Despite his fear of heights, the Vorarlberg native became one of the world‘s best sport climbers. After climbing the north face of the Eiger in the winter of 1980, he was in the hospital for two weeks and received snake venom infusions.
Beat Kammerlander in the Julian Alps in 2002. Today he says: “I simply enjoy being able to climb at a good level or be outside in nature.”
Stefan Eisend / Imago
Beat Kammerlander, you recently turned 65. What is life like – sorry – as an oldie in climbing?
It’s just a number. I didn’t turn 65 all at once, but rather went through a slow process. As long as I feel physically fit and strong, I’m happy. Of course, aches and pains always arise when I overdo something.
Not putting your feet up and enjoying retirement?
Certainly not. I have my daily routine. I train my endurance on the rings upstairs and my movements on the bouldering walls in the basement. I have adapted my training over the years, often after injuries. In the mid-1980s, for example, I exaggerated so much with the double dynamos that I destroyed the finger capsules (the double dynamo is a sweeping climbing move in which both hands leave the starting grips at the same time – editor’s note).
They are among the pioneers of free climbing. How did you get into climbing?
I was actually scared and thought I was afraid of heights. Looking from a high bridge made me dizzy. Then friends persuaded me to go climbing with them. As I continued to climb higher, this fear dissipated. I was 17 then.
Just a few years later, in 1980, you climbed the north face of the Eiger in winter. . .
. . . and never had crampons on my feet before.
Was that actually the case, or is it one of those mountain stories that sell well?
That was so! You can ask the others in the rope team. We got into the stem, picked ourselves up and noticed that it worked. Then there was a sudden change in weather. The wall was white, everything was blown shut. It wasn’t until the fourth day, after pushing three bivouacs, that we got out of the top. There was no ice upstairs. I mostly led the way and had to climb without gloves. I froze my fingers; all the nails and tips came off. I was in the hospital for 14 days and given snake venom infusions as a blood thinner. We were really lucky back then.
Did this experience make you invest more in sport climbing?
It was formative. But the sport climbing bug had already infected me because I was unexpectedly successful. The Swiss Martin Scheel was one of the first in this country to practice sport climbing. I often traveled with him. The first stars of the small scene were Kurt Albert and Wolfgang Güllich, for me demigods. I never saw myself as strong as them, but I was able to repeat their tours immediately. That motivated me incredibly.
Kurt Albert – one of the first stars of the climbing scene.
Youtube
Martin Scheel was in the legendary anarcho-Dadaist climbing club Üetliberg. During the youth unrest in 1980, the members demonstrated in the morning and trained in the Nagelfluh on Zurich’s local mountain in the afternoon. Was the new climbing for her also a political statement?
I was more of a free spirit who didn’t allow myself to be manipulated. Nothing bothered me, not even that the Alpine Club forbade the use of magnesium in the wall because it would destroy the rock. At that time, technical climbing was common practice (in mountaineering, technical climbing refers to climbing on rocks with aids such as hooks, ropes and rope ladders, which are used for movement – editor’s note). But we climbed as we wanted. That was as clear as the question of musical style.
Beatles oder Rolling Stones?
The Rolling Stones, of course.
With the Stones in your ear, you became increasingly lonely because only a few people could climb at your level. What would you describe as your climbing highlight?
The Neverending Story route 1991, the 7th Kirchlispitze in the Rätikon. Climbing this 400-meter-high “Red Point” wall seemed utopian at first (“Red Point” means climbing freely from bottom to top without falling, without any aids – editor’s note). I trained like a madman towards this goal. I climbed the wall on my seventh attempt that year and rated it 10+ on the UIAA difficulty scale. That was also confirmed. At that time it was considered the most difficult sport climbing route in the world. Until Lynn Hill became the first person in Yosemite Valley to free climb The Nose on El Capitan in 1993.
Beat Kammerlander on the central wall of the 7th Kirchlispitze.
Youtube
How do you imagine that if you… «“worked like a madman” toward a goal?
It was a spartan life, there weren’t many parties for months. I developed special training for myself. Before a tour, it is known which movement combinations are the crux of the rock. So I recreated these combinations on the bouldering walls in the basement and repeated them countless times. I also turned special ergonomic handles so that each finger has the same holding phase. I further developed them to handles that were only four millimeters long. And the whole time the rock was in my head.
Is climbing also an intellectual and creative process?
Clear. The thinking, all the passion only belong to this one project. This is an intellectual debate. You also look for the most beautiful line. This is where it looks the smoothest and most difficult. Where success seems impossible, but a possibility can still be suspected. Then you try and see if it works. And the higher you go, the more you improve mentally. At least that was the case for me.
