A month shy of his twenty - second birthday , he accomplished his first important ascent , the Pichl - Route on the North Face of the Planspitze -- solo .
At the age of twenty Preuss began to climb at a respectable level .
A month shy of Preuss ' twenty - second birthday , Preuss accomplished his first important ascent , the Pichl - Route on the North Face of the Planspitze -- solo .
At the age of twenty Preuss began to climb at a respectable level .