Wolfgang Güllich

Wolfgang Güllich, was born in 1960 in Ludwigshafen, West Germany; the first son of Ursula and Fritz (Snr) Güllich. His father introduced him to aid climbing at the age of 13, and by age 15, he was climbing almost every weekend in the Südpfalz region with his younger brother Fritz (who in 1978 would die in a climbing accident). After an encounter with Reinhard Karl, a leading figure in German mountaineering at that time, Güllich decided to apply himself intensively to climbing, and to free climbing in particular – which at that time was traditional climbing as sport climbing was still not widely practiced.{{cite book |first=Tilmann |last=Hepp |author2=Thomas "Balli" Ballenberger |title=Wolfgang Güllich – Klettern heißt frei sein |publisher=Boulder Verlag |location=Stuttgart/Nürnberg |year=2006 |language=German |isbn=978-3-9811231-0-4}}

Güllich quickly became one of the best climbers in his region, making the first free ascent of the aid route, Jubiläumsriss (VII-), at the age of 16. In 1981, he left the sandstone Südpfalz region to live in the limestone Frankenjura region, where a group of leading German and British climbers were starting to raise standards, including German climber Kurt Albert and British climber Jerry Moffatt, who both become life-long friends and training partners of Güllich. In 1983, Güllich freed the first German grade IX+ {{climbing grade|5.13a}} route, Mister Magnesia, weeks before Moffatt freed Ekel (IX+), also in the Frankenjura.

Güllich made several notable trips to the US, coming to international attention in 1982 with the first repeat of Tony Yaniro's historic 1979 {{climbing grade|8a}} route, Grand Illusion in Lake Tahoe. He also completed most of the other hardest routes in the US at the time including Equinox {{climbing grade|5.13a}} in Joshua Tree, and Cosmic Debris {{climbing grade|5.13a}} in Yosemite. On a 1984, visit to the Shawangunks he repeated Intruders and Project X. On a 1986 trip, Güllich made his iconic free solo of Separate Reality, {{Climbing grade|7a}}, in Yosemite, photographed by {{interlanguage link|Heinz Zak|de}}. Güllich travelled extensively including to China, the USSR and to the Sinai Desert. On a 1986 trip to Britain, he did the world's first-ever free solo at {{climbing grade|7c}} on Weed Killer at Raven Tor, but broke his back falling on Master's Edge at Millstone.{{Cite web|url=http://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/page.php?id=2791|title=Millstone - Quarried Grit|website=UKClimbing|author=Matt Heason|date=June 2010|accessdate=11 June 2013}}

In 1984, Güllich would begin an extraordinary series of years where he would create several hardest new grade sport climbs in the world – the most of any climber in history. He started by redpointing the first-ever {{climbing grade|8b}} X, in history with Kanal im Rücken. The next year, on a trip to Australia, he redpointed the first-ever {{climbing grade|8b+}} X+ in history with Punks in the Gym. In 1987, Güllich redpointed the first-ever {{climbing grade|8c}} XI- in history with {{interlanguage link|Wallstreet (climb)|lt=Wallstreet|de|Wallstreet (Kletterroute)}}. In 1991, he made the first-ever redpoint of a {{climbing grade|9a}} XI, in history with Action Directe, which was described as "Güllich's Masterpiece". In 2019, Francis Sanzaro, the editor of Rock & Ice, called the 1991 photograph of Güllich, mid-flight on the crux dyno of Action Directe, as "the most iconic photo of hard climbing ever taken".

In addition to driving new grades of sport climbing routes, in 1989, Güllich, Kurt Albert, Christof Stiegler, and Milan Sykora, added what was called a "milestone" in big wall climbing with the first ascent of Eternal Flame (IX- A2) on the Nameless Tower in the Karakoram. In 1991, with Kurt Albert, Bernd Arnold, Norbert Bätz and Peter Dittrich, they made another breakthrough in big wall climbing with Riders on the Storm (IX A3) on the Paine Towers in Patagonia. Güllich believed high altitude big wall climbing was in its early stages, and the expeditions allowed him to recharge from sport climbing.

