Alpinist 26 has a great article on climbing in Saxony. It reminded me that almost three decades ago I started, but never finished, an essay on the the mythical Oliver Perry-Smith. I say mythical in that his rock climbing and alpine exploits (pre-WWI) were off the charts, but almost unknown. Many, if not most of his climbs were solo, and he was the first person to in history to climb at the 5.9 level, almost three decades before it became commonplace. The enclosed picture is a 5.6-5.7 rock pinnacle outside Dresden that he is doing a headstand on. He essentially quit climbing when his family moved back to America after World War I, however if you click on this link you will access a short biography that suggests he soloed the Flatirons outside Boulder well into his seventies.
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