von Gast Blogger
20 April 2017
SUMMER
The mountains are his companions - Heinz Zak
Heinz Zak is one of the most well-known extreme climbers in Austria. In addition to his fascination with climbing, he has a passion for photography and is also a pioneer in slacklining. On his countless mountain adventures around the world, Zak always values his return to his hometown Scharnitz, where his "living room," the Karwendel, is located.
From an early age, Heinz Zak discovered his passion for climbing. His father was an avid mountaineer and his mother a talented gymnast. He spent a lot of time with his grandparents in the alpine pastures, where the mountains became his companions. He developed a deep passion for climbing at the rock face together with his loyal and best friend, who is still by his side today.
Heinz Zak Climbing
In the 1970s, Heinz Zak was one of the first Austrians to learn free climbing in Yosemite Valley, California. In the early 1980s, he made the first alpine ascent in free climbing style at Schüsselkar (Hexentanz der Nerven, 7th grade) – many more followed. Zak explored the most significant climbing areas in the world, but he always enjoyed returning to his homeland. There, at the beginning of the 1990s, he achieved numerous first ascents in the Wetterstein and Karwendel mountains.
Heinz Zak and the most famous highline in the world
Already in the late 1970s, Zak dealt with balancing on ropes in Yosemite and has always been active as a slackliner. As one of the pioneers in this sport, he was the first European to balance over the most famous highline in the world ("Lost Arrow Spire") in 2003. After that, he brought the sport to Tyrol in his hometown Scharnitz. There, in 2006, the international slackline meeting took place with over 250 slackliners from all over Europe.
Heinz Zak on Slacklining
Always with him on his tours: his camera. With an eye for the beauty of nature, he enchants with breathtaking shots from the mountain world. In 2005, he accompanied Wolfgang Güllich's free solo ascent. His images traveled around the world and Heinz Zak became a world-renowned climbing photographer. In 2002, 2011, 2014, and 2016, he published books with impressive pictures from his tours.
In 2016, he accompanied Adam Ondra, one of the best climbers in the world at the moment, to Norway for a photo report. His current project is the book "Mountains Tyrol" in collaboration with Tyrol Werbung and National Geographic Publishing – one can be curious and look forward to stunning images from the Tyrolean Alps.
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