Güllich avoided the competition climbing circuit throughout his career. He felt that "competitions are good for earning money, I see it as nothing more", and was not attracted to competing with other climbers, just with the challenge of a real route. Although Güllich enjoyed traveling to other locations and testing himself on their hardest routes, saying: "A 'successful' climber is someone who has done many hard routes in many areas, not just a local specialist", he was most motivated by creating new routes, saying: "if climbing is an art, then creativity is its main component".

Güllich maintained an intensive and scientific approach to training for climbing, sometimes taking on specific training techniques for individual climbs. While training for Action Directe, Güllich invented the campus boarding to develop plyometric strength in his fingers and arms.{{cite web | website=Gripped | url=https://gripped.com/indoor-climbing/a-beginners-guide-to-campus-board-training/ | title=A Beginner’s Guide to Campus Board Training | first=Noah | last=Walker | date=9 September 2022 | accessdate=27 November 2022}} Güllich co-authored with Andreas Kubin a 192-page German book on training for sport climbing called Sportklettern heute (1986), and was an early advocate of bouldering as a way to improve his technique and build performance, saying "the hardest routes are extended boulder problems"; he also studied the use of the "deadpoint".{{cite book | title=Vantage Point: 50 Years of the Best Climbing Stories Ever Told | pages=76–84 | isbn=978-1493034772 | publisher=Falcon Guides | first=Beth | last=Wald | date=November 2018 | chapter=Interview with Wolfgang Gullich (June 1987) | chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JlpgDwAAQBAJ&dq=%22wolfgang+gullich%22+%22biographie%22&pg=PA76 | accessdate=22 June 2022}} Güllich's advice would often extend beyond the physical, and was a source of notable quotes including: "A man doesn't go to drink coffee after climbing, coffee is integral part of the climbing".

File:Gedenkstein fuer Guellich 1.jpg

After moving to the Frankenjura in 1981, Güllich spent eleven years sharing an apartment, which included a gym in the cellar, with his life-long climbing partner Kurt Albert. The pair became famous for their hospitality and generosity to other international sport climbers. The Guardian said: "Their flat became a meeting house for climbers from all over the world, testament to the ability of both men to make friends wherever they went".{{cite web | newspaper=The Guardian | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/oct/18/kurt-albert-obituary | title=Kurt Albert obituary | first=Ed | last=Douglas | date=18 October 2010 | accessdate=2 December 2022}} Climbing said of their apartment, "[it] became one of the most significant addresses in free-climbing history. It was essentially an open-house for the best sport climbers of the 1980s, people like Ben Moon, Ben Masterson, Ron Fawcett, Ron Kauk and John Bachar", and adding: "in an era before the Internet, their place was a hub of ideas and information".{{cite web | website=Climbing | url=https://www.climbing.com/people/kurt-albert-redpoint/ | title=The Short, Exemplary Life of Kurt Albert | first=Ed | last=Douglas | date=22 April 2022 | accessdate=8 December 2022}}

In 1990, he met nurse Annette Favery whom he married one year later; Annette was photographed belaying him on his famous first free ascent of Action Directe on 14 September 1991;{{cite web | magazine=Rock & Ice | url=https://www.rockandice.com/climbing-news/an-image-is-worth/#_reg-wall | title=An Image is Worth…? | first=Francis | last=Sanzaro | date=26 July 2019 | accessdate=3 December 2022}} which happened just five days after their wedding.

He was a climbing double for Sylvester Stallone in the 1993 movie Cliffhanger, along with Ron Kauk.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-06-02-ca-42466-story.html |title=Making a Movie Out of a Mountain: Climbers Give High Marks to 'Cliffhanger's' Realistic High-Altitude Action Sequences |author=Bill Stall |work=Los Angeles Times |access-date= 13 May 2018}}

On 29 August 1992 Güllich fell asleep at the wheel of his car and veered off the autobahn between Munich and Nuremberg as he made his way home from an interview. Two days later on 31 August 1992 he died in a hospital in Ingolstadt, never having regained consciousness. He was buried in Obertrubach.

