Thomas Huber On Challenging Summer and Ground Fall

Earlier this summer, top 49-year-old German climber Thomas Huber had a ground fall that left him in bad shape. He fell 16 metres from a wall on the Brendlberg in Berchtesgaden region in Bavaria and was rushed to a hospital in the town of Traunstein. Huber’s accident resulted from an error while rappelling. He suffered a skull fracture. On his Facebook after the accident, he said, “Contrary to all the reports: I am okay. I had 1000 guardian angels.”

After a quick recovery, Huber travelled to Pakistan to attempt the unclimbed north face of Latok I with Toni Gutsch and Sebastian Brutscher. After arriving at base camp, Kyle Dempster and Scott Adamson went missing during a climb on Ogre II. Huber was part of the search and rescue operation and located the missing climber’s skis. After a long and exhausting search, no sign of Dempster or Adamson were found.

In a recent story written for PlanetMountain, Huber said, “The last three months have been wild and I’ve experienced everything life has to offer: the struggle with death, the energy of life and survival, love, hope, grief, suffering, disappointment, anger but also joy, friendship and the strength that comes from a close-knit community.” Read the full story here. Watch Huber solo a bit 5.12 in 2011 below.