First winter ascent of Via Barbier by Christoph Hainz and Kurt Astner

The climb, six hundred meters with an overall difficulty of IX, required a great deal of perseverance. On their first attempt (January 8 start) they were forced to return after a bivouac due to heavy snowfall. A week later the duo returned for their second attempt. Things ran smoothly and after having climbed the lower section of the face via the Comici route, Hainz and Astner continued via the Coubal line. After the inevitable bivouac sitting on a narrow snow-covered ledge 400 meters below the summit, they topped out the next day (in the photo Christof Hainz climbs the finishing gullies - photo Xandi Kreuzeder)

The ascent by Hainz and Astner is certainly a remarkable achievement. The Barbier route is considered the most demanding climb in the entire Tre Cime di Lavaredo, both technically and psychologically, even in summer, due to the lack of pro. So much so that before this first winter ascent the route had only been repeated twice previously: the first carried in 1991 by the Christoph Hainz together with Valentino Pradella, and the second in the summer 1997 by Pietro from Pra and Marco Da Pozzo.

With their recent climb Christoph Hainz and Kurt Astner confirm once again that they are true North Face specialists. Proof of this love comes from their 1996 route "Das Phantom der Zinne”, graded IX+ .

Christoph Hainz, is a South Tyrolean mountain guide and instructor with routes climbed in the Dolomites, the Gharwal Himalalaya (Shivling direct north pillar), Greenland (Ulumanardasak South Face), Jordan (Jebel-Rum). Furthermore, he also carried out the fastest solo ascent of Fitz Roy in Patagonia. Hainz is sponsored by Salewa.