David right before setting off for the famous dyno in „La Rambla“ (c) Iuliia Leonova

The two weeks trip to Siurana turned out to be a very successful one. After a couple of days of working on „La Rambla“ David could finally tick his first 9a+ ever. And right before leaving he finished the trip with a quick ascent of „La Reina Mora“, just next to La Rambla.

The trip to Catalonia was originally planned together with Ruben over New Year. But just before David got a foot injury which made it impossible for him to go. So he had to shift his climbing in Catalonia to February.

The main objective of the trip was to send La Rambla. In January David started to train for the upcoming bouldering season. Together with his coach Urs Stöcker he put up a new training plan in Zurich. Since the trip to Catalonia was actually planned earlier he didn’t train his endurance specifically. Instead he’d done a lot of maximum and explosive strength exercises in the gyms around Zurich and spent 3 days bouldering in Fontainebleau where he did some milestones of the history in bouldering, such as „Karma“ (Fb 8A), „La Merveille“ (Fb 8A+) and „Partage“ (Fb 8A+). All of them are very technical and tricky. True Fontainebleau style which everyone knows who has been to this magical bouldering area once.

Well, it was the first time that David has been to Catalonia in February. It is calmer than over New Year (not so many climbers). He stayed in a nice apartment of „La Vileta“ which is run by very friendly Catalonian locals, close to the main square of Cornudella de Montsant, the village underneath Siurana. Cornudella is pretty rural, mainly inhabited by farmers’ families who live from the surrounding olive, nut and wine fields. When you go climbing or walk around in the countryside you notice its beautiful landscape and nature. In the karst there are numerous caves. Dry and rocky areas dominate with a low vegetation of herbs, shrubs and pines. There are many rare species of wild animals. Because of their trustfulness robins often accompany you when climbing.

Dad feeding a robin who came to take a look if we don’t make any troubles at the crag

Because of its 9a+ difficulty La Rambla has been a new challenge for David. It is a long (around 45 meters), overhanging and technical route. It has got a famous name in the climbing scene. First ascended by Alex Huber to a lower anchor and extended by Ramón Julián Puigblanque to the actual top. It first kicks off with a technical crack followed by more powerful and pumpy moves with a unique jump in the middle to a rest before the hardest and most bouldery part at the end.

Some years ago David did already „El Rastro“ and „Broadway“, two lines which share at least half of the route with La Rambla, so that he already knew the lower part. On the first day he once checked out the moves, brushed and tick-marked the holds and gave it a good try where he already fell in the last and hardest part at the top. There are 4 compression moves on round side holds and crimps which easily spit you off when too pumped after around 35 meters of climbing approximately 8c to this point.

David shaking out his arms before he attacks the redpoint crux of „La Rambla“ (c) Iuliia Leonova

After this good first day of projecting David struggled some days with bad skin (especially the pockets literally ate the side skin of his fingers). Not the best conditions to send hard stuff. During these days he always fell on a certain and probably the hardest move in the route at the top from an open side hold into a small undercling which you have to catch close to your chest after you’ve reached out longly. In the past years such failures (falling on the same move without getting any higher) sometimes awakened negative thoughts and frustration in David. But meanwhile he can manage his mind set well. This time he didn’t really care about these failures and took it easy.

To be honest, every time you fall and reflect what mistake you’ve done you somehow have a progress in your project. It does not always have to be that you’ve got some moves higher but that you have adapted your beta or optimized your clipping positions and rest points for example. It is actually a failure itself to think that there is no progression at all although you keep on falling on the same move.

„It will happen sooner or later“ was David’s devise and he kept on trying with confidence and mental coolness. In the end it took him some 6 days of work to finally stuck the last hard move and top out his first 9a+ ever.

Keep smiling although projecting might be frustrating sometimes – that works wonders (c) Iuliia Leonova

So, La Rambla represents a new dimension in his climbing and now it feels like that there are more years of personal progress in climbing still to come. There must be a reason why the years between 20 and 30 are called „The Golden Twenties“ in climbing The main task will probably be to keep the mental coolness alive and to work on the maximum strength, mainly in bouldering and in the gym.

Right before David had to leave Siurana to head back home to Switzerland he wanted to use his fitness to dedicate to „La Reina Mora“ which has the same crack start and the same top-out with La Rambla but a more crimpy and sustained middle section. It is the real straight-up on this part of the wall. Falling two times on the last hard move in the end was a bit annoying but he had chosen a not optimal beta and when he optimized this it went down first go of the day and the finish of the trip couldn’t have been sweeter. La Reina Mora might be one of the most beautiful climbs in whole Catalonia.

David working himself up the crack of „La Reina Mora“ (c) Jon Cardwell

David is happy to return back to Switzerland again to prepare for the upcoming bouldering competitions and rock climbings in Switzerland. University lectures start as well again and it is great to come back home to reload batteries for the next challenges which climbing always has to offer in a brilliant way.

Thanks to Iuliia Leonova and Jon Caldwell for their nice pictures and to our sponsors Scarpa, Haglöfs