Alex is one of Germany's top female climbers, having climbed big-wall trad routes, alpine test pieces up to 8a+ and sport routes up to 8b+. She was born in Schramberg, Black Forest, in 1982 and grew up in a climbing family.
“My parents decided to become rock climbers, wore spandex leggings, cow bell-sized hexentrics and metal helmets," says Alex. "We went to Battert, Pfalz and the Dolomites and sampled adventurous family vacations.”
This early start planted the seeds for a lifetime obsession with climbing. The Frankenjura became the focus of Alex's attention and she started to work up through the ranks. In 2005 Alex broke into the magic 8a grade with a redpoint of Witchcraft. By 2007 she had redpointed 8b and made an onsight ascent of Phantom der Zinne (7c+) on Tre Cime, North Face in the Dolomites.
Most climbers have a favourite angle of rock and Alex is no exception; her preference is slightly overhanging and she excels at this. One of her hardest redpoints to date is Land of Confusion, a desperate and almost vertical 28-metre 8b+ in the Frankenjura, with micron-sized holds and spaced bolts.
Alex has climbed many of the classic test pieces in the Frankenjura, including the rarely repeated Kaum Zeit zum Atmen at Luisonewand. This was the original 8a+ in the northern Frankenjura and was first climbed by Wolfgang Güllich in 1984. The route did not come easily as Alex describes: “It has a crux on two single finger pockets where I fell about 50 times!”
Another memorable Frankenjura route was The Old One Needs a Cold One (8b), which she made the first female ascent of.
"It has hard moves where you skip one bolt," Alex explains. "I fell on that section and spun around as the rope was wrapped around my ankle. So I fell 10 metres head-first and swung back and forth…I thought I’d die that day. Fortunately I didn’t touch the rock at all and sent the route two days later.”
