HometownBetween Tegernsee and Prien am Chiemsee
Favourite product Gravity Expedition 45+
Favourite SpotsPicos de Europa, Spain
Learn moreAlexander Hick
Alexander is applying to be an official mountain and ski guide. He manages to combine his passion for travel and exploration with his main job: During and after his diploma at the Academy of Fine Art in Munich, he visited various art and film schools, including in Barcelona and Mexico. He then studied at the Munich College for Film and Television and now directs independent documentary films. In 2014, he founded the label Flipping the Coin Films. For Deuter, he explains more about his exciting life between mountains and film
HometownFüssen (Ostallgäu)
Favourite product Guide Lite 28+ SL
Favourite SpotsThe Alps, Nepal and the Wadden Sea
Learn moreAlix von Melle
Greatest achievements
- 7 climbed eight-thousanders without using artificial oxygen
- 7 transalps by mountain bike
- various ski ascents and ski trips worldwide (Mustagh Ata, Damawand, Etna, Chilean volcanoes, Iceland, Scandinavia)
Learn more
With seven climbed eight-thousanders without the use of artificial oxygen, Alix is currently the most successful German high altitude climber. Whenever time allows, she is out on expeditions, ski tours, climbing or mountain biking. In yoga she finds the balance to competitive sports. Professionally, Alix works as a PR manager, lecturer, author and yoga teacher.
HometownCurrently in Bozeman, MT, USA
Favourite SpotsVal di Mello, Elevation 1904, Piz Fliana, Latteria Livigno, Black Canyon
Learn moreBenjamin Reuter
Self-confessed IPA fan, snow shoveller, avalanche researcher, non-pro climber, telemark beginner since 2011
“I love taking my rope and going skiing. When I can plan a trip, it usually leads to a very high wall at the end of the world, perhaps with sunshine, but perhaps also with a “let’s just do it” mentality. It’s a real joy in the morning when the egg white is firm and the yolk is runny. When I’m out and about in nature, then I’m happiest with my loved ones, preferably having some kind of adventure.”
HometownBorn and bred in Karlsruhe and in Augsburg since 1990
Favourite product Guide Lite 30+
Favourite SpotsWherever you can go climbing, biking and ski touring, and where there’s football (even if just as a spectator)
Learn moreBernd Kullmann
Bernd is our Deuter bedrock: He’s been our loyal companion since 1986! Now after many years of management, he is devoting his energy to being our brand ambassador.
In addition to sport and nature, his family, consisting of his wife and two adult children, plays an important role in his life. He likes reading, preferably crime drama, newspapers and magazines, and is interested in political-critical matters. Not only does he love being in the mountains, but it also gives him great joy to help young people as they embark on their adult lives: “That’s where my first job as a teacher comes through!”, he comments. In addition, he describes himself as an ardent football fan!
HometownRettenberg im Allgäu
Favourite product Guide Lite 28+ SL
Favourite SpotsChamonix, Wallis
Learn moreBianca Schöferle
As a native Allgäuer I love and appreciate my homeland and always look forward to returning there after a journey. Just like with the Deuter products. Having grown up with the children's mountain tour backpacks, I would now like to have the Alpine backpack series, which I love to use for mountain guiding and private mountaineering.
In the beginning they were grassy mountain tours and ski tours with cross-country skis and provisionally glued on ascent skins. After the interest in climbing and ski touring was awakened by the mountain rescue service, there followed years of fun and always happy life on the rock, on skis and in the high mountains. Finally, with valuable experience from my mountain guide training, I would now like to turn my hobby partly into my profession.
I would describe myself as a little bundle of energy, which is contagious :D. I hope I can use this energy in the further development of the Deuter Alpine Family and inspire other people to enjoy mountain sports. I like to go ski touring and long climbing tours with good friends, where I mainly use the modern, practical and lightweight Guide Lite backpack series.
