Magnus Rognan Midtbø (born 18 September 1988) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including the ...

rock climber Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

and

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

video blogger Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) syste ...

. He was born in

Bergen Bergen (), historically Bjørgvin, is a city and municipality in Vestland county on the west coast of Norway. , its population is roughly 285,900. Bergen is the second-largest city in Norway. The municipality covers and is on the peninsula of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

. He retired from competitive climbing in 2017.

Career

Climbing

Midtbø started climbing in 2000 at 11 years of age after his mother enrolled him in a class. After just one year of climbing, he won the Norwegian Youth Championship, and a year later, in 2002, he

on-sight __NOTOC__ This glossary of climbing terms is a list of definitions of terms and jargon related to rock climbing and mountaineering. The specific terms used can vary considerably between different English-speaking countries; many of the phrases d ...

climbed his first

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

route ''Øgletryne'' at the Sageveggen rock wall, near

. In 2005, he won the World Youth Championships in

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, China. After graduating from high school in 2007, Midtbø moved to

Innsbruck, Austria Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol and the fifth-largest city in Austria. On the River Inn, at its junction with the Wipp Valley, which provides access to the Brenner Pass to the south, it had a pop ...

. At the time, Innsbruck attracted many of the world's top climbers, including

David Lama David Lama ( ne, डेभिड लामा; 4 August 1990 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian sport climber and mountaineer. He won the European Championship in bouldering in 2007 and the European Championship in lead climbing in 2006. He ...

Jakob Schubert Jakob Schubert (born December 31, 1990) is an Austrian professional rock climber, sport climber and boulderer. He was World Champion (2012, 2018, 2021) and World Cup winner (2011, 2014, 2018) in Lead climbing. He has redpointed to . In August 2 ...

, and Anna Stöhr, who trained together for competitions. In an interview, Midtbø described Lama as the most talented person he had ever climbed with as well as a personal inspiration during their tenure in Austria. In August 2010, he made his most challenging ascent to date, when he completed the route ''Ali Hulk sit start extension'' in

Rodellar Rodellar is a locality located in the municipality of Bierge, in Huesca province, Aragon, Spain. As of 2020, it has a population of 54. Geography Rodellar is located 64km east-northeast of Huesca Huesca (; an, Uesca) is a city in north-easte ...

, Spain. The route is composed of a

boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

(climbed without rope) and a sport climbing segment. The first ascent was made by Daniel Andrada in 2007. The grade was initially considered to be but has been since downgraded to 9a+/b. In an interview with UK Climbing, Midtbø stated that there were many challenges to this route, such as resting in the initial boulder section to work out the rest of the route and mustering sufficient core strength to overcome the overhang. In May 2013, Midtbø returned to Rodellar to

''Cosi fan tutte'', graded . , only four other people had on-sighted routes graded 8c+ or higher:

Patxi Usobiaga Patxi Usobiaga Lakunza (born September 7, 1980), best known as Patxi Usobiaga, is a Spanish professional rock climber, sports climber and boulderer. He is known for winning two Lead Climbing World Cups in a row, and for being the first-ever c ...

Adam Ondra Adam Ondra (born February 5, 1993) is a Czech professional rock climber, specializing in lead climbing and bouldering. In 2013, ''Rock & Ice'' described Ondra as a prodigy and the leading climber of his generation. Ondra is the only male athlete t ...

, Ramon Julian Puigblanque, and

Alex Megos Alexander Megos (born 12 August 1993) is a German rock climber. He was the first climber to on-sight (climb on the first try without prior practice or advice) a route graded . He has completed multiple routes and boulder problems that are not ...

. Midtbø retired from competitive climbing in May 2017. In the 95th vlog of Midtbø's YouTube channel, he described his decision to retire: "I still get motivated just by climbing. I think some people need a specific goal, but I’ve never felt like I needed one. It sounds really cheesy, I know. I just love climbing. I love being in the nature. I love the feeling of feeling free, but it is like that you know. I don’t know. I like the lifestyle, I like traveling, I like trying hard, and most of all, I like the feeling of feeling really fit, really strong, the feeling of being able to climb anything."

Media

Midtbø runs a successful eponymous YouTube channel, which has over one and a half million subscribers as of January 2023. On his channel, Midtbø posts videos centered around climbing; he often offers training advice, collaborates with fellow climbers, and has made several videos that highlight his athletic prowess. Most of his YouTube content is dedicated to his vlog series, which he began producing in March 2017. He also posts climbing and fitness-related content to his

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

account, where he has more than 430,000 followers. In 2013, Magnus Midtbø participated in a German TV show ''Der Deutsche Meister'' (the German Champion) as the international contestant in the ''Reckstangenklettern'' (salmon ladder) challenge. Midtbø beat the German contestant. In January 2020, Magnus Midtbø represented Team Europe in '' American Ninja Warrior: USA vs. The World''.

Trolltunga picture

Midtbø received criticism in 2016 for publishing an Instagram picture of himself hanging off the

Trolltunga Trolltunga ("Troll tongue") is a rock formation situated about above sea level in Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. The cliff juts horizontally out from the mountain, about above the north side of the lake Ringedalsvatnet. Po ...

rock formation, a popular tourist attraction in Norway. Wearing a safety harness, Midtbø suspended himself from the overhanging rock, but local police officers were concerned that the stunt might inspire others to replicate it without taking proper safety precautions.

Personal life

His sister, Hannah Midtbø (born 1990), is also a professional climber. She won the Nordic Championships (NM) in the lead climbing discipline in 2006 and has been a bouldering competitor at various IFSC World Cups and European Championships.

Rankings

World Games

World Games The World Games are an international multi-sport event comprising sports and sporting disciplines that are not contested in the Olympic Games. They are usually held every four years, one year after a Summer Olympic Games, over the course of 11 d ...

record:

Number of medals in the IFSC Climbing World Cup

IFSC Climbing World Cup The IFSC Climbing World Cup is a series of climbing competitions held annually and organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). The athletes compete in three disciplines: lead, bouldering and speed. The number of competit ...

Lead

USA Climbing

USA Climbing USA Climbing is the national governing body of the sport of competition climbing in the United States. It promotes competition climbing in the United States in the disciplines of bouldering, lead climbing, and speed climbing, in elite, youth and ...

IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships

IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships The IFSC Climbing World Youth Championships are the annual World Youth Championships for competition climbing organized by the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC). The first competition was held in Basel, Switzerland ). Swiss ...

Number of medals in the Climbing European Youth Cup / Series

Lead

European Youth Cup Winner: 2005, 2006, 2007

Scandinavia

* Nordic champion 7 years in a row (2005–2011) * Norwegian champion 11 years in a row (2005–2015)

References

External links

IFSC Profile2012 Archive

8a.nu Profile

YouTube Channel

Instagram profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midtbo, Magnus 1988 births Living people Norwegian rock climbers Sportspeople from Bergen World Games bronze medalists Competitors at the 2013 World Games Video bloggers 21st-century Norwegian people