Josef Pfnür makes first repeat of Thomas Huber's 8b+ multipitch Stone Age
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Josef Pfnür
On 8 November 2020 German climber Josef Pfnür carried out the first repeat of Stone Age, the multi-pitch climb first ascended and subsequently freed by Thomas Huber in November 2019 on Untersberg in the Berchtesgaden Alps, Germany. The six-pitch outing boasts difficulties up to 8b+, with the crux right at the end of the very last pitch.
Pfnür started climbing 14 years and although he has repeated several difficult multi-pitches in the past, such as the famous Scaramouche on Hoher Göll in 2016, Stone Age is certainly his hardest route to date.
Writing to planetmountain, the 30-year-old explained "this year I wanted to go on a climbing trip to Brazil but the Coronavirus crisis thwarted these plans and so I looked for a project close to home. Stone Age sprung to mind, freed by Thomas Huber in 2019; he had raved about it last year. After a couple of days working the line I managed to climb all the sections, but linking it all and completing the route without a fall was going to be a real challenge. The right moment came on 8 November: the sun was shining, there was a slight breeze and I actually managed to climb all the pitches without falling! My utmost respect goes to Thomas Huber, for still climbing so hard at the age of 53. I just hope that when I’m his age, I’ll have the same drive and will manage to climb as hard as he does."
