New MSR Athlete Dani Arnold Breaks Speed Record

Seattle-based Mountain Safety Research is proud to add Swiss mountaineer and alpinist Dani Arnold to its team of athlete ambassadors. MSR is excited to announce that Arnold has set a new speed record for ascending the north face of Grandes Jorasses, completing the route in just 2 hours and 4 minutes. A professional ice climber and remarkable free soloist, Arnold has also claimed speed records on some of the world’s other most formidable peaks. He joins forces with MSR to collaborate on events and new product performance testing.

In addition to the newly set record, Arnold has an incredible tick-list of fastest ascents, including the Heckmair route up the North Face of Eiger (2 hr 28 min), Matterhorn (1 hr 46 min), and the Crack Baby route in Switzerland (27 min 13 s), among others.

Arnold also holds the very first winter ascent of Torre Egger in Patagonia in 2010 alongside fellow alpinists, Thomas Senf and Stephan Siergrist. Recently, Arnold also made the first free solo speed ascent of the icefall Beta Block Super (1 hour 3 min) in Kandersteg, Switzerland, notably the scariest ascent of his alpine career to-date.

“Having exceptional athletes like Dani join the MSR team helps us achieve our goal of making the best gear on the planet by testing these products in the harshest, most extreme environments,” says Sarah Courtney, water and snow category manager at MSR. “We are extremely excited to have him join the MSR family, and congratulate him on his recent accomplishment.”

In addition to his personal mountaineering missions, Arnold is also a mountain expedition guide. Arnold has been guiding trips since 2009 and has found satisfaction in helping others summit their dream peaks. Arnold also hosts lectures and presentations discussing his expeditions and climbs on a range of topics including motivation, preparation tips and telling exciting stories. He hopes to inspire people by giving them anecdotal and visual glimpses of the beautiful landscapes he experiences, and how the personal and physical challenges he overcomes strengthen his skill set.

Adding to the list of Arnold’s accomplishment, he achieved the first ascent of Exile on Main Street via a new route up Gross Grunhom with partner Ruoss, and in 2015 Arnold and his partner, Lama, managed a first ascent of the Birds of Prey route, the direct line up the east face of the Moose’s Tooth in Alaska.

Seattle-based MSR has been engineering standard-setting high-performance outdoor equipment since 1969. A commitment to quality manufacturing and innovation ensures customers are outfitted with the finest, most reliable gear available for outdoor adventures. MSR product lines include: stoves, fuel, cookware, water treatment and hydration systems, shelters, snowshoes, snow tools, and backcountry poles. The majority of MSR products are made in the company’s Seattle, U.S.A. and Cork, Ireland manufacturing facilities.