses in 2013 in 2 hours and 4 minutes, Cima Grande di Lavaredo in 2019 in 46 minutes and Petit Dru in 2021 in 1 hour and 43 minutes.
Among Arnold’s other many accomplishments are the first winter ascent of Torre Egger in Patagonia with Stephan Siegrist and Thomas Senf, and a first ascent on the Moose’s Tooth in Alaska with David Lama. In 2019 he free-soloed a 550-metre 5.10+ in Italy, and in 2014 he free-soloed a 380-metre WI6 in Switzerland in 27 minutes.
The other 11 recipients of the award were Reinhold Messner, Hanspeter Eisendle, Albert Precht, Hansjörg Auer, Alexander Huber, Beat Kammerlander, Bernd Arnold, Heinz Mariacher, Catherine Destivelle, Thomas Huber, and Marko Prezelj. Gripped’s editorial director David Smart wrote an award-winning book about Preuss, read more about it here.
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