Alpine successes / experiences:
- Sport climbing: Rottachberg Allgäu, Werk3 7b+
- High tour: Valais, Zmuttgrat on the Matterhorn
- Ice climbing: Langental, I Droc WI 5+
- Ski: Italy, Cima Tosa
Targets:
- To stay healthy
- Dolomites Alpine climbing
Hobbies:
- Family and friends
- Mountain rescue (Sonthofen)
- Apart from mountain sports, I like to go into body art and yoga as a balancing component.
- On hot days I like to go canyoning and on bad weather days in autumn I like to go into a cave.
What do you associate with Deuter?
Well thought-out, practical mountain sports articles that work. For me, Deuter is a company that has been asserting itself in the competitive mountain sports market for a long time (I've known Deuter since I was a child)
HometownMunich
Favourite product Speed Lite 30 SL
Favourite SpotsI’ve been a frequent and enthusiastic visitor to the French Alps, where I like the light, the rocks and the food.
Learn moreCaroline Thurner
Job:
Product designer at Deuter with a focus on Alpine and sleeping bags.
Interests: I absolutely love being out and about in the mountains. I’m currently focussing all my passion on alpine and sport climbing. That brings me to my personal limits time and time again – as well as to beautiful places. In addition to sporting activities, I like creating new things: a piece of furniture, good food or a backpack.
What’s important to you?
Authenticity and satisfaction.
What have you always wanted to do?
Sleep on a portaledge.
I’m part of the Deuter SL team because…
as a developer, it’s incredibly important and exciting to get as much user feedback as possible. And I find the fact that the SL team is made up of so many inspiring women really enriching!
HometownI’m originally from Würzburg but I’ve been living in Innsbruck for nine years
Favourite SpotsThe Dolomites!!! And the mountains around Innsbruck
Learn moreCharlotte Gild-Haselwarter
“I’ve been working on my doctorate in geography and geology for two years while at the same time earning a living as a mountain guide. Otherwise I’m never happier than when I’m alpine climbing with friends in the Dolomites in the summer or sport climbing at home in the Tyrol. In the winter, [I like] ice climbing and ski touring all through the Alps :) I’ve only been working with Deuter since May 2017. But I don’t know of any backpacks that fit better on your back!”
Not only is Charlie actively involved in the VDBS team for Deuter, she also brings her mountaineering skills to the Deuter Alpine Family, where her valuable feedback enhances the design and development of our Gravity climbing series.
HometownOberstaufen in the Allgäu
Favourite product Gravity Expedition 45+
Favourite SpotsWith all the mountains in the world, it’s really difficult for me to pick a single spot.
Learn moreFabian Buhl
Student, passionate all-rounder with an impressive list of climbs: Psychogramm 8b+ (traditional), Nirwana 8c+ (alpine), Winterbock 8c (winter solo), Dreamtime 8c (boulder), Frontman Deluxe 9a (sport)
Fabian Buhl studies geology in Innsbruck. Like virtually everyone who grows up in the Allgäu, he is very attached to his homeland – in his case, Oberstaufen. From when he was a young boy, he has always been involved in the local sports scene. When he gave up downhill skiing at the age of 16, he decided to look for a new challenge. Climbing soon became his new passion: exercise and nature – both fascinated Fabian. After just a few months, it became clear to him that he wanted to develop his climbing skills. And that happened quite fast: in Scheidegg, Fabian found a training group that took him along on trips to France and Italy. However, the crucial trip was one he took to Cresciano in Ticino. “That changed everything”, explains Fabian. He wanted to train and go bouldering so that he could climb all the beautiful rocks there. “Still today, Ticino is a place to which I keep coming back”, reveals the 25-year-old. But Fabian also loves travelling in the Raetikon and in South Africa. Meanwhile, the geology student is quite a celebrity, and it’s no wonder: He collects challenging repeat climbs such as Psychogramm 8b+ on the Bürser Platte and Alexander Huber’s multi-pitch tour Nirwana 8c+ on the Loferer Alm. When making his first ascents, he tries to set himself new challenges. “I don’t have a special discipline, but instead I try to incorporate as much variety as possible and to explore my limits in bouldering, traditional and alpine climbing”, says Fabian. And here he has succeeded in an impressive manner, as Climax Magazine has already named him the world’s best all-round climber.
This is why I’m involved: Deuter for me has always stood for reliable and durable products developed in Germany. That’s why I’m happy that I was able to help with the development of the climbing collection. I’m aware that it’s a huge privilege to be so well supported by Deuter, so that I can project my dreams onto the walls of the world!
HometownGrown up in Tübingen, since 2015 in Oberstdorf in Allgäu
Favourite product Guide Lite 24
Favourite SpotsChamonix and Uri Alps
Learn moreFinn Koch
Greatest achievements
- The one-day ascent of the Eiger north face 2016
- The Peru Expedition 2017 with the crossing of the Taulliraju Massif in the Cordillera Blanca
- between 2016 and 2018 member of the expedition squad of the German Alpine Club
Learn more
Being out in the mountains, whether climbing, cycling or running, is part of a successful day for me. If you sweat a little bit during this, all the better. In "young" years I was on the road every weekend in "extreme" tours, today I try to minimize the risk with the big goal to become an old mountain climber. This is also one of the reasons why my path led me from the expedition squad of the German Alpine Club to the mountain guide training of the VDBS. Constant development in what you do, leaving your comfort zone and fighting for new goals is really good for me.
HometownHinterstein in the Allgäu
Favourite SpotsWherever the conditions happen to be good ;)
Learn moreHeidi Harder
Heidi has been an official mountain and ski guide since 2012. In winter, she is particularly keen on off-piste skiing and ski tours, and in summer, she does a lot of rock climbing. With her background as a teacher (M.A.), she is also often in the mountains as a trainer and coach.
Heidi lives with her husband and their small daughters in Hinterstein in the Allgäu.
“What I particularly value about Deuter backpacks is the good quality and functionality of the products and the fact that the SL series means there are backpacks that fit me properly!!” This is why Heidi has been actively working together with Deuter since 2017.
HometownHinterstein near Bad Hindelang
Favourite product Gravity Motion
Favourite SpotsWherever there is wild nature and lonely mountains. Preferably also where there are great rocks I haven’t yet explored. I’m not someone who always has to return to the same places – I’m fascinated by new regions!
Learn moreHubert Sauter
Mountain guide, sports retailer and veteran climber
Hubert is an old hand in the Allgäu! Anyone wanting a sound opinion and honest advice on alpine equipment usually seeks him out: Hubert works in the widely known “Bergsport Maxi” shop in Kempten. Now in his mid-fifties, he knows what he’s talking about. As an official mountain guide, long-term director of the first Allgäu Climbing School and employee of a large outdoor supplier, he has amassed a wealth of experience. The same applies to the mountains – even if he only started climbing at the age of 16 through a course run by the Alpine Association. He is a typically modest Allgäu native, simply saying of himself: “Some lovely people I knew helped me to gain experience through very easy alpine fragile climbs in the Allgäu Alps so I was able to build on my poor condition.” He only started sport climbing much later – climbing up to 8b and mixed M8/W6 routes more with good footwork than great strength. It is not peak performance that draws Hubert to the mountains, but the enjoyment and a search for peace and a work-life balance. Thus, he is always on the lookout for new travel destinations, routes and rocks.
This is why I’m involved: I kept meeting Bernd Kullmann in climbing parks and in the mountains. There just was – and is – a good link to him and, thus, to Deuter. Even in younger years, I was always amazed by his spirit and his joy in mountaineering. He gave me the chance to work with the Alpine Family.
Hubert explains his approach: “My passion is my job… I actually trained as a retail salesman. My passion for climbing was awoken by a climbing course run by the DAV Kempten section. A hint of adventure – great areas – lovely people and becoming more aware of my body – these were the motivating factors! During a foray into the insurance sector, I had a lot of free time and was always out and about. This was the trigger for my chosen career path: mountain guide. But marriage and family meant having to move away from being a professional mountain guide. So I joined a Swiss mountain sports equipment manufacturer. During this time, I founded the first Allgäu sport climbing school with two friends! I enjoyed this work for a period of 11 years – we offered all sorts of climbing courses. I was lucky enough to join a friend in his mountain sports shop: “Bergsport Maxi in Kempten”. I’ve been working on my own in the shop since 2016, while my former partner, Maxi Klaus, works as a trainer for the national sport climbing team. I’ve been associated with Deuter since 1993 – QUALITY and FUNCTIONALITY are the main priorities for this German company. Here at Bergsport Maxi, it’s the undisputed No. 1 for backpacks!”
HometownKonstanz
Favourite product Gravity Motion
Favourite SpotsDanube Valley, Ticino – and anywhere lots of fresh snow under the bindings.
Learn moreJörg Helfrich
Maverick, mountain guide, sports scientist, member of the national training team for sport climbing, employee of the university sports team in Konstanz, independent with slackline tools,
Jörg loves to take an unconventional approach. He started out in the classic climbing areas of his native Pfalz, and since then has switched regularly between alpine and sport climbing. Meanwhile, the qualified sports scientist has made Konstanz on Lake Constance his home. In recent years, he has achieved various first ascents in South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. The mountain guide is a critical spirit: “Putting yourself at risk is not a crime and that’s how it should be. It’s the only way I can find my balance away from anxiety, boredom and dogmatism”, he explains. And so in his late thirties, he continues to commute between different worlds – also what his opinions are concerned: Among other things, as a member of the Urban Renewal Commission for the Danube Valley, he has been busy inserting bolts and fixing pitons. He loves keeping all his options open! Whether it’s fastening tubes, ABS backpacks or the price of milk… Jörg assumes responsibility. And says: “For me, it’s important to shape my surroundings, not simply to accept changes for no reason!”
That’s why I get involved: As a sports climber, I have a right to a well-designed, long-lasting backpack with a very good carrier system – and cool, practical features. To date, I haven’t found that with any manufacturer. That had to and will change! And Deuter can do that.
Julia von der Linden
Julia’s main job is as a sports and English teacher at a high school. Since 2004, she has also been an official ski instructor, and since 2017, an official mountain and ski guide. She is never happier than when travelling the world for skiing, ski touring, climbing and mountain biking. She has been supporting Deuter since 2017 with her mountain expertise and experience.
HometownSchorndorf
Favourite product Gravity Motion
Favourite SpotsThe Magic Woods bouldering area
Learn moreKim Marschner
A new member of the Alpine Family! Kim, who grew up in his parent’s climbing hall, is a full-time climber and member of the national competitive rock climbing squad. He also enjoys surfing, when he has time between training and competitions. In addition, he leaves his footprints in the best sport climbing and bouldering destinations of the world.
Mélissa Le Nevé
Greatest achievements
- 3rd at the Überall World Cup 2016
- 2nd at the Boulder Word Cup Switzerland and Japan 2016
- First women's ascent of the route Wallstreet 8c in the Franconian Jura
- First women's ascent of the "Mécanique élémentaire" 8b+ in Fontainebleau
Since 2016, she no longer competes and concentrates on difficult courses and cliff projects.
HometownSt. Marein in Mürztal, Styria, Austria
Favourite product Gravity Pitch 12
Favourite SpotsWherever dreams become a reality.
Learn moreMich Kemeter
Mich’s career as a professional athlete began – and this may come as a surprise for those who know this Austrian as a successful (free solo) climber, base jumper and slackliner – in 2003 at the Austrian pistol shooting championships. After this, as Mich calls it, “chaotic world championship”, which featured a faulty weapon and made him realise he did not yet have sufficient mental strength, Mich decided to try his hand in a relatively new field, where mental strength and focus also play a key role – solo climbing and slacklining.
Focussed on the moment
These two sports fascinated him, as they demand not only an above-average amount of physical strength, coordination and balance, but also extreme levels of concentration and mental strength. He didn’t try slacklining until three years after his formative debut as a professional athlete in pistol shooting, but made such extraordinary progress in his first year that he soon wanted more: longer, higher and more exposed lines.
In 2009, he achieved his first major slackline success, which also brought him international recognition. He set his first world record by completing an on-sight crossing of a 217-metre longline. In the same year, he achieved a free solo highline in Tragöß (Styria), the longest highline in Styria and one of the first highlines in the world to measure 60 metres near Graz, not to mention an attempt to cross an 85-metre long highline (which would have been a world record) at Peilstein in Lower Austria.
Natural Games 86m Highline World Record. Another world record followed in 2011 – Mich strung a 105-metre waterline over Green Lake in Styria, and – despite the added difficulty, unlike slacklining on land, there is no focal point – crossed it with flying colours. But even this substantial length was not enough to satisfy Mich and so in the following years, he kept raising the bar in terms of mental challenge and physical condition. He completed a 135-metre, a 160-metre, a 222-metre and a 250-metre waterline in 2014 – naturally another world record! But perhaps his greatest achievement was him crossing a 160-metre long waterline on Green Lake, which he managed to do within 24 hours (perhaps the fact that the temperature of the lake was just 6° Celsius drove him to complete the crossing so fast and so well), and he celebrated this achievement with the free solo completion of an 8a sport climbing route.
Professional climber, slackliner and base jumper Mich Kemeter
Mich does not just perform over land and water, but also in the air. He initiated and successfully completed the highest highline in Austria – on the Großglockner mountain, of course – was able to complete the first free solo on-sight crossing of the world’s first highline on Lost Arrow Spire in Yosemite National Park with a length of 18 metres and a height of 400 metres, and conquered the 31-metre highline on Taft Point (also in Yosemite) as the first European to do so free solo. But Mich does not just balance on a swaying line only 2.5 cm wide, slung between two fixed anchor points; he does the same between two moving objects. Not only was he the first European to manage a full crossing of a slackline between two hot air balloons with just a parachute for safety, but also the first person to dare to attempt a 27-metre slackline set 22 metres high between two Ocean Race sailing boats in Abu Dhabi.
As you can imagine, following his triumph on the 160-metre long waterline on Green Lake, Mich is also supremely fit on the rocks. Among the greatest achievements of this passionate free solo climber are four free solo climbs in the sub-10. difficulty category (8a): “Mandala”, “Soulfly”, “Bruchheinzi” and “0815”; free solo climbs of multi-pitch tours of easier grades and several big wall climbs on El Capitan. However, Mich Kemeter does not just do free solo climbing, he is also involved in solo base climbing and is currently producing a documentary about this style of climbing.
HometownMeanwhile, Murnau am Staffelsee, originally from the Ruhr district
Favourite product Freerider Pro 34+
Favourite SpotsKarwendel in winter, Chamonix in spring, the Dolomites in summer and the Palatinate region in autumn
Learn moreNils Beste
Nils works primarily for the French climbing outfitter Petzl and is responsible for their German marketing division. This role takes up 80% of his time; the rest is spent on his personal mountain projects, and on climbing and ski trips that have taken him to Nepal, Madagascar, Georgia and America to date. And naturally on his work as a mountain guide. He is especially happy and motivated on solitary ski tours and long alpine rock climbing expeditions. What Nils values most about Deuter backpacks is their durability, as this is the best way for an outdoor product to demonstrate sustainability.
HometownScheidegg in West Allgäu
Favourite product Gravity Motion SL
Favourite SpotsIt’s very hard to say, it depends on the activity. Where I really love to be is in Finale Ligure, the Bernese Oberland, Val di Po and, for ski touring, the Bregenz forest.
Learn moreRagna Krückels
Job: Official mountain and ski guide, high school teacher
Hobbies: naturally everything to do with mountains, climbing and biking. I also enjoy working in my small garden, I make herbal infusions and very good compost. It’s fascinating how the little bugs in the earth – worms and so on – turn our waste into great soil!!! And every now and then, I even get to read!!
Other: Member of the DAV state youth and mountaineering training team and the JDAV Baden-Württemberg national youth training team, member of the VDBS training team, mountain hiking guide
I’m part of the Deuter SL team because… I think it’s great that Deuter was the first company to make a backpack designed specifically for female backs. Finally, I no longer get a headache after a long climb with a heavy backpack! When we work on suggested improvements in the team and they are then quickly implemented, I find that highly motivating. We’re also a jolly crowd and we have a lot of fun whenever we’re together!
If I had a lot of time, I’d like to… do a lot more climbing. Spend a bit more time in my garden. And spend more time with family and friends, which, unfortunately, I never seem to have enough time for.
Deuter flash: fully motivated, always on the move
HometownKaprun/Austria
Favourite product Gravity Motion
Favourite SpotsAnywhere I haven’t been to yet e.g.: Autumn 2017 – climbing in Namibia. There are still so many “blank spaces”…
Learn moreRoman Dirnböck
Mountain guide, early ice climber, expedition leader, mountain rescuer and engineer
Roman lives for climbing like few others do. Having grown up with competitive sports and trained as a structural engineer, the native of Lower Austria has been working as a professional mountain guide for over 20 years. He is also involved in mountain rescue training. Meanwhile, Roman lives in Kaprun in the Salzburg region, where he really appreciates the superb opportunities for ice climbing. “I’ve been lucky enough to get to know a lot of beautiful places around the globe for mountaineering and climbing”, says the 49-year-old. He often goes to La Grave and Gressoney for freeriding, while for high tours, he prefers the Western Alps or New Zealand. For climbing, he likes to go to Jordan or the USA. Roman has already done successful expeditions in India, Kyrgistan, Nepal and South America, and climbed some high mountains. With his guests, the experienced mountain guide has stood on the summit of all 82 peaks over 4,000 metres in the Alps! But he hasn’t had enough yet. “The best place is always the one you’re going to climb next”, says Roman. And he’s probably already on his way there! This is why I’m involved: I’ve been testing mostly backpacks for Deuter for 20 years. I like tinkering with pieces of kit in order to optimise them. And Deuter is always interested in making improvements to its products. I’ve always found Deuter open to suggestions, especially when I’ve expressed my criticism of certain details. They’ve always reacted very swiftly. What’s more, the company philosophy fits with my personal attitude.
HometownNorthern Black Forest/Calw
Favourite product Attack Enduro 16
Favourite SpotsBergell or Chamomix
Learn moreTom Regelmann
Mountain guide, mountain sports shop owner, father, climber and mountain biker
From an early age, Tom spent time in the mountains with his parents. Then as a teenager, he pushed himself to the limit in snow, rocks and ice in the Alps. Home for Tom is the northern Black Forest, where he now lives with his wife and three children. As a passionate climber, he has made the first ascents of well over 100 routes up to 8a. Tom has a good head for heights: He has completed some free solo climbs in the Alps, and in Pakistan, he was the first to climb a Big Wall. Tom’s CV also includes numerous ski descents of steep alpine slopes – including many firsts. He has turned his passion for the mountains into two successful careers: He gave up his job as a joiner to work alternately as the owner of a mountain sports shop and as an official mountain and ski guide. “In my private life, I also spend every free minute either climbing, mountaineering or out on my mountain bike. Preferably with my family”, says Tom. When he’s climbing or mountaineering, he is keen to ensure he leaves as few traces as possible. His motto is: “Outdoors is a healthy place to be!”
That’s why I get involved: because it’s fun and exciting. I have a lot to contribute because I deal with the end customer through the shop, but I’m also out and about as a mountain guide. Therefore, I know both sides.
