Farewell to one of the world's best techno climbers

Thomas Tivadar passed away in mid-November. He was one of the world's best techno climbers of his generation, made first ascents of big walls with the highest technical difficulties and is considered the founder of the Clean New Wave style.

During his active career, Thomas Tivadar was one of the most gifted big wall climbers in the world - especially when it came to extremely demanding techno routes. Together with his climbing partners, but also solo, he left his mark on the world's big walls.

At the turn of the millennium, he and Gabor Berecz repeated some extremely hard aid lines in the Californian climbing mecca of Yosemite Valley, including Genesis (VI 5.11 A4), Never Never Land (VI 5.10a A3-) and Aquarian Wall (VI 5.10a A2+). Their first ascent of Highway to Hell (VI 5.9 A5) is still one of the most demanding techno routes on El Capitan.

On the east face of Picco Darwin in the farthest Val di Mello, he opened Via degli Invalidi (US V 5.10 A4- bc) together with Gabor Berecz. Another difficult techno route that reflects Thomas Tavidar's enormous capacity for suffering.

His uncontrollable desire to climb difficult and as untouched as possible walls led him, among other places, to Greenland, where he made the first solo and completely self-sufficient ascent of the route Lost Friends (US V 5.10a A3-c, 425m, 10 SL).

Thomas Tivadar is considered the founder of the Clean New Wave style, a new rating system for techno routes that avoids bolts as much as possible. He was a former member and co-founder of the Alpinists' Club, co-founder of the IG Klettern Heavensgate, one of the first climbing halls in Munich, hut warden of the Fritz Pflaum Hut from 2008 to 2016 and a passionate climber through and through.

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Credits: Cover photo Thomas Tivadar

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