Alexander Huber

Alexander Huber

Huber in 2009
Personal information
Born	(1968-12-30) 30 December 1968 (age 55) Trostberg, Bavaria, West Germany
Education	Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (Physics)
Occupation(s)	Theoretical physicist, professional rock climber, and mountain guide
Height	176 cm (5 ft 9 in)
Weight	62 kg (137 lb) (sport climbing)
Spouse	Kristina Huber
Relative	Thomas Huber (brother)
Website	www.huberbuam.de
Climbing career
Type of climber	Sport climbing Traditional climbing Free solo climbing Big wall climbing
Highest grade	Redpoint: 9a+ (5.15a)
Known for	First to redpoint at grade 9a+ (5.15a), second to redpoint at 9a (5.14d) First to redpoint a big wall at grade 8a (5.13b), and at grade 8c (5.14b) First to free solo 8b+ (5.14a), second to free solo 8b (5.13d) First to free solo a big wall at grade 7a+ (5.12a) First individual free ascent of the Salathé Wall (1995) First free solo of the Brandler-Hasse Direttissima (2002)
First ascents	Om (9a/5.14d, 1992) Weisse Rose (9a/5.14d, 1994) Open Air [de] (9a+/5.15a, 1996) Tsering Mosong (VII 5.10c A3, west face Latok II, 1997) El Nino (5.13c/A0, 1998) Freerider (5.12d, 1998) Bellavista [it] (8c, 2001) Zodiac (5.13d, 2003) Voie Petit [it] (8b, 2005) Pan Aroma [it] (8c, 2007) Eternal Flame (5.13a, 2009)
Updated on 17 July 2023

Alexander Huber (born 30 December 1968) is a German rock climber who is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of rock climbing. Huber came to prominence in the early 1990s as the world's strongest sport climber after the passing of Wolfgang Güllich. He is the second-ever person to redpoint a 9a (5.14d) graded route by ascending Om in 1992, and has come to be known as the first-ever person to redpoint a 9a+ (5.15a) graded route from his 1996 ascent of Open Air [de].

For a decade following the mid-1990s, Huber, often partnered with his brother Thomas, also came to be regarded as the strongest big wall free climber of his generation, with groundbreaking first ascents in Yosemite (El Nino in 1998, and Zodiac in 2003), the Karakoram (Latok II in 1997, and Eternal Flame in 2009), and in other notable big wall locations around the world. Huber’s 1995 ascent of the Salathé Wall in Yosemite was the first-ever redpoint of an 8a (5.13b) graded big wall in history. His 2001 ascent of Bellavista [it] in the Dolomites was the first-ever redpoint of an 8c (5.14b) graded big wall in history.

Huber is also known as one of the greatest free solo climbers for both big wall and sport climbing routes. In 2002, he free soloed the first-ever grade 7a+ (5.12a) big wall in history, the 580-metre Brandler-Hasse Direttissima in the Dolomites. In 2003, he free soloed the second-ever grade 8b (5.13d) sport climbing route in history with Der Opportunist in Austria, and in 2004, he became the first-ever person in history to free solo an 8b+ (5.14a) graded sport route with Kommunist, also in Austria.