Barbara Zangerl

Personal life

For much of her professional climbing career, Zangerl has also held a part-time job as an assistant medical radiographer in a hospital in Bludenz in Austria. She began her studies as a radiographer while recovering from her back injury in 2009. In 2019, Zangerl told National Geographic about her relationship with Larcher: "We're a good team," and "It's easy for us to handle stress on the wall because there's always something to do. At home, though, it's a little different," she says with a laugh". In 2019, Zangerl was awarded the Leif Erikson 'Young Explorer Award'. In 2025, Zangerl became the 13th climber, and the 2nd female climber, to be awarded the Paul Preuss Prize.

Notable ascents

Bouldering

2005: X-Ray , Silvretta, Austria.

Sport climbing 2025: Bombardino Arco, Italy. 2021: Sprengstoff (Explosive) Lorüns Vorarlberg, Austria. FFFA. 2020: Instructor (5.14c/d) Vorarlberg, Austria. FFFA. 2018: Speed Integrale , Voralpsee, Switzerland. FFFA of 's 2010 route. 2017: Chikane , Siurana, Spain. Her first 8c+ redpoint.

Traditional climbing

2023: Meltdown , E11, Yosemite, USA. Fourth-ever ascent of Beth Rodden's 2008 traditional testpiece. 2021: Le Voyage E10 7a 8b+, Annot, France. FFFA, and the fourth-ever ascent, of James Pearson's 2017 route. 2020: Greenspit R, E10/11, Orco Valley, Italy. FFFA of Didier Berthod's 2003 crack climbing test piece. 2018: The Path R, E10/11, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada. FFFA of Sonnie Trotter's famous 2007 traditional route. 2017: Gondo Crack R, Cippo, Switzerland. FFA as a sport climb, and then made second-ever ascent (and FFFA) as a traditional climb. 2016: Achemine E9 6c 8b, Dumbarton Rock, Scotland. FFFA, and first repeat, of Dave MacLeod's 2001 route, and Scotland's first E9. 2016: Requiem E8 6b/c 8a, Dumbarton Rock, Scotland. Second-ever female ascent of Dave Cuthbertson's famous 1983 route. 2014: Prinzip Hoffnung 5.14 R 8b/+, E9/E10, Vorarlberg, Austria. FFFA of 's testpiece.

Big wall climbing

2024: Freerider El Capitan, Yosemite, USA. First ever flash of an El Capitan route. 2019: The Nose , El Capitan, Yosemite, USA. Zangerl and climbing partner Jacopo Larcher became the 8th and 9th climbers to make a free (i.e. no use of aid climbing techniques) ascent of the famous big wall route that was first freed by Lynn Hill in 1993. 2019: Pre-Muir Wall , El Capitan, Yosemite, USA. Repeat with climbing partner Jacopo Larcher. 2018: Odyssee , Eiger, Switzerland. FFFA and first repeat of the hardest route on the north face of the Eiger with Jacopo Larcher over 4 days. In 2020, the pair returned to make the first one-day ascent of the 1,400-metre route in 16 hours. 2018: Sangre de Toro , Rote Wand, Lechquellen, Austria. FFFA of Alex Luger's 2014 free climb. 2017: Magic Mushroom , El Capitan, Yosemite, USA. FFFA and second-ever free ascent with Larcher of Caldwell's 2008 route. 2016: Zodiac , El Capitan, Yosemite, USA. FFFA and third-ever free ascent with Jacopo Larcher of Huber's 2003 route. 2015: El Nino , El Capitan, Yosemite, USA. FFFA of Huber's 1998 route. 2015: Die Unendliche Geschichte (The Neverending Story) , Rätikon, Switzerland. Joint FFFA with and only the second-ever repeat of 's famous 1990 alpine big wall route. 2015: , Cima Ovest, Dolomites, Italy. Repeat of Huber's famous 2001 route; FFFA was by Sasha DiGiulian in 2013. 2013: First-ever woman to complete the famous of extreme multi-pitch climbing alpine routes: 2013: , Fleischbank, Austria. FFFA of Stefan Glowacz's 1994 route. 2013: , Rätikon, Switzerland. Second-ever female ascent of 's famous 1993 route. 2012: , Berchtesgaden, Germany. FFA of Thomas Huber's 1994 alpine route.

High-altitude climbing

2022: Eternal Flame , Nameless Tower, Pakistan. FFFA, and only the third-ever free ascent with partner Jacopo Larcher, of the historic Güllich, Albert et al. 1989 route with the crux at 6000 metres; the FFA was by Alexander and Thomas Huber in 2009.

Filmography Momento - A Boulder Life Line (2006) Gimme Kraft! (2013) Same Same but Different (2013) Barbara Zangerl (2015) Bürser Platte (2015) Golden Line Verdon (2017) Rätikon - Gebirge an der Grenze (2017) Black Diamond Presents: Babsi and Jacopo Send Zodiac (5.13d) on El Cap (2017) Black Diamond Presents: Magic Mushroom (2018) Reel Rock S4 E1: Break on Through (2018) Reel Rock S9 E2: Burning the Flame (2023) Black Diamond Presents: Flashed—Babsi Zangerl's Historic Flash of El Capitan (2025)