Lara Neumeier nails Des Kaisers Neue Kleider to complete Alpine Trilogy

On Thursday the 4th of June 2026 Lara Neumeier successfully repeated Des Kaisers Neue Kleider in Austria’s Wilder Kaiser. Supported and belayed during her ascent by fellow German Michi Wohlleben, her redpoint comes after spending 12 days working the route between autumn 2025 and spring 2026.

The ascent marks the final chapter in Neumeier’s campaign to climb one of alpine climbing’s most iconic challenges, the celebrated Alpine Trilogy. This is comprised of three legendary 8b+ multipitch routes established in 1994 in the Swiss, Austrian, and German Alps: Silbergeier put up by Beat Kammerlander in Switzerland’s Rätikon massif, End of Silence put up by Thomas Huber in in Germany’s Berchtesgaden Alps, and Des Kaisers Neue Kleider put up by Stefan Glowacz in Austria’s Wilder Kaiser. Together, the three routes stand as a symbol of high-level alpine sport climbing, each combining high technical difficulty, sustained multipitch climbing, and the mental challenge of hard climbing, at times far above gear.

The first to to complete this emblematic hat trick was Stefan Glowacz in 2001, followed by the late Harald Berger in 2005. Only a small group of climbers has sent all three routes, and Neumeier is now only the second woman to complete this benchmark, after Barbara Zangerl tagged the trio in 2013.

Born in the Allgau mountains of Germany, close to the Austrian border, Neumeier began her Trilogy with Silbergeier, which she climbed on 10 June 2025, before adding End of Silence on 25 August that year. She commented:

"After sending Silbergeier and End of Silence in spring/summer 2025, I spent a few days on Des Kaisers neue Kleider in the Autumn, hoping to complete the trilogy before the end of the calendar year. By November 2025, I had spent enough time on the route to know it was possible. However, the season was coming to a close, it started snowing, the days were getting shorter, the days became too short to give it a proper try from the ground. I made the tough decision to walk away from the route for 2026. I went to Nicaragua to surf and recover, and came back to training in January with the Des Kaisers neue Kleider as my main goal for the Spring.

At the end of May, it looked like the weather was turning and the snow up there was melting. Knowing that I'd already been close at the end of last year, my plan was to check every single pitch in the first three days and then already go for a proper try. That's exactly how I approached it. The conditions in the first days, though, were not easy. It had snowed again in the days before I arrived. The first day was cold and crispy, but the second day it rained and the whole wall was wet. We barely climbed, and the only thing we managed to acheive was to check the first meters of the last crux pitch - with numb fingers and toes. Day three was finally a good day. After those three days I felt solid on the first six pitches. The only one I hadn't been able to properly check was the last crux. But I already had a good feeling, in general.

A week later I went from the ground to see how far I'd get: I climbed every pitch up to the last crux, then fell on the upper 8b+. I'd burned too much energy on the lower pitches and by the time I got there, the body tension that this pitch demands just wasn't there anymore. I came down that day with mixed feelings. Happy about a new highpoint, happy I'd sent those first seven pitches, but also knowing that next time could go exactly the same way.

In the days before the my successful attempt it rained heavily. I wasn't sure if the route would be dry. On top of that I was feeling some pressure I hadn't really felt on a project before. This was my first big project as a professional athlete, a film team was capturing everything and I was accutely aware that this might be the last possible day to complete the Alpine Trilogy within twelve months – a goal I had set myself one year earlier.

I tried to set it all aside and went back on June 4th. The first four pitches went well. Then on pitch five an important undercling, right before the crux, was wet. I jumarred up, dried the key hold as best I could, went back to the belay and and gave it a try. The hold was still slightly damp, but I was able to do it, first try. That mattered, because it meant I'd have more power left for the difficult top section of the route.

We were moving fast, and by 3 pm Michi and I were sitting at the belay below the final crux. I tried to relax and recover a bit. This was the pitch that had stopped me last time. I knew exactly how much body tension was required, and I knew that after everything below it wouldn't be fully there. But, I also knew I was better prepared: with sleep & rest in the days before, and better conditions overall. After a long break I went for it and climbed it first try. When I clipped that anchor I knew I would make it to the top. We topped out at 7 pm. Relieved, happy, proud — and the Alpine Trilogy finally done."

Reflecting on her achievement Neumeier, who turned 38 yesterday, stated:

"The Alpine Trilogy has been in my mind for a long time — but for a long time these three routes felt out of reach. They have a reputation: beautiful lines and exceptional rock quality; but also brutally technical and mentally demanding, with long runouts and relentlessly powerful and sustained climbing.

What eventually changed, and why I decided in 2025 that this would be a great project, came down to a simple realisation: I'd spent a lot of time climbing in Yosemite, Sardinia, Corsica and Canada — and had barely explored some of the best multipitch areas close to where I grew up. With 2025 being my first year as a full-time professional athlete, I felt ready to set myself a big goal that would test my strength, ability and experience.

Finishing the trilogy twelve months later fills me with happiness and immense pride. In the end it was about so much more than just climbing the three routes. It was my first big project as a professional athlete and it taught me what that actually means. How to handle pressure, and how to show up when a film crew is on the wall with you. It was also about learning what it means to commit fully to a project where you don't know beforehand if it's even within reach — and also about spending unforgettable days on the wall with incredible people, being bold, growing through the hard moments, and keeping the motivation high. It is the biggest, longest and hardest project of my climbing career so far. These three routes felt like a test and having passed it gives me the confidence to think bigger

None of this would have been possible without the people around me — my family, all my friends and climbing partners who were just as motivated and shared the same passion. Thank you to my sponsors and everyone who believed in this project. Couldn't have done it without you."

ALPINE TRILOGY
Silbergeier 8b+
Rätikon, Switzerland
Beat Kammerlander, 1994
P1: 8b, P2: 7c+, P3: 8a+, P4: 7a+, P5: 8b+, P6: 7c+/8a.

End of silence 8b+
Berchtesgadener Alpen, Germany
Thomas Huber, 1994
P1: 7a+, P2: 6a, P3: 6c+, P4: 6c, P5: 7b+, P6: 7c+, P7: 7b+, P8: 8b, P9: 8b+, P10: 7c+, P11: 7a+

Des Kaisers neue Kleider 8b+
Wilder Kaiser, Austria
Stefan Glowacz, 1994
P1: 7a, P2: 7c , P3: 8b, P4: 7b+, P5: 8b+, P6: 8a, P7: 6b, P8: 8b+, P9: 6c.