Q&A: Beat Kammerlander Still Runs It Out
You've heard of his routes, and seen his name. But who is the mythical Beat Kammerlander?
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I always had the motivation of opening new routes. But we believed in Reinhold Messner’s opinion that the bolt kills the impossible. So the best route we opened was Vergissmeinnicht (500 meters, 5.11-, A4) in the year 1981 in the Rätikon. At that time sport climbing was swapping over from Yosemite. My hero was John Bachar. Then everything changed. Motivated by Martin Scheel, I began thinking that using bolts was OK, when you use it only for protection and not for aid. I started the new game 1987 in the Rätikon. The routes were Maximum (5.12d), Morbus Scheuermann (5.13a).
How did you develop your strength for the hard ascents you would eventually accomplish?
Tell me about climbing in the Ratikon in the 1990s. You put up some of your most famous routes there such as Silbergeier. How were you going about establishing those intimidating routes?
![Beat on his new route <em>Drei Siebe</em> (5.13d). Photo by Dietmar Walser. ” />In the 1990s I was motivated for sport and alpine climbing, and in the summer I concentrated on alpine-sport routes. Establishing <em>Unendliche Geschichte</em> (Never Ending Story) in 1991 was a big step for me. Never before could I climb those hard moves. Maybe, if I look back, this was my biggest step. However, opening the route was always more important than the red-point, because of my bolting style. The red point is the sportive part—and especially with that project the redpoint seemed nearly impossible. I thought a redpoint in a day would never happen; it seemed to be too hard for that time with a pitch of 5.14a, 5.13d, and 5.13c. I trained like a maniac and in 1991 after eight days on the route the success came and was surprising. My life was setup; I could live a life as a sponsored climber and concentrate 100 percent on my climbing.</p>
<p><strong>What is your proudest route in your opinion? </strong></div>
<div>That’s hard to say, every decade I’ve climbed has something. In sport climbing, <strong>Missing Link</strong> 9a (5.14d) is my hardest and still never repeated. With bolting on lead, it’s opening <em>WoGü</em> [ed. note-Adam Ondra redpointed <em>WoGü</em> for the first free ascent in 2008]. My hardest alpine-sport climb is <em>Unendliche Geschichte</em>.</p>
<p><strong>You also traveled worldwide to climb. What were some of your favorite places you visited? </strong></div>
<div>Traveling was always very important for me. Mostly I travel with my wife Christine. In the last 10 years we visited the States nearly every year. The best is Utah around Moab. Our last trip there was two years ago. We got there and spent most of our time in the desert climbing towers. </div>
<div>I also love to climb the classics of the time like, Smith Rock’s <em>To Bolt or Not to Be</em> (5.14a), Tuolumne Meadows’ <em>Peace</em> (5.1<span>3c) and Indian Creek’s <em>Air Sweden</em> (5.13 R).</span></div>
<div><strong>You are also well known for your photography. When did you start taking photos?</strong></div>
<div>Photography always interested me. The cause to start studying was that I do and did slideshows and for my presentations, I need good pictures. Now it is like that: my climbing has priority, and working as a photographer is second. What motivates me most is working on photo projects that involves shooting friends on their amazing projects. My knowledge as a climber helps me a lot, to be efficient and to see with my climber’s view.</p>
<p><strong>What’s more important to you, climbing or photography?</strong></div>
<div>Climbing.</p>
<p><strong>Finally, what other interests do you have?</strong></div>
<div>Climbing is still my favorite. It is more than sport to me—it’s passion. But I also work sometimes as a mountain guide. Other sports I do are mountain biking, ski-randoneering, freeriding, and now the biggest challenge … my five-month-old son Samuel.</div>
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<div>Check out this wild video of Kammerlander soloing <em>Mordillo</em> (5.13c/d).</div>
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