German Climbers Tools

• German climbing tools and gear are popular with German and international climbers. Geir Pettersen/Digital Vision/Getty Images

  Germany has a long tradition of rock and alpine mountain climbing. The Bavarian Alps have been the site of extensive alpine exploration. German climbers have been pushing the limits of mountaineering, establishing routes in the Himalaya and developing difficult technical rock climbs on their home turf. Over the years German companies have developed to outfit and equip German alpinists with tools designed for the conditions they face. Today, German climbing tools are used around the world.

Edelrid

• Since the 1959s, German company Edelrid has been designing technical mountain gear for European alpinists. Known especially for their dynamic and static climbing ropes, Edelrid makes climbing-specific helmets, harnesses, and ice climbing gear. Ice climbers ascent steep rock walls that are covered in ice, using axes and spiked boot-attachments called "crampons." The Sylvenstein Waterfalls in Bavaria, Germany is a popular ice climbing destination, with some permanent gear set into the ice and rock so beginners can learn. Edelrid axes, crampons, ropes, and belay devices are perfect for a day at Sylvenstein.

Deuter Packs

• To ferry heavy loads of gear through the steep German high country, Deuter has been making specialty backpacks and hauling equipment for climbers since 1898. Deuter tents and backpacks have been outfitting notable German climbers for decades. Deuter tents and backpacks were used in the 1953 first ascent of Nanga Parbat, the ninth highest mountain on the planet, by German mountaineer Hermann Buhls. Deuter has continued to produce packs for modern climbers, along with a line of sleeping bags for all seasons. The Deuter Aircontact Zero is a contemporary, high-end series of lightweight packs designed for extended alpine climbing and trekking.

Lost Arrow Shoes and Apparel

• Climbing-specific clothing is a large international market, where highly durable, stylish clothing and outerwear for all seasons is in demand. Lost Arrow is a Bavarian Alps-based outdoor apparel company founded in the early 1990s by two German rock climbers. T-shirts, sweatshirts and sturdy pants perfect for sport climbing found in the limestone cliffs at Frankenjura, in northern Bavaria. Lost Arrow has also produced several technical climbing shoes, with sticky rubber soles to allow a climber to balance on tiny footholds.