Some of the best free solo climbers of all time!

Alain Robert

Before earning fame as the French Spider Man, Robert pushed pure rock difficulty. Despite severe injuries and chronic vertigo, he free soloed Compilation 5.13d in 1991, the first of its grade. His skyscraper ascents made headlines, but his legacy on rock remains unmatched for technical boldness.

Hansjörg Auer

In 2007, Auer soloed the 850 meter Fish Route 5.12c, on the south face of Marmolada in two hours and fifty five minutes, carrying only chalk. The climb remains one of the most audacious big wall solos ever completed. He later became an elite alpinist.

John Bachar

In 1970s and 1980s Yosemite, Bachar brought athletic discipline to free soloing. His 100 meter solo of New Dimensions 5.11a on Arch Rock reset expectations for difficulty without ropes. He trained relentlessly, using highball bouldering as preparation, and helped define modern solo standards. 

Wolfgang Güllich

In 1986, Güllich free soloed Weed Killer 5.12 at Raven Tor, a psychological breakthrough in difficulty. That same year, his ropeless ascent of Separate Reality in Yosemite became one of climbing’s most iconic images, hanging from a horizontal roof with nothing below.

Peter Croft

Quiet and methodical, Croft treated long Yosemite classics like casual outings. In 1987, he stunned the climbing world by free soloing Astroman 5.11c on Washington Column and linking it the same day with a solo of The Rostrum. The achievement was not bravado, it was control. Croft kept his solos personal, avoiding spectacle while redefining what sustained ropeless climbing could look like.

Dan Osman

Osman fused soloing with performance. In 1997, he sprinted up Bear’s Reach at Lover’s Leap in four minutes and twenty five seconds, launching a mid air double dyno that became legendary. He later pioneered rope jumping, controlled free falls caught by dynamic ropes. 

Catherine Destivelle

Born in Algeria and raised near Paris, Destivelle brought balletic precision to soloing. In 1987, she free soloed overhanging sandstone walls on Mali’s Bandiagara Escarpment for the film Seo. She later became the first woman to complete the winter solo Triple Crown of the Alps, the Eiger, the Matterhorn, and the Grandes Jorasses, and in 2020 received the Piolet d’Or Lifetime Achievement Award.

Dean Potter

Potter blurred lines between free soloing, highlining, and BASE jumping. His 2002 solo of Heaven 5.12d, at Glacier Point remains one of the boldest ever. He later pioneered FreeBASE, combining solo climbing with a parachute for select descents. 

Steph Davis

A former classical pianist, Davis brought rhythm and discipline to the vertical world. In 2007, she became the first woman to free solo the Diamond on Longs Peak via Pervertical Sanctuary 5.11a. She later embraced FreeBASE climbing, seeing soloing not as a gamble, but as belonging completely to the mountain.

Paul Preuss

In the early 1900s, Austrian climber Paul Preuss laid the ethical foundation of free soloing. He believed a climber should ascend only what they could also downclimb without gear. Skill, not equipment, must overcome difficulty.

In 1911, he made the first ascent of the east face of Campanile Basso, also known as Guglia di Brenta, on-sight and descended the same way, ropeless. He completed roughly 300 solos among 1,200 climbs before dying in 1913 on Mandlkogel. His philosophy still echoes, purity above all.