Paul Preuss †

Paul Preuss (spelled Preuß in German; pronounced Proyce) (19 August 1886 – 3 October 1913) was an Austrian alpinist who achieved recognition for his bold solo ascents and for his advocacy of an ethically "pure" alpinism. Source Wikiepedia

He once said: "With artificial climbing aids you have transformed the mountains into a mechanical toy. Eventually they will break or wear out, and you will have no choice but to throw them away. (Source: Messner, 1986: "Free climbing with Paul Preuß")

Dr. Preuß was the outstanding mountaineering personality just before the First World War. Not only his activity, especially his statements have survived him. Today, in the upwind of the free climbing movement, he is more up to date than ever before. Reinhold Messner stated: "Nobody has climbed the 'by fair means' more clearly than Preuss. He may be regarded as the spiritual father of today's 'free climbing'". Nevertheless - or especially for Austria - he is more revered abroad than in his homeland. The Italians have called the Cima Piccolo "Torre Preuss" and the free climbing movement returning to the Alps from Yosemite in the 1980s has made this Austrian climbing phenomenon its model.

Preuß was born in Altaussee in 1886, grew up in Vienna and studied in Munich. He is the first to advocate "by fair means" in mountain climbing. At the age of 27, he falls fatally when climbing solo on the northern edge of the Manndlkogel in the Dachstein massif. In just a few years he stands on more than 1,200 peaks. His most important first ascents are Grohmannspitze southeast face, Crozzon-di-Brenta northeast face, Guglia-di-Brenta east face. He is far ahead of his time with his thoughts and alpine wishes. For his time he masters the highest degree of difficulty in pure free climbing. He never uses a piton. He even rejects abseiling without compromise. He is of the opinion that every climber must be able to climb the spot he has mastered in the ascent, even in free descent. He is considered the "best alpinist" of his time.

The principles of Preuss (1911)

1. One should not be able to cope with the mountain tours one undertakes, but be superior.

2. The measure of the difficulties that a climber is able to overcome with certainty in the descent, and that he also dares to overcome with a clear conscience, must represent the upper limit of what he undertakes in the ascent.

3. The justification for the use of artificial aids therefore only arises in the case of an imminent danger.

4. The piton is an emergency reserve and not the basis of a working method.

5. The rope may be a facilitating, but never the sole means of salvation that makes the ascent of the mountains possible.

6. One of the highest principles is the principle of safety. But not the convulsive correction of one's own insecurity, achieved by artificial means, but rather that primary safety which should be based on the correct assessment of each climber's ability to do what he wants.

Source "In Memoriam: Paul Preuß" mountainfuture.at