Felix Berg was born in Berlin in 1980 and began climbing at the age of 12 with the youth groups of the German Alpine Club (DAV). After finishing secondary school in 2000, he began studying physics in Berlin and embarked on his first major climbing trips to Peru and Patagonia.
By the age of 20, he had already climbed iconic Alpine routes such as the Central Pillar of Frêney and the West Face of the Petit Dru in the Mont Blanc massif. His first Himalayan expeditions followed, including an ascent of Ama Dablam (6,858 m) and an attempt on the North Face of Kangchenjunga, where he reached an altitude of 8,300 metres. Between 2002 and 2003, Berg spent a year in Kenya, studying at the University of Nairobi on a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD).
In 2004, at the age of 23, he summited Mount Everest (8,848 m) via the North Ridge, becoming the youngest German and the first person from Berlin to reach the summit. He later moved to Freiburg im Breisgau, where he completed a degree in mathematics in 2007. He subsequently worked in Zurich as a quantitative financial analyst, before dedicating himself fully to professional mountaineering, expedition leadership and Summit Travel GmbH in 2009.
At the heart of Felix Berg’s career is his passion for rock climbing. He has climbed routes up to 8b+ redpoint (a clean ascent after practising the route) and 8a on-sight (a successful first attempt without prior knowledge of the route).
East Africa holds a special place in his climbing career. Berg lived in Kenya for more than a year, where he established over 100 new climbing routes. Among his notable lines in the region are the Southeast Face of Mount Poi (IX-/A1, 750 m) and a new route on the South Face of Point John (4,880 m) in the Mount Kenya massif (VIII+, 300 m).
In the Alps, Berg has climbed multi-pitch routes up to UIAA IX+/X- (French 8a), including routes on the North Face of the Eiger. In sport climbing, he has reached UIAA grade X (French 8b/8b+). His achievements also include speed ascents on the Mount Kenya massif in 2009 and in the Mont Blanc region in 2011.
In February 2012, Berg was seriously injured in a rockfall accident on the Grandes Jorasses. After a year of recovery, he returned to the high mountains, making his second ascent of Baruntse (7,129 m) in 2013. In the summer of 2014, he summited his first eight-thousander in the Karakoram, Broad Peak (8,051 m).
A strong series of seven-thousand-metre peaks followed. In 2015, he climbed Muztagh Ata, Korzhenevskaya Peak and Communism Peak, while also climbing rock routes up to 8a on-sight. In 2017, he summited Tilicho Peak, Lenin Peak—the latter while guiding clients—and Khan Tengri in a single expedition season.
One of Berg’s major objectives has long been the Northwest Face of Annapurna I (8,091 m). In 2017, together with Polish mountaineer Adam Bielecki and Scottish climber Rick Allen, he attempted to establish a new route on the face in alpine style, after acclimatising on Tilicho Peak. The team was forced to retreat because of poor conditions.
A new joint attempt was planned for the spring of 2023, but ultimately the attempt on the face was undertaken only by his two Polish partners, Bielecki and Hatala.
In the spring of 2018, Berg led an expedition to Cho Oyu and took part in fixing the route to the summit. Later that year, together with Adam Bielecki, he established a new variation on the West Face of Gasherbrum II. In 2021, he reached the summit of Mount Everest for the second time, and in 2022 he climbed Gasherbrum II once again. In April 2023, he made a solo ascent of Manaslu without supplemental oxygen, climbing in dense fog.
In the autumn of 2025, Berg achieved another major milestone in technical mountaineering. Together with Adam Bielecki and Hervé Barmasse, he established the new route Nepali Ice SPA (ED-) on the previously unclimbed South Face of Numbur (6,958 m), completing the ascent in pure alpine style.