Güllich is considered one of the greatest and most influential climbers in the history of the sport, and a pioneer in both technique and training. In 2013, when National Geographic announced Adam Ondra as an "Adventurer of the Year", they noted that the title of "world's strongest climber" was held by Güllich in the 1980s and early 1990s, then passed to Chris Sharma in 2001, and to Ondra in 2013; National Geographic said of Güllich: "In the '80s and early '90s German climber Wolfgang Güllich almost singlehandedly bumped the highest grade in rock climbing from 5.13d to 5.14d". In 2018, when Beth Wald wrote a preface to her 1987 Climbing interview with Güllich for the book Vantage Point: 50 Years of the Best Climbing Stories Ever Told, she introduced him as: "One of the finest rock climbers of all time the German Wolfgang Güllich developed cutting-edge training regimes that today have become commonplace...". In 2022, on the 30th anniversary of his death, PlanetMountain called him: "A truly visionary figure, his influence extends well beyond sport climbing and even today his routes in far-flung corners of the globe such as Patagonia and the Karakorum are considered absolute milestones in big wall climbing in the high mountains". In 2022, Die Zeit called Güllich, "One of the best unknown athletes that have ever existed in Germany", noting that rock climbing was still a developing sport in the country.{{cite web |last=Brems |first=Lukas |date=2 September 2022 |title=[TRANSLATED] One of the best unknown athletes that have ever existed in Germany |url=https://www.zeit.de/sport/2022-09/wolfgang-guellich-sportklettern-bergsteigen |accessdate=2 December 2022 |newspaper=Die Zeit}}

• In 1985, Güllich, received the Silbernes Lorbeerblatt, Germany's highest sports award along with Kurt Albert, and {{interlanguage link|Sepp Gschwendtner|de}}.
• In 1997, German {{interlanguage link|Beat Kammerlander|de}} named one of Europe's hardest big wall routes in Rätikon, Switzerland, {{interlanguage link|WoGü|it}}, after Güllich.{{cite web | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/cedric-lachat-repeats-wogu-in-ratikon-switzerland.html | title=Cédric Lachat repeats Wogü in Rätikon, Switzerland

| date=3 July 2020 | accessdate=1 December 2022 | quote=...and the name is a tribute to one of the climbers who has influenced sport climbing the most: Wolfgang Güllich.}}{{cite web | magazine=Climbing | url=https://www.climbing.com/videos/edu-marin-climbs-wogu-one-of-europes-hardest-multipitch-routes/ | title=Edu Marin Climbs WoGu: One of Europe’s Hardest Multipitch Routes | date=14 October 2016 | accessdate=1 December 2022 | quote=WoGu was named in honor of Wolfgang Gullich, the pioneer of sport climbing who developed the campus board and established the world’s first 5.14d, Action Directe, in Germany’s Frankenjura.}}

{{Climbing grade|9a}}:

:* Action Directe – Waldkopf, Frankenjura (GER) – 1991. First Ascent and world's first-ever {{climbing grade|9a}} XI route. Considered the "benchmark" 9a and an important and historic route.{{cite web | url=https://www.desnivel.com/cultura/wolfgang-gullich-y-action-directe-primer-9a/ | title=Storied from History: Wolfgang Güllich and 'Action Directe', first 9a | first=Issac | last=Fernandez | date=23 April 2020 | accessdate=2 December 2022 | magazine=Desnivel | quote=If a character has had an influence on the history of sport climbing and its practitioners of later generations, it is Wolfgang Güllich.}}

{{Climbing grade|8c}}:

:* {{interlanguage link|Wallstreet (climb)|lt=Wallstreet|de|Wallstreet (Kletterroute)}} – Frankenjura (GER) – 1987. First Ascent and world's first-ever {{climbing grade|8c}} XI- route.

{{Climbing grade|8b+}}:

:* Highlight - Frankenjura (GER) - 1990 - First ascent.

:* Level 42 – Frankenjura (GER) – 1987. First Ascent, originally thought to be {{climbing grade|8c}}, but now considered an 8b+ / X+.

