Conquering the Unthinkable | The Huber Brothers | Documentary

[Music] um beresta's garden one of the most beautiful areas of germany famous for the stunning koenigsegg and the imposing watson mountain where real men still wear traditional costume and where the world is peaceful and serenely beautiful perhaps too beautiful to be true [Music] [Applause] but the real adventures take place high up above the lake [Music] and these two are often found right at the heart of them the brothers thomas and alexander huber they're among the best extreme climbers in the world [Music] this is the realm where eagles fly [Music] while others keep order on the ground and these two worlds are connected by the mountains this is a stomping ground of two men who know no limits top climbers thomas and alexander huber they're always on the lookout for the next challenge [Music] in austria is one of their last challenges as extreme climbers the idea that we could top this project once more is not all that realistic for me at 42 and thomas at 44. i think it could be something of a final statement statement we're very close partners during our climbs and we push the boundaries it's like being between life and death and that brings us even closer together of course the brothers made a first attempt at this wall last autumn when they started preparing a route called karma as yet they haven't managed to climb it without falling that is their aim but it wasn't just the weather that put a stop to their progress in january 2011 dark clouds gathered for these usually successful brothers [Music] one day life suddenly changed for the older brother thomas but that still gives me the fear when i think about it it really was horrendous we've been planning for patagonia and everything was looking good our preparations were going well we were packed and really just waiting on standby at home we wanted to make a start and fly over but i had some stomach aches i went to the hospital and they found a tumor and i didn't really want to tell my brother i couldn't tell my brother that have a tumor you said that we should think about patagonia again and i said no thomas we won't think about it again this thing has to come out thomas was lucky the tumor wasn't malignant it could have ended so badly now half a year after the operation the two are back in the mountains much has changed since then i see the 18th of january as a second birthday i was so happy to be alive and i wasn't bothered by this massive sky in my abdomen it was simply a fact i was allowed to carry on living i can carry on dreaming about going on another adventure with my brother of and for me one thing's very clear this route we'd plan to climb last year the karma route will become our next big project and we'll really put everything into it this video [Music] the karma route is one of the most difficult in the alps and scales the steep walls of the lofara elm right next to the berchtesgaden national park a refuge for over 200 animal species and four thousand types of plant [Music] [Applause] [Music] the huber brothers learned to climb over 30 years ago as children guided by their father they climbed their first four thousand meter mountains at the tender age of ten the boys had talent and they were keen soon they went higher and the challenges became more difficult [Music] they both liked the adventure and they enjoyed the element of danger but their father kept a keen eye on them until they became the perfect climbing partners they know each other's strengths and weaknesses intimately this is vince if you turn up somewhere and thomas likes it he develops appreciates what his brother brings to the table [Music] he concentrates hard and has this aura of calmness about him and he somehow infects me with it he can really help me with that and perhaps the more nervous one a little more agile so i get things wrong and alexander often brings me back down to reality reality can be tough for someone who's almost always been successful the operation meant strong medication and months without training thomas was completely down now he works on his fitness every day at home on his climbing wall [Music] [Music] i train around three hours a day but if i practice hanging on the wall for three hours i'm completely exhausted climbing is a tough job but it's the best job you can imagine simply because it's really our big passion climbing is our life [Music] [Music] slowly thomas is regaining his old form alexander still likes to climb the walls of the karlstein area just like every other year this is where the training for the next climbing season begins [Music] this time he's out with mario who will be his partner on a level 10 route um [Applause] [Music] the scale only goes up to 11 so this route known as stone monkey is the perfect way of preparing for the challenges of the karma route [Music] all right the talent and preparation isn't everything for the first time thomas's body has sent him a signal that things have to change but his spirit is unbroken he's training hard to return to the mountains as soon as he can [Music] but the mountains will have to wait the weather isn't playing ball climbing in these conditions is not an [Music] option [Music] so [Music] so thomas has some time for his other