in the Frankenjura. Güllich made several notable trips to the US, coming to international attention in 1982 with the first repeat of 's historic 1979 route, Grand Illusion in Lake Tahoe. He also completed most of the other hardest routes in the US at the time including Equinox in Joshua Tree, and Cosmic Debris in Yosemite. On a 1984, visit to the Shawangunks he repeated Intruders and Project X. On a 1986 trip, Güllich made his iconic free solo of Separate Reality, , in Yosemite, photographed by . Güllich travelled extensively including to China, the USSR and to the Sinai Desert. On a 1986 trip to Britain, he did the world's first-ever free solo at on Weed Killer at Reven Tor, but later broke his back falling from Master's Edge at Millstone Quarry. In 1984, Güllich would begin an extraordinary series of years where he would create several hardest new grade sport climbs in the world – the most of any climber in history. He started by redpointing the first-ever X, in history with Kanal im Rücken. The next year, on a trip to Australia, he redpointed the first-ever X+ in history with Punks in the Gym. In 1987, Güllich redpointed the first-ever XI- in history with . In 1991, he made the first-ever redpoint of a XI, in history with Action Directe, which was described as "Güllich's Masterpiece". In 2019, Francis Sanzaro, the editor of Rock & Ice, called the 1991 photograph Güllich, mid-flight on the crux dyno of Action Directe, as "the most iconic photo of hard climbing ever taken". In addition to driving new grades of sport climbing routes, in 1989, Güllich, Kurt Albert, Christof Stiegler, and Milan Sykora, added what was called a "milestone" in big wall climbing with the first ascent of Eternal Flame (IX- A2) on the Nameless Tower in the Karakoram. In 1991, with Kurt Albert, Bernd Arnold, Norbert Bätz and Peter Dittrich, they made another breakthrough in big wall climbing with Riders on the Storm (IX A3) on the Paine Towers in Patagonia. Güllich believed that extreme rock climbing at altitude was in its early stages, and the expeditions allowed him to recharge from sport climbing. Approach and philosophy Güllich avoided the climbing competition circuit throughout his career. He felt that "competitions are good for earning money, I see it as nothing more", and was not attracted to competing with other climbers,