#12 Chris Hanke

Chris Hanke knew climbing from a very young age. “My parents dragged me through the mountains already as a small child; I could climb sooner than walk.” Both of his siblings climbed as well.

However, it didn’t become his “main sport” straight away. As a youngster he tried different activities, like athletics, gymnastics, skiing… He was into gymnastics when he got noticed by a climbing coach who was responsible for a children’s group in Munich (his hometown). The coach invited him to join a session or two with the group. Chris accepted and really enjoyed the “proper climbing”.

Having experience in different sports, especially gymnastics, Chris approached climbing in a structured way from the word go. He already had an idea about what systematic training looks like and having access to a coach helped as well.

He spent an awful lot of time training; it’s actually what he found the most fun at the time. He had a somewhat slimmer choice of training devices, which for young Chris meant endless hours on overhanging system boards equipped with small holds and a pull-up bar to mix it up. Miles on the system board and thousands of pull ups - that was his development into a climber.

The next step was already on the horizon and Chris soon took it: he started competing in youth events. “At first I didn’t really know it how to approach it all, but as time went on, I became more professional in the matter.”

He’s never forgotten his roots and what his parents have etched into his childhood: Chris has always kept climbing on rock, alongside his competition career. This is true until today.

When his then-partner and now-wife Chiara chose the Bayreuth University for her studies, Chris decided to move to the Frankenjura together with her. For him, there are only two options if you want to live in Germany and climb a lot: either Franken or the Alps. They chose the first one and liked it a lot; to the point that they’ve built their life here. “It’s a great place to live overall; not just the climbing aspect.”

As a climbing area, Chris sees Fränkische Schweiz as very diverse. Being large, it consists of many parts, each of which has its own character. His favourite routes are mostly classics since they carry a lot of history and the stories behind first ascents have always interested him. He likes that through the routes one can appreciate the talent of the climbing pioneers even today; for him, especially that of Wolfgang Güllich.

It always feels special for Chris to climb at historic cargs, such as many in the Krottenseer Forst, the whole bunch of Burggrub crags, or Richard-Wagner-Fels. He also likes that each generation leaves their mark on Franken and to observe the development in the routes over the years.

Chris’ 50RP route, Ghettoblaster, certainly belongs to these old classics that burst with history. He finds the crux very hard, mainly because it suits neither his height nor his strengths. Nevertheless, it certainly is a route for the bucket list.

A little behind the scenes insight: the photos above are some early poster tests. Click here to view the 50RP Posters.

Professionally Chris is a Soldier-Athlete, which enables him to still train and compete at a high level. He also jumps into the role of a coach from time to time, which he finds interesting because the change in perspective lets him notice things about his own climbing and improve as a result.

One thing that fascinates him about climbing is that at the end of the day, you’re only ever “against” yourself, even in competition. Sure you can look to others for comparison, but the most fun comes from overcoming own weaknesses and learning how to approach the problem, be it on rock, in the gym or during a competition.

He learned the power of the right approach on many specific routes that he tried. Although he may have felt in his prime physically, the complexity of the route presented such a challenge that getting the tick required a lot of work despite the strong body.

Thank you, Chris, for being a part of 50RP!