great passion he's looking for a contrast to the peace and tranquility of the mountains [Music] and alexander doesn't just have the right touch in the mountains one of my talents is to really concentrate on what i'm doing so i can transform any inner tensions or nervousness straight into pure [Music] concentration [Music] thomas is the lead singer of the band plastic surgery disaster it's the perfect way to let off steam right now [Music] well crisis hasn't been a stranger for alexander either a few years ago he lost the pleasure of climbing private strains stress and animosities from competitors meant he couldn't rekindle his passion for the mountains somehow alexander lost their grip on his life [Music] i know my brother as a determined and confident climber and human being so far in his life he's shown few weaknesses and then he suddenly told me thomas i'm not well i couldn't really understand him but he said thomas this goes much deeper i really have anxiety episodes and i'm no longer in control and that's something completely out of character it was just too much responsibility too much pressure on me and that led to me not being able to picture the mountains anymore even though they've always been the source of my strength climbing mountains was the center of my life and if you suddenly can't stand the idea of going to the mountains anymore it means the core of your strength is gone it happened so suddenly it really knocked me sideways he had to get himself out of that situation all by himself the continuous fear is like a mountain that you can't get around that you have to climb and you have to be prepared to climb that mountain even if the first steps are so hard but if you start to take the first steps and then just carry on you will definitely reach the top alexander conquered his anxieties last year he became a father and that gave him another new bout of strength he's out at the schleier waterfall in the south of the vilde kaiser area it's one of the best sport climbing areas in the alps many of the toughest routes in austria are crammed into this small area climbing at this level takes dynamics and precision confidence and concentration self-control and incredible strength thomas ii is back in the mountains he's climbing tough routes at the barmstein near halaim in austria [Music] this route is full of complicated hand and footholds and is an almost invisible path to the top of the sheer wall as long as the strength allows it alexander's climbing style is very individual elegant and makes the enormous effort seem easy [Music] [Music] thomas's determination is pushing him on he's desperate to regain his old form but it's only when they're working together that the brothers become this well-honed unit that is so much better than most others it's often the case that two people working really well together achieve a lot more than they would as individuals i think thomas and i know each other so well that we can eliminate each other's weaknesses [Music] alexander has scaled the 25 meter wall without a fall but the karma route is much longer even more difficult and alexander will have to support his brother even more than usual [Music] but thomas reaches the top at his second attempt just like alexander he feels ready for the big challenge the karma route on the south wall of the loafer arm [Music] after long months of training they're finally getting ready wedges carabiners ropes and climbing shoes their entire equipment is sorted through [Music] today is the day for the extreme climbers last great challenge [Music] oh [Music] 200 meters of crevices overhangs and smooth plates are waiting for them if everything goes to plan the climb should take about five hours what's up right we're here well it doesn't look bad does it awesome there's a small wet patch further up but not too bad i'm still surprised that everything seems to be according to plan well we can definitely have a go the weather at least is in their favor it had been raining for days [Music] from now on they hardly say a word each concentrates on his own task because the karma is one of the toughest climbs in the world good [Music] exactly where we've begun this karma route it's phenomenally steep and it has these difficult passages that make it the top end of climbing it is something like a masterpiece if we me alexander goes first he pulls himself up slowly and secures a rope in the hooks they installed the hooks last year during their richie tours their aim is to complete the climb without a single fall they will only use natural holes to get to the top [Music] so [Music] [Applause] so [Music] alexander manages to reach the first stand in the war now it's up to thomas to complete this first section without a fall too pumas alexander is in top form and he's helping me to catch up again i really had a tough time where my entire world just crumbled i mean there were no mountains left there wasn't anything just can i stay alive and that was a defining moment for me this is my second life the next section is one of the most difficult in the entire karma route thomas now leads and alexander secures him [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] oh this is the moment thomas has trained for but he doesn't know if it'll be enough [Music] sometimes i get a bit frightened i might not manage it then the courage returns and it tells me that i've managed almost everything so far i want to grow through this route [Music] [Applause] thomas has reached one of the crucial points this is a decisive moment okay okay their attempt is a failure but they had to expect this might happen taking the falls is part of climbing [Music] oh eventually thomas manages the difficult section and draws his conclusion for their next attempt the brothers will return and try again creativity is a creativity is at our core that's why we click we can see targets that we think are achievable but others don't always you can go forward knowing that you can achieve new things [Music] when it comes to trying new spectacular achievements alexander is a real pioneer the all-out dino involves him completely letting go of the rock and jumping two meters up the sheer wall superhero [Music] the second key point in this route comes just before the top of the climb the difficulty rises to the very limit of what is possible [Music] super good that's exactly what makes this route so attractive that you have to give everything you've got you can only hope to get to the top if your heart is completely in it give me a [Applause] this really sucks [Music] stupid the karma's demands are massive just what makes it so tough [Applause] the handholds are very small the distances you have to scale are quite big and it is very steep i have to say that everything else blends into the background when i try to climb the tough bits there is simply no room for any other thoughts the body functions almost like a machine the rest of the world disappears [Music] alexander manages to get to the end of the climb 180 meters above safe ground side even in the last section this route makes immense demands there's a long fine crevice that cuts through this overhang and makes it so tough so far the brothers have been able to make a good living from climbing their finance through sponsors who use their likable image for their advertising campaigns but the main drive for both of them remains the sheer joy of climbing [Music] [Applause] alexander i made it great good we'll have to try a little bit harder maybe next time despite the falls they've made it to the top the huber brothers rose to the challenge we took the karma route on as a project because there is an uncertainty about it which makes it interesting that is the spice in all this that you can never be sure of how it all ends failure is a part of extreme climbing only those who fail know where the biggest challenges lie we'll come back to karma until we've managed to conquer it [Music] the next day the brothers visit the kugelbach bauer at the kaulstein where everything began 30 years ago despite expeditions eight thousand meters up in the cold of the himalayas and a climbing record on the one thousand meter long nose in the heat of the yosemite national park there's no place that is great successes and painful failures and sometime in the near future the karma will be one of these memories if all goes well what really made us strong is that we had to get through some tough times together we've always stayed together even though we've had some massive fights and we've emerged from every conflict from every failure stronger than before this attitude is something thomas wants to pass on to his three kids he already trains regularly with his oldest 12 year old elias at some point there might be a mountain or a wall that's just too difficult and then you have to be able to say this is for the next generation to solve this problem the sport of climbing is not standing still thomas knows that better and more daring climbers will follow [Music] the huber brothers are pioneers preparing the way for a new generation of climbers thomas and alexander still want to go on new adventures to the great mountains on earth but only after the karma route has become one of their memories it's all of little consequence to those ruling the skies and the ground out here they've seen many come and go here in the mountains surrounding the koenigsegg the refuge of the huber brothers [Music] [Music] and we have to feed our sponsor with something so we can earn a living and that's not going to change there's a saying as long as you have dreams you're alive the very first 3d production by zdf a 20 strong crew [Music] painstaking preparation [Music] [Music] ten hours of footage [Music] [Music] 400 meters of cables on the mountain [Music] eight camera systems [Music] [Music] 15 days [Music] five weeks in the edit [Music] the very first 3d production for zdf [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so [Applause] [Music] [Applause] you

Channel: hazards and catastrophes

Views: 94,645

Keywords: The Huber Brothers, The Huber Brothers science documentary, The Huber Brothers national geographic documentary, The Huber Brothers full documentary, The Huber Brothers full documentaries, The Huber Brothers documentary, The Huber Brothers ultimate science documentary, The Huber Brothers national geographic catastrophe documentary, The Huber Brothers Climbing, The Huber Brothers climbing documentary

Id: hfxyDT2sO10

Length: 42min 28sec (2548 seconds)

Published: Sun Mar 14 2021