# 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.

## Speed records on the North Faces of the Alps

Dani Arnold holds or has held several speed records on the six great north faces of the Alps:
* Eiger North Face (2011) – New record with 2 hours 28 minutes via the Heckmair route, breaking Ueli Steck's best time.
* 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.
This means he holds records on five of the six great north faces of the Alps.

## Other notable climbs in the Alps

* 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

Besides his records in the Alps, Dani 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.
His achievements have also been extensively covered in magazines like Alpin, Bergsteiger, and National Geographic.

## Lectures

Lectures are an essential part of Dani Arnold's work as a professional alpinist. Notable lectures include:
* TEDx Talks (2025): Dani Arnold: Why challenge is my ultimate goal
* Dani Arnold at WEF (World Economic Forum) (2023)

## External Links

* Official Website
* "New Record for Speed Alpinist Dani Arnold" (in German).
* Official Instagram Profile
* "Official Facebook Profile". Facebook.