Huber Bros Send New Six-Pitch Bolted 5.13d
And that time they freed a big 5.13 on Canada's Mount Asgard
Photo by: Tom Evans of the Huber bros
Alex Huber and his brother Thomas made the first free ascent of Siete Venas on Alpeltalkopf, Berchtesgaden Alps, earlier this year. The six-pitch 5.13d climbs through a big roof near the top.
They started the project nearly 10 years ago on the steep north face, which was perfect for hot summer days. The climb starts up an overhanging face, which requires a few days to dry after rain. After that, it heads up two pitches or technical climbing before the four-metre roof.
It has a must-do dyno about 150 metres above the ground, which Huber says is similar to Action Directe, just on better holds.
Huber Bros in Canada
The Huber brothers have been establishing hard big-wall routes around the world for the past 30 years, from Pakistan to Yosemite.
In 2004, Alex visited Banff to speak at the Banff Mountain Festival and compete in a local for-fun boulder comp. One of this most memorable visits to Canada was in 2011 with Thomas and Mario Walder.
That summer, they freed a route on Mount Asgard on Baffin Island. Their focus was Bavarian Direct A3, which was first climbed in 1996 technical-style by six Bavarians who are friends of the Huber Brothers.
The Hubers and Walder redpointed 28 pitches and spent 10 days on the rock before reaching the top of the South Tower of Mount Asgard. For their free ascent they climbed as closely as possible to the original route, making variations wherever necessary along the Bavarian Direct.
Due to the variable weather conditions, including snow, they had to abandon their original plan of climbing the route in a single push, returning to base camp again and again. Following several days and numerous attempts at the 700-metre-high wall, they finally succeeded with a team free ascent. Alex said is was “an awesome wall, very compact, best quality rock face and technically very challenging.”
“The Asgard did us no favours, only the last few metres were really easy,” said Alex, “but that’s always the way: the tougher the challenge the more vivid the lasting the memories”
Thomas said: “It was an amazing time on an amazing rock face. This route belongs among the top routes on El Capitan.”
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