Career Highlights

  • 2020–2023: Part of the German Young Alpinist Team

  • 2021: Camilotto Pelissier (7c+) on the Grande Cime together with Janina Reichstein, Rio Negro (8c) my first one of the grade, The Doors (Trad 8a+)

  • 2022: Speed Integral (9a), Prinzip Hoffnung (Trad, 8b/+)

  • 2023: Expedition with the Young Alpinist Team to Greenland that culminated in a Team Free Ascent of our route “Disco Fox”

What most people don't know about me: 

That I have an odd fascination with pop culture and am a sucker for all things podcasts, as long as they are not overly informative?

    Interview

    • Climbing

      When and how did you get into climbing? What keeps you interested? What fascinates you?

      As a kid, at around 8 or 9, my parents signed me up for a climbing class. The first two years or so, it was more about chatting than climbing, but then I got more hooked and started competing in a youth team.

      Why am I still climbing? Climbing comprises so many different elements and facets that, depending on the moment in life, one thing or another will be more essential to me. It's the diversity that keeps climbing continually intriguing. There might be a phase where I seek the challenge, when I am addicted to seeing the progression – physical or mental – or when I have a goal that excites me so much it keeps me awake. But this, at least for me, is not a state I can maintain permanently. Then I’ll get other things out of climbing: the places in which I climb – simply being in the mountains always makes me happier, the social aspect of it, the joy of movement.

      Who was your childhood hero and do you consider yourself a role model now? Does it influence you at all that other people look up to you?

      When I think about it it’s mostly been characters from books or movies that I found cool…Aragorn, Qui-Gon Jinn, Achilles…

      I couldn't tell... In a way, I think we all are role models for the people around us, for better or worse. It is not something I take into consideration for my actions because I am trying to live up to my own standards anyway.

      What have been the most important milestones in your life so far, both in climbing and in everyday life? And did you recognize them immediately as such or only later on?

      Climbing Speed was a big milestone for me in climbing; that was apparent right away. Just because I never even dreamt of climbing such a route and grade. In hindsight, with this I sort of proved everything I had to prove to myself in terms of needing climbing achievements for my ego. Since then, I have felt a lot more content with myself in general without always needing to “achieve” something new. Obviously, it was not just about sending a certain grade, but part of a process I was going through at that time, trying to disentangle my climbing from my feeling of self-worth.

      What were your greatest failures / setbacks / injuries? How did you cope with them and how did you come back from them?

      I have been injured quite a bit throughout the years. Typically, it happened in times when I was really psyched; that’s why I would overdo it and get injured. The winter before I climbed Speed, I injured myself once again, on the finger, just at the start of what I had planned to be a 'great winter of training.' I had already set the goal to try Speed in spring and was convinced that, to be able to project it in a reasonable way, I would need to reach a completely new level over winter.

      So, when I got injured, my world fell apart – as stupid as it sounds in the bigger context of things. I had wanted this so badly, and it felt like every time I’d have a breakthrough with my climbing, I’d soon get injured again. I was very angry with myself and miserable for some weeks... I was not doing great. I had started to include my ability to climb hard in my construction of self, so when that was taken away, I felt worthless and like I had failed.

      What helped in the end was just giving it time. Eventually, I got sucked into winter climbing and forgot about all the training I couldn’t do. That brought me back into the groove, and eventually, it was spring. I just started to get out on rock a lot and felt surprisingly strong. Even though the finger was still not perfect when I got on Speed, and both of my shoulders were inflamed, for some reason, I felt good on it and surprised myself by sending it in that first season, without the training.

      What is your favorite climbing related story / experience?

      There are a lot of strong memories climbing has given me over the years.

      The most recent experience was our expedition to Greenland. It felt truly special to complete this climb that we had all worked on together as a team.

    • Training

      Do you have a strict training schedule for when and how you train throughout the year?

      No. During some winters I will follow a training plan, but often things pan out differently than planned if you want to do other disciplines than sport climbing as well.

      What advice can you give to somebody looking to improve their training routine?

      Climb and train with intent. Even if you don’t follow a training plan, have a goal in mind for what you want to work on in each session. Be consistent and choose specific aspects to focus on for a couple of weeks.

      And rest more. Shocker: A longer run or a ski tour does not count as a rest day…

       

      What do you think of indoor climbing gyms in relation to climbing on actual rock?

      The climbing gym can be a useful tool for training if you want to be efficient with your time. I don’t really care for the fancy modern boulders, for me personally, the whole gym could consist of boards.

      At the end of the day climbing outside is the reason I climb.

      Are you able to do a one-arm pull-up? How about a single finger?

      LOL

      How much of the success as a pro climber is due to show and how much due to actual climbing skill?

      Depends on the pro climber. You can come from both sides when the lines between athletes and influencers get blurred, I guess.

    • Psychology

      Is it possible for anybody to eventually perform a one-armed pull-up or get to the top of the Eiger/Matterhorn, or do you really have to be born for it?

      I believe both things are about wanting it enough to commit fully. However, we have all been dealt different cards, which means that achieving a one-arm will require a lot more effort for me than for others. On the flip side, there might be other things that come more easily to me.

      How important is it to set goals in professional sports? What are your goals / targets you are working towards in climbing and in life?

      I think in professional sports, goals are inevitable. Personally, I have a list of climbs of different character that inspire me, some long-term, some short-term. Also, some goals I have are more centered around becoming a better climber and acquiring the skills I need for this.

      In life I try to strive towards becoming a more caring and genuine person and not having too much ego tangled up in what I do.

      How do you deal with extremely hard climbing problems? Do you ever get frustrated and give up on them or do they motivate you even more?

      Frustration, in my opinion, is first and foremost due to a gap in expectation and reality. You don’t get frustrated because a climb is hard; you get frustrated because you expected it to feel easier. So, for me, it is all about keeping in check my expectations and staying open and curious to the process. Not that it always works, but if it does, it is the most fun thing about projecting. Occasionally, that might mean taking a step back to lose expectations again; other times it might mean just working harder for it. I don’t really think I ever completely gave up on a route. Sometimes it’d just be clear it’s not for now, and I’ll come back better prepared.

    • Future of climbing

      Is there anything you would like to change about the current developments in climbing?

      It’s not a “recent” phenomenon at all, but I wish it became less cool to go for climbing trips far away.

      Where do you see the sport going in the next years, what will change and what is your role going to be in it?

      Obviously, more people will get into the sport through bouldering gyms in the coming years, and some of them will probably also get into outdoor climbing. The more people go outside, the higher our impact on nature. I’d like to be part of the discussion on how we can make sure to take care of the places we climb in and respect them.