Another prestige project of yours is the silver vulture.
After the Neverending Story I was a bit down and was looking for new motivation. The photographer Röbi Bösch drew my attention to an unfinished project by Martin Scheel. It was the 4th Kirchlispitze, on the south face on the Swiss side. Scheel had given up on the project, but had already named the route Silbergeier. The crux was still too difficult for the climbing level of the mid-1980s. I went in 1994 and got through straight away. It was a present. In terms of rock, it is still one of the best there is today.
They rated Silbergeier 9 to 10. A climbing group downgraded the route three years ago. This led to heated controversy.
They said that sport climbing in the mountains was generally rated too high. I can accept that, and maybe they have a point. I think they meant it honestly and didn’t say it to gain a reputation. It should not be forgotten that the younger generation is fitter today because they started climbing much earlier. She has better strength endurance than I had back then.
Meanwhile, the Silbergeier is one of the most famous multi-rope lines in the Alps.
The popularity of this tour is now so great that it has become a fixed rope slope. Many key points were defused with more security hooks in the wall. For me this is an ethical problem.
They are considered advocates of a pure climbing philosophy.
Be a stubborn dog and don’t cheat: that was the path I followed. Unfortunately, there are many who cheat. They abseil from above and first mark all the holds with magnesium. This is a completely different game because you can see the most difficult holds much better from above. Or they abseil and climb the key point first. Then they start climbing from below. Today this is also considered a red point ascent.
Beat Kammerlander on the Principle Hope route on the Bürser Platte in Vorarlberg.
Youtube
You think that’s not correct?
This is complete fraud! You decipher the rock from below. For me that is the supreme discipline. Either it goes free or I leave it. The impossible must be preserved.
You have outsmarted the impossible after all. At Voralpsee you climbed a 40 meter high wall in the 10th degree, “free solo”, without any protection. What got you there?
This tour was in my head for years. I knew I could do it, but it seemed completely crazy. When you believe in a project for so long, you also have to deal with fear. You consider whether you should really do this. A documentary film project motivated me to show what I can do. I first climbed ten meters and saw what happened.
What happened?
It’s like you’re on another planet and you’re in complete flow. As long as you are in time with your breath and movements, you can stay focused for an extremely long time. But then you have to take a break to shake out your hands. Concentration wanes a bit, fear and confidence come and go. You have to keep everything together and react correctly. I made a small movement error in the exit at the key stage. I didn’t really feel the pressure point on my left foot and had to compensate with my left hand and grab it fully.
A documentary film project motivated you for this free solo project. There are deaths that make you wonder how much influence media and sponsors have on risk taking. For example, with the rope team David Lama, Hansjörg Auer and Jess Roskelley, who died in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
Man alone is responsible for his actions. It is difficult to blame the sponsor. The example mentioned brought together an extreme cocktail of the world‘s best alpinists. They probably pushed each other to achieve top performance, not because of the sponsors, but because they were ambitious. This type of climbing, even “free solo”, can be addictive. The hardest part is developing a feeling of how far you can go. Because you can’t walk for long on this narrow ridge.
How do you see the development of climbing?
There are extremely tough and talented people today. Adam Ondra has essentially introduced a new level of difficulty. His climbing ability, his will and his willingness to suffer for this sport are phenomenal. He climbed the silver vulture at the age of 14. What I don’t like is that climbing has become a big business. Unfortunately, it is mainly the barkers and best actors who are noticed and valued highly. Most of the time their projects are just fake and not interesting.
For years they were among the world elite. Could you from climbing life?
Yes, thanks to sponsors, lectures and work as a mountain guide. I used to have a different code and the marketing disgusted me. But I think it’s okay that the really good climbers today can make a living from their passion.
They have two school-age children. How has the young family changed your life as a climber?
I’m glad that I was able to satisfy my narcissism long beforehand and develop as a person. I just enjoy being able to climb at a good level or be outside in nature. Everything changed with the children. The fact that I can be there when the children grow up: what could be nicer?
Shaped the development of climbing
WA. · The Austrian Beat Kammerlander, 65, was one of the world‘s best sport climbers for years and made a significant contribution to the development of climbing, especially in alpine terrain. He was the first to climb rock routes that are still among the most difficult today, especially in the Rätikon – for example the Neverending Story in 1991 or the Silbergeier in 1994. He lives with his wife and two children in Feldkirch and works as a mountain guide.