Dani Arnold

Dani Arnold (born 22 February 1984) is a Swiss extreme mountaineer.

Life and career Arnold grew up in the Canton of Uri and developed a passion for mountaineering at an early age. He first completed training as a mechanical engineer and then as a mountain guide. He quickly specialized in solo climbing and extremely fast ascents of major walls. In addition to his solo projects, he also works as a professional alpinist for various sponsors and gives lectures about his expeditions.

Dani Arnold is a mountain guide, married, father of a daughter, and lives in Bürglen.

Records Arnold holds several speed records on the five of the six great north faces of the Alps:

Matterhorn North Face (2015) – Fastest ascent via the Schmid route in 1 hour 46 minutes. Grandes Jorasses (2018) – New speed record via the Walker Spur route in 2 hours 4 minutes. Cima Grande di Lavaredo (2019) – New record for the "Comici-Dimai" route with 46 minutes 30 seconds. Piz Badile (2020) – Solo ascent of the north face via the classic Cassin route in 52 minutes. Petit Dru (2021) – Fastest ascent of the north face via the classic route in 1 hour 43 minutes.

Between 2011 and 2015, Arnold held the record for the fastest solo ascent of the Eiger North Face via the Heckmair route in 2 hours 28 minutes, breaking Ueli Steck's previous record. In 2015, Steck set a new record at 2 hours 22 minutes.

Other notable climbs The Hurting (XI, 11) (2012) – Mixed route on Ben Nevis with high "ground fall" potential. Crack Baby Speed Record (2014) – Crack Baby 360m WI6 in 27 min 13 sec. First repeat of "Anubis" (XII, 12) in Scotland (2016) – First repeat of the mixed route "Anubis" on Ben Nevis, then the hardest mixed route in the UK. Free solo ascent of Beta Block Super WI7 in 1h 03min (2017) – First and only free solo ascent of the ice route Beta Block Super on Breitwangfluh. Ritter der Kokosnuss M12 (2017) – Mixed climbing of the "Ritter der Kokosnuss" M12 route on Breitwangfluh. First ascent "Schweizernase" on the Matterhorn North Face (2017) First ascent Uristier (WI6+/M8) Schöllenen (2019) Salbitschijen Solo Speed Record (2023) – New record with 9 hours, 36 minutes, and 55 seconds for West, South, and East ridges.

Expeditions and first ascents Arnold has undertaken numerous expeditions and first ascents. Notable achievements include:

Patagonia (2010) – First winter ascent of Torre Egger. Patagonia (2013) – Cerro Torre in winter – Successful winter ascent. Alaska (2016) – First ascent of "Bird of Prey" in the Mooses Tooth Towers. Canada (2019) – Power Shrimps Helmcken Falls – First ascent of the extreme ice route at the 140m high Helmcken Falls. Pakistan (2019) – Broad Peak 8051m – Expedition to the 8051m high Broad Peak. Russia (2020) – Expedition to Lake Baikal in winter – 10 first ascents between WI5 and M8 over the frozen Lake Baikal. Iceland (2022) – Ice expedition – Ice and mixed climbing in Iceland.

Awards Paul-Preuss-Award 2024

Documentaries Matthias Affolter: Berge im Kopf. (in German) Film, 2014, 93 min. Netflix: Race to the Summit Film, 2023, 90 min. NDR: Climber Dani Arnold – Free Solo Records on the North Faces. Documentary (in German), 2024, 30 min.

Publications Why All This? Records & Reflections by Extreme Alpinist Dani Arnold. 2018. 9:39 North – Solo through the Great North Faces of the Alps. (in German) Uli Auffermann & Dani Arnold 2022. HOW not WHAT – Reflections by Dani Arnold 2023. Anti Gravity – Thomas Monsorno & Dani Arnold 2024.