Kurt Albert (mountaineer)

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Kurt Albert climbing in the northern Franconian Jura

Kurt Albert (born January 28, 1954 in Nuremberg ; † September 28, 2010 in Erlangen ) was a German climber , mountaineer , photographer and teacher .

Alpinism

At the age of 14 Kurt Albert started climbing through a Catholic youth group and a section of the Alpine Club . This time was the heyday of technical climbing , i. that is, hooks and step ladders were used to move around the wall. Albert's first big goals were the classic walls of the Alps. At the age of 17 he succeeded in building the Walker pillars on the Grandes Jorasses and a year later on the north face of the Eiger .

After a visit to Saxon Switzerland in 1973 , where free climbing had been going on since the end of the 19th century , Kurt Albert was of the opinion that technical climbing led to a dead end. He then tried to climb routes in the northern Franconian Jura that had previously been technically climbed without hook help. From 1975 he marked tours that he had done freely with a red dot. This makes him the founder of red point and red circle climbing . His definition of red point climbing - the fall and rest-free leading of a route using only natural holds and steps - revolutionized climbing and is still the globally recognized style of free climbing today.

Through systematic training he was able to increase his performance level from climbing difficulty "VI +" ( UIAA ) in 1974 on the "Sarg" route to "IX" in 1982 on the "Magnet" route.

In 1981 he succeeded with Wolfgang Güllich , the sport climbing to transfer to the Alps as he climbed the route "from the stool Locker" VIII (UIAA). In 1987 he climbed the Direttissima of the Great Zinne north face (VIII +) for the first time together with Gerold Sprachmann .

Most of Kurt Albert's routes also represented the most difficult routes in Germany and are now considered extreme classics. The routes "Golden Roof" (VIII +), "Juicer" (VIII +), "Erazerhead" (VIII +), " Sautanz " (IX-), "Humbug" (IX-), "Balloon roof" (IX) should be mentioned here. or “magnet” (IX); all routes are indicated with their UIAA difficulty. A further increase in difficulty on the first ascent was denied to him, as his fingers could no longer withstand the greater loads of this degree. However, he managed to repeat a few tenth-degree paths.

With his climbing partners (including Wolfgang Güllich , Stefan Glowacz , Bernd Arnold and Holger Heuber ) he was active as a mountaineer in the Alps , Madagascar , Patagonia , the Karakoram ( Trango towers ) and on the Baffin Island . His first ascents include the “Slovenian Guide” (VIII +) and “Eternal Flame” (IX- / A2) at the Trango Tower (also called Nameless Tower) as well as “Riders on the Storm” (IX / A2) and “Royal Flush” (IX ) in Patagonia.

With friends (including Wolfgang and Ingrid Güllich riding spit) he made several years a commune in the Moselle Street in Upper Schöllenbach that became the starting point and the opportunity to stay the international climbing scene when they visited the Franconian Switzerland.

Deadly accident

On September 26, 2010, Kurt Albert fell 18 meters on the Höhenglücksteig via ferrata (in part 1) near Hirschbach and was seriously injured. He died of his injuries two days later in an Erlangen hospital. The police investigations revealed that the crash occurred at Scharfen Eck and that, according to witness statements, Albert slipped. Obviously the loop of the self- belay was lying unfavorably around the unscrewed carabiner . When Albert sat on the self-belay to take pictures, the noose opened the snapper and unhooked.

A funeral for Albert, attended by around 700 people - including many top climbers - was held on October 9, 2010 below the smooth wall near the shell spring ( Streitberg ) in the Franconian Jura.

Awards

  • In 1985 Kurt Albert received, alongside Wolfgang Güllich and Sepp Gschwendtner, the Silver Laurel Leaf , the highest sports award in the Federal Republic of Germany.
  • In 2008 he received the Albert Mountain Award from the King Albert I Memorial Foundation.
  • In the Frankenjura, Lauterachtal area, the Kurt Albert Memorial Trail route is named after him.

Famous first ascents

Frankenjura

  • 1974 coffin , Norisbabawand (6+ UIAA)
  • 1975 Adolf-Rott-Ged. Weg , Streitberger Schild (6+ UIAA); first route marked with a red dot.
  • 1976 Frankenschnellweg , Rodenstein ( honorary citizen ) (7+ UIAA)
  • 1977 The Yellow , Matterhorn Face (7+ UIAA)
Osterweg , Kastlwand (8- UIAA)
The Exorcist , Kastlwand (8- UIAA)
  • 1979 steam hammer , Weißenstein (8 UIAA)
  • 1980 Rubberneck , Richard-Wagner-Fels (8+ UIAA)
  • 1981 Sautanz , Obere Gößweinsteiner Walls (9- UIAA)
  • 1982 Magnet , Richard-Wagner-Fels (9 UIAA)

Free solo inspections

  • 1979 Devil's Crack , Röthelfels (7 UIAA)
  • 1986 Fight Gravity , Richard-Wagner-Fels (8+ UIAA)
  • 1987 Rubberneck , Richard-Wagner-Fels (8+ UIAA)
  • 1988 Courage Fouyons , Buoux, France (7b)

Alpine routes

Schweizerdach , western pinnacle in the Dolomites (9-) (first red point ascent)
  • 1988 Slovenian tour , Nameless Tower in the Karakoram (8+) (first red point ascent)
  • 1989 Eternal Flame , Nameless Tower in the Karakoram (9- / A2)
  • 1991 Riders on the Storm , Central Tower of Paine in Patagonia (9 / A2)
  • 1994 Moby Dick , Ulamertorsuaq in Greenland (9 + / A1)
  • 1995 Royal Flush , Fitz Roy in Patagonia (9)

See also

literature

  • Kurt Albert with the participation of Christian Lüke, Timo Marschner & Martin Schepers: Fight Gravity: Climbing in the Frankenjura. ISBN 3-930650-15-0 .
  • Kurt Albert and Hannes Huch: DVD Fight Gravity: Climbing in the Frankenjura. ISBN 3-930650-16-9 .

Web links

Commons : Kurt Albert  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Tilman Hepp: Wolfgang Güllich. Life in the vertical. A biography . 1st edition. Rosenheimer Verlagshaus Alfred Förg, Rosenheim 1993, ISBN 3-475-52747-2 , p. 61 .
  2. ^ Alpin .de: guesswork around Kurt Albert . Retrieved September 28, 2010.
  3. ↑ Bavarian Police: Climber Kurt Albert died . Retrieved November 22, 2010.
  4. ↑ Current via ferrata accidents. Tragic but true . In: DAV Panorama . No. 4 , 2011, p. 24 ( PDF, 2.1 MB [accessed on January 23, 2014]).
  5. ↑ http://www.king-albert.ch/de/preistraeger/3-kurt-albert accessed on August 7, 2017
  6. ↑ https://www.frankenjura.com/klettern/poi/14876 accessed on August 6, 2017
  7. ↑ www.pataclimb.com: Topo from Royal Flush . Retrieved January 7, 2013.
personal data
SURNAME Albert, Kurt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German mountaineer
DATE OF BIRTH January 28, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Nuremberg
DATE OF DEATH September 28, 2010
Place of death gain