Dani Arnold (born 22 February 1984)[1] is a Swiss extreme mountaineer.

Life and career

Arnold grew up in the Canton of Uri and developed a passion for mountaineering at an early age. He first completed training as a mechanical engineer and then as a mountain guide. He quickly specialized in solo climbing and extremely fast ascents of major walls. In addition to his solo projects, he also works as a professional alpinist for various sponsors and gives lectures about his expeditions.

Dani Arnold is a mountain guide, married, father of a daughter, and lives in Bürglen.[2]

Speed records on the North Faces of the Alps

Dani Arnold holds or has held several speed records on the six great north faces of the Alps:

  • Eiger North Face (2011) – New record with 2 hours 28 minutes via the Heckmair route, breaking Ueli Steck's best time.[3][4]
  • Matterhorn North Face (2015) – Fastest ascent via the Schmid route in 1 hour 46 minutes.[5][6]
  • Grandes Jorasses (2018) – New speed record via the Walker Spur route in 2 hours 4 minutes.[7][8][9]
  • Cima Grande di Lavaredo (2019) – New record for the "Comici-Dimai" route with 46 minutes 30 seconds.[10][11]
  • Piz Badile (2020) – Solo ascent of the north face via the classic Cassin route in 52 minutes.[12][13]
  • Petit Dru (2021) – Fastest ascent of the north face via the classic route in 1 hour 43 minutes.[14][15]

This means he holds records on five of the six great north faces of the Alps.

Other notable climbs in the Alps

  • The Hurting (XI, 11) (2012) – Mixed route on Ben Nevis with high "ground fall" potential.[16]
  • Crack Baby Speed Record (2014) – Crack Baby 360m WI6 in 27 min 13 sec.
  • First repeat of "Anubis" (XII, 12) in Scotland (2016) – First repeat of the mixed route "Anubis" on Ben Nevis, then the hardest mixed route in the UK.[17]
  • Free solo ascent of Beta Block Super WI7 in 1h 03min (2017) – First and only free solo ascent of the ice route Beta Block Super on Breitwangfluh.[18]
  • Ritter der Kokosnuss M12 (2017) – Mixed climbing of the "Ritter der Kokosnuss" M12 route on Breitwangfluh.[19]
  • First ascent "Schweizernase" on the Matterhorn North Face (2017)[20]
  • First ascent Uristier (WI6+/M8) Schöllenen (2019)[21]
  • Salbitschijen Solo Speed Record (2023) – New record with 9 hours, 36 minutes, and 55 seconds for West, South, and East ridges.[22]

Expeditions and First ascents

Besides his records in the Alps, Dani Arnold has undertaken numerous expeditions and first ascents. Notable achievements include:

  • Patagonia (2010) – First winter ascent of Torre Egger.[23]
  • Patagonia (2013) – Cerro Torre in winter – Successful winter ascent.[24]
  • Alaska (2016) – First ascent of "Bird of Prey" in the Mooses Tooth Towers.[25]
  • Canada (2019) – Power Shrimps Helmcken Falls – First ascent of the extreme ice route at the 140m high Helmcken Falls.[26][27]
  • Pakistan (2019) – Broad Peak 8051m – Expedition to the 8051m high Broad Peak.[28]
  • Russia (2020) – Expedition to Lake Baikal in winter – 10 first ascents between WI5 and M8 over the frozen Lake Baikal.[29]
  • Iceland (2022) – Ice expedition – Ice and mixed climbing in Iceland.[30]

Awards

  • Paul-Preuss-Award 2024[31]

Documentaries

  • Matthias Affolter: Berge im Kopf. (in German) Film, 2014, 93 min.[32]
  • Netflix: Race to the Summit Film, 2023, 90 min.[33]
  • NDR: Climber Dani Arnold – Free Solo Records on the North Faces. Documentary (in German), 2024, 30 min.[34]

Publications

  • Why All This? Records & Reflections by Extreme Alpinist Dani Arnold. 2018.
  • 9:39 North – Solo through the Great North Faces of the Alps. (in German) Uli Auffermann & Dani Arnold 2022.
  • HOW not WHAT – Reflections by Dani Arnold 2023.[35]
  • Anti Gravity – Thomas Monsorno & Dani Arnold 2024.

His achievements have also been extensively covered in magazines like Alpin, Bergsteiger, and National Geographic.

Lectures

Lectures are an essential part of Dani Arnold's work as a professional alpinist. Notable lectures include:

  • TEDx Talks (2025): Dani Arnold: Why challenge is my ultimate goal[36]
  • Dani Arnold at WEF (World Economic Forum) (2023)[37]

References

  1. ^ Christian Thiele: Dani Arnold: "Too slow is dangerous" Interview in: alpin.de 6/2016.
  2. ^ Olivier Joliat: "Yes, I take risks" In: Coopzeitung No. 6 from 4 February 2014, p. 135, (PDF).
  3. ^ "Speed record on the north face of the Eiger".
  4. ^ "Schweizer Kletterer bricht Speed-Rekord von Ueli Steck". 15 August 2018.
  5. ^ "Matterhorn".
  6. ^ "Neuer Rekord am Matterhorn".
  7. ^ "2h 04min Grandes Jorasses".
  8. ^ "Speed-Rekord an Grandes Jorasses Nordwand".
  9. ^ "Dani Arnold: Speed-Rekord an Grandes Jorasses Nordwand".
  10. ^ "Free Solo Speed - Große Zinne-Nordwand in 46min 30sec".
  11. ^ "Rekord in den Dolomiten - Dani Arnold: In 46 Minuten die Nordwand der Grossen Zinne hoch".
  12. ^ "Piz Badile 3308m".
  13. ^ "Zwei Dani Arnold Speed Solos".
  14. ^ "Petit Dru-Solo Speed".
  15. ^ "Rekord - 1:43 Stunden an der Nordwand der Petit Dru".
  16. ^ "The Hurting XI 11 - Tradclimbing im schottischen Hochland".
  17. ^ "Anubis (Scotland)".
  18. ^ "Ice climbing- Free Solo- 1h 03min".
  19. ^ "Knights of the Coconut".
  20. ^ "Swiss Nose: First Ascent:March 14-17".
  21. ^ ""Uristier" (WI6+/M8) - Schöllenenschlucht, Andermatt".
  22. ^ "Solo speed record on the Swiss Salbit".
  23. ^ "1. Winterbegehung Torre Egger/Patagonien".
  24. ^ "Cerro Torre, finally!!".
  25. ^ "Alaska".
  26. ^ "Helmcken Falls - Canada".
  27. ^ "Dani Arnold eröffnet "Power Shrimps"".
  28. ^ "My first eight-thousander - Broad Peak 8051m".
  29. ^ "Expedition Baikal".
  30. ^ "Iceland".
  31. ^ "Paul-Preuss-Preis 2024 awarded to Dani Arnold". Retrieved 1 November 2024.
  32. ^ Website for the film
  33. ^

  34. ^ "Sportclub Story: Kletterer Dani Arnold - Free Solo-Rekorde an den Nordwänden - hier anschauen".
  35. ^ "HOW not WHAT - Reflections by Dani Arnold".
  36. ^ "Why challenge is my ultimate goal | Dani Arnold | TEDxHWZ". YouTube. 3 January 2025.
  37. ^ "Dani Arnold beim World Economic Forum WEF".
Allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dani_Arnold
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