Extreme mountaineer Dani Arnold sets new speed record

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Swiss extreme mountaineer and Mammut Pro Team athlete Dani Arnold sets a new record time on the north face of the Grandes Jorasses. The 34-year-old climbs the Walker Pillar (4208 meters) in the Mont Blanc massif at the end of July via the Cassin Route in 2:04 hours. He thus holds the speed record on two out of three of the legendary great north faces of the Alps.

The Grandes Jorasses North Face project kept Dani busy for the third summer in a row. In 2016 and 2017, the weather had made an attempt impossible in each case. On July 27, 2018, everything finally fell into place. Dani was able to take advantage of an optimal weather window and set a new record time in good conditions. The world-class alpinist conquered the over 1200 m high north face via the Cassin route in a sensational 2:04 hours and was overwhelmed:

"I'm incredibly happy and very proud of my achievement. Looking back, it was worth waiting so long for the right time - even if it was difficult for me, because patience is not my strong point. But everything has to be right: The small details, such as whether I should climb two meters further to the right or to the left, make all the difference in the end on a 1200-meter-high wall."

"I am incredibly happy and very proud of my performance."

Dani had meticulously prepared for the attempt. He had already climbed the very steep north face over the Walker Pillar (Cassin route) three times in company - the last time two weeks before the actual record attempt. For the Swiss climber to tackle the speed ascent, the weather and conditions had to cooperate, which only happens on a few days a year on the granite ridge between the French Haute-Savoie and the Italian Aosta Valley. The rock must not be icy or only slightly icy for a successful speed free solo ascent, but if it is too dry, there is a danger of falling rocks. "The Cassin route up Walkerpfeiler is about 80 percent rock, which is more difficult terrain than ice for a speed ascent. The most challenging part was the steep and technically complex Rébuffat crack because it was wet there due to meltwater," Dani elaborates on the conditions. With the speed record on the Grandes Jorasses north face and the fastest time on the north face of the Matterhorn, Dani currently holds the records on two of three major north faces in the Alps.

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