“My lifelong motto has been: climbing is great. Always and everywhere,” said Herbert Richter more than six years ago in our interview. “When you climb on sandstone, you have to have a little fear and respect. And so it’s okay. You just have to climb what you know and what you’re good at, not the other way around.“

The climber, who was one of the world’s top climbers in the 1960s and one of the most famous first ascents in Saxon Switzerland and Broumov, celebrated his 90th birthday this week. He was born in Meissen on 29 January 1935. You probably know his name from the guidebook to the Adršpach and Teplice Rocks. You can find him at beautiful lines like Parrot’s Crack VIIc on Parrot Tower, Solstice VIIc on Mayor or Muses Crack VIIIb on Teplice’s Lahvičky.

It wasn’t easy to get to Adr in the sixties. He waited four years for a visa to Czechoslovakia, but by all accounts it was worth it. “We had eyes like that. It was like a fairy tale — beautiful, exciting. Even the people, the language, the cultural differences,” he recalled with Alesak. Once Adr gets you, it’s love for life. Although Herbert hung up his climbing shoes in 2011, he keeps coming back. Probably for the cultural differences, most often to the Krecbachs’ cottage.

EVERYTHING WENT WELL

tells Ondra Krecbach

“When the new guidebook was launched at Ádr, Herbert slept with us. In the evening we had coffee in the cottage and Herbert told us how 50 years ago he used to go to the Stránskýs’ cottage or to Křižák. Those were good times because Herbert always brought us some slings or carabiners, which we didn’t have at all. I still have one of those slings. The evening progressed and from the cottage we went to the christening where the band was playing. Herbert kept dancing until three in the morning. He had a bottle of honey in his pocket, which he had received as a VIP guest, and he kept announcing as he danced: ‘Be careful, otherwise you’ll all get very dirty!‘

The next day he came to the cottage and lay on the couch for about three hours. He was very sick, but he was very happy. Only he kept saying he didn’t want to die in Ádr, but at home… He was really sick. We wanted to call a doctor, but he told us not to. In the end everything went well and now on Wednesday he celebrated his 90th birthday!”

On behalf of the editors of eMontana we wish Herbert lots of strength for the next Adršpach parties and vigour and health until at least 100.