:* Ghettoblaster – {{interlanguage link|Rabentels|de|Rabenfels (Krottensee)}}, Frankenjura (GER) – 1987. First Ascent and the first grade X+ route in Germany at the time.{{cite web | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/remembering-wolfgang-gullich-one-of-greatest-climbers-of-all-times.html | title=Remembering Wolfgang Güllich, one of greatest climbers of all times | date=31 August 2022 | accessdate=29 November 2022 | website=PlanetMountain | first=Nicholas | last=Hobley}}{{cite web | magazine=Outside | url=https://www.outside.fr/wolfgang-gullich-pionnier-de-lescalade-moderne/ | date=6 September 2022 | accessdate=30 November 2022 | title=Wolfgang Güllich, pioneer of modern climbing | author=Editorial}}

:* Deadline - Frankenjura (GER) - 1986 - First ascent.

:* Punks in the Gym – Mount Arapiles (AUS) – 1985. First Ascent and world's first-ever {{climbing grade|8b+}} X+ route.

{{Climbing grade|8b}}:

:* Amadeus Schwarzenegger – Frankenjura (GER) – 1986. First Ascent.{{Cite web|url=http://www.frankenjura.com/klettern/poi/5834|title=Amadeus Schwarzenegger|publisher=frankenjura.com|accessdate=11 June 2013|language=German}}

:* Kanal im Rücken – Frankenjura (GER) – 1984. First Ascent and world's first-ever {{climbing grade|8b}} X route.{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain.com | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/the-evolution-of-free-climbing.html | title=The evolution of free climbing | date=23 December 2012 | first=Maurizio | last=Oviglia | access-date=4 January 2022}}

{{Climbing grade|8a}}:

:* Grand Illusion – Sugar Loaf, Lake Tahoe, CA (United States) – 1982. First repeat of Tony Yaniro's historic 1979 {{climbing grade|8a}} route.

{{Climbing grade|7c+}}:

:*Yesterday Direct – Mount Arapiles (AUS) – 1985. Third-ever 7c+ (Australia 28) onsight in history.

{{Climbing grade|7c}}:

:* Weed Killer – Raven Tor, Peak District (ENG) – 1986. Güllich made the world's first-ever free solo of a {{climbing grade|7c}} graded route.

{{Climbing grade|7b+}}:

:* Sautanz – Frankenjura (GER) – 1986. First free solo of the route.

{{Climbing grade|7a}}:

:* Separate Reality – Yosemite (United States) – 1986. Photographed by {{interlanguage link|Heinz Zak|de}}, Güllich's free solo of Ron Kauk's famous 1978 roof route became an iconic moment in free-climbing history.{{cite web | magazine=Climbing | url=https://www.climbing.com/people/free-solo-rock-climbing-alex-honnold-history/ | title=Free Solo Rock Climbing and the Climbers Who Have Defined the Sport | first=Alison | last=Osius | date=4 June 2022 | accessdate=26 November 2022}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews4.lasso?l=1&keyid=34833|title=Heinz Zak solos Yosemite's Separate Reality|publisher=planetmountain.com|date=9 June 2005|accessdate=11 June 2013}}{{cite journal | journal=Alpinist | url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/ALP16/beauty-zak | title=Passion and Beauty | date=Summer 2006 | accessdate=1 December 2022 | first=Heinz | last=Zak | issue=16}}

:* Riders on the Storm (Paine Towers, Patagonia, VI 5.12d A3) – 1991.{{Cite web|url=http://www.planetmountain.com/english/rock/routes/itineraries/scheda.php?lang=eng&id_tipologia=38&id_itinerario=873|title=Riders on the Storm|publisher=planetmountain.com| website=PlanetMountain | accessdate=30 November 2022 | date=2022}}

:* Eternal Flame (Nameless Tower, Karakoram, VI, 7b+, A2) – 1989.{{Cite web|url=http://www.planetmountain.com/english/rock/routes/itineraries/scheda.php?lang=eng&id_tipologia=38&id_itinerario=895|title=Eternal Flame | website=PlanetMountain | accessdate=30 November 2022 | date=2022}}

:* Yugoslavian route (Nameless Tower, Karakoram, 5.12) – 1988. First fully free ascent on the tower.{{cite journal | journal=Alpinist | url=http://www.alpinist.com/doc/ALP11/profile-trango | first=Greg | last=Child | author-link=Greg Child | date=1 July 2005 | accessdate=1 December 2022 | issue=11 | title=Trango Tower}}

• {{cite book | title=Sportklettern heute| first1=Wolfgang | last1=Güllich | first2=Andreas | last2=Kubin| date=1986| publisher=Bruckmann| isbn=9783765420535}}
• {{cite book | title=Wolfgang Gullich: A Life in the Vertical | first=Tilmann | last=Hepp | date=1994 | publisher=Boulder | isbn=9781871890686}}
• {{cite book | title=Rock Stars: The World's Best Free Climbeers | first=Heinz| last=Zak | date=1997| publisher=Cordee| isbn=9783763370443}}
• {{cite book | title=Wolfgang Gullich: Action Directe | first=Tilmann | last=Hepp | date=2009 | publisher=Vantage| isbn= 9788885475762}}

• Documentary on German sport climbing: {{cite AV media | title=Rotpunkt | asin= | type=Motion picture| date=2019| publisher=Patagonia | people=Chelsea Jolly, Ken Etzel | url=https://www.mntnfilm.com/en/film/rotpunkt-2019 | accessdate=2 December 2022}}{{cite web | website=PlanetMountain | url=https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/rotpunkt-alex-megos.html | title=Rotpunkt featuring Alex Megos | date=11 November 2019 | accessdate=2 December 2022}}
• Documentary on Güllich and Action Directe: {{cite AV media | title=Jung stirbt, wen die Götter lieben| asin= | type=Motion picture| date=2002| publisher=BR / Drehxtrem | people=Jochen Schmoll, Malte Roeper | url=https://www.mntnfilm.com/en/film/jung-stirbt-wen-die-goetter-lieben-2002 | accessdate=2 December 2022}}
• Film in which Güllich acted as a stunt double for Sylvester Stallone: {{cite AV media | title=Cliffhanger | asin= | type=Motion picture| date=1993 | publisher=RCS Video | people=Renny Harlin | url=https://www.mntnfilm.com/en/film/cliffhanger-1993 | accessdate=2 December 2022}}
• Documentary on Güllich and Kurt Albert climbing in the US: {{cite AV media | title=Den Fels im Griff| asin= | type=Motion picture| date=1987 | publisher=ZDF | people=Hans Henn | url=https://www.mntnfilm.com/en/film/den-fels-im-griff-1987 | accessdate=2 December 2022}}

• List of grade milestones in rock climbing
• History of rock climbing
• Catherine Destivelle, one of the greatest female sport climbers of the 1980s
• Lynn Hill, one of the greatest female sport climbers of the 1980s and early 1990s

{{Reflist|refs=

[http://www128.pair.com/r3d4k7/Chinups.html Historical Performances in Chin-ups, Pull-ups, Levers, and Crosses]

}}

• {{cite book|last1=Güllich|first1=Wolfgang|last2=Kubin|first2=Andreas|title=Sportklettern heute: Technik - Taktik - Training|language=German|publisher=Bruckmann|date=1989|isbn=9783765420535}}
• {{cite book |first=Tilmann |last=Hepp |title=Wolfgang Güllich. Leben in der Senkrechten |publisher=Rosenheimer |location=Rosenheim |year=1993 |language=German |isbn=3-475-52747-2}} (Biography)
• {{cite book |first=Tilmann |last=Hepp |author2=Thomas "Balli" Ballenberger |title=Wolfgang Güllich - Klettern heißt frei sein |publisher=Boulder Verlag |location=Stuttgart/Nürnberg |year=2006 |language=German |isbn=978-3-9811231-0-4}} (Artbook)

{{Commons category|Wolfgang Güllich}}

• {{IMDb name|0351535}}
• {{Official website|http://www.wolfgangguellich.com}} {{in lang|de}}
• [https://www.thecrag.com/climber/wguellich Profile on theCrag]
• [https://hardclimbs.info/climbers/wolfgang-gullich/ Wolfgang Güllich], HardClimbs (2023)
• [http://www.wolfgangguellich.com/artikel/a5.pdf Interview with Wolfgang Güllich], interview with Beth Wald (Climbing, June 1987, Issue 102).

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gullich, Wolfgang}}

Category:1960 births

Category:1992 deaths

Category:Sportspeople from Ludwigshafen

Category:Road incident deaths in Germany

Category:German rock climbers

Category:Free soloists

Category:German male non-fiction writers

Category:Burials in Bavaria