UKC

The inventor of the "Rotpunkt" died after a 18 m Fall from the via ferrata "Höhenglücksteig" near Hirschbach in Frankonia.

In reply to strunz:

http://www.klettern.de/news/kurt-albert-ist-gestorben.457327.5.htm

In reply to strunz:

That is sad news. I guess it's a reminder that we shouldn't get complacent about climbing, even on relatively easy stuff like the Höhenglücksteig.

Condolences to family and friends.

Tim

In reply to strunz: Oh, that's terrible! He was a great climber with an amazing sense of adventure. Last year when I visited Majorca we went sea kayaking with a nice German couple who are running a small business taking people kayaking there and they had bumped into Albert the day before. He was taking his "summer holiday" circumnavigating the island by Kayak. They said he was down to earth, very friendly and enthusiastic.

What a terrible thing.

In reply to strunz:

Some reports in Germany say he is still alive, but almost without hope of surviving.

http://www.bergleben.de/klettern/207-widerruf-kurt-albert-wird-noch-beatmet...

In reply to strunz: sad news..

In reply to John P:

Could you translate the relevant part, please.

In reply to jon:

I think it says that he's still being ventilated in intensive care.

In reply to jon: It basically says that despite the news in various places of his death he is in fact still alive in hospital in Erlangen though the police nor the hospital were able to give them any information. He is on life support...or a ventilator. Apparently it's a dude from Patagonia who has provided this information.

My German is a bit sketchy but I think that's the gist.

In reply to Jon:

Kurt Albert is on a breathing machine in intensive care. Many media outlets reported of his death, but it's now clear he is not dead.
No official information about his state has been releaased. Norbert Sander from 'Patagonia' stated he is still alive.

We would like to apologize for the false reports to our readers, family and friends.

In reply to jon:

The Spanish report says that even though he's not clinically dead, there's no hope for his recovery. http://www.desnivel.com/object.php?o=20533

Sad news.

In reply to Mr Lopez: dreadful news.

In reply to jon:

Ok, this would be my translation - apologies for its stilted nature - sometimes German an be tricky to translate, and my German is far from perfect.

"Following the announcement from frankenjura.com that Kurt Albert died from his injuries sustained on the höhenglücksteig in the Oberpfalz, which we, along with sources such as the Alpine club, spiegel-online [German newspaper] and many other websites (eg. klettern.de) put into circulation; we must now state that Kurt Albert is still breathing and is not, in fact, dead.

No official information

Neither the police in Regenburg nor the hospital in Erlangen are giving us offical information about Albert's condition. However, Norbert Sandner, an employee of Patagonia, and spokesperson [approx. translation] for Kurt Albert has told us that he is still allive.

We wish to apologise to all Alberts family, friends and aquaintences for spreading this incorrect information. "


Tim

In reply to lummox:

Let's just hope for the best! http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PeKf3Ez0wMQp96r8eURtbA

In reply to strunz:

Terrible news. I met him once after climbing that classic 5.7 in Boulder canyon(needless to say he was working something much harder). He was a really nice guy We chatted for a while and he shared some cake with me. I really hope he is OK.

In reply to Green Porridge:

I hope he pulls through.

Mick

In reply to Green Porridge:

sorry, that should be "being ventilated" not "still breathing"

In reply to strunz:

that's a bit shocking, my wife's relatives come from nearby and we did some of the easier klettersteig there only a few weeks ago with the kids

In reply to strunz:

Very sad to hear that. I was in Frankenjura just a few weeks back to climb for the first time in my native country rather than in Scotland. He is a legend in Frankenjura and beyond as this posting shows. The article in German states says he still is in intensive care and than an earlier article was incorrect.

In reply to Mr Lopez:
I heard about that photo during my visit but actually never saw it. Apparently a brewery (in Frankenjura almost every village has one) wanted to advertise their beer in a climbing context. Kurt Albert then soloed a tricky enough climb with a beer for the photo. In the end the brewery never used the image fearing negative publicity.

This is my recollection of a story told by a local climber so it is probably only 50% correct due to me mixing up things.

In reply to strunz: very sad news, kurt is a true legend here in the frankenjura.
Is it possible to change the title of this thread considering the current situation ?

The foto showing him free-solo with a "Masskrug":
http://www.bergleben.de/xfiles_a6/1155559202_46.jpg

In reply to strunz: According to various website his death is now official!

http://news.climbing.de/kurt-albert-erlag-seinen-schweren-verletzungen/

He died on 28Sep at 20.45!

In reply to strunz: Hi everyone,

UKC has been aware of this issue for some days now, but unfortunately Kurt has been in a critical condition, so many reports of his death were premature.

He was pronounced dead last night, and we are about to publish a report.

Terrible news.

Thanks,

Jack

In reply to strunz:

Jeez, that's bad news. What an odd way to go.
A great guy. Haven't seen him since about 1989 in Boulder.

In reply to strunz: There is now a UKC News report:

http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=58046

Jack

In reply to strunz: So Sad....Both he and Wolfy were my hero's in the 80's and 90's. He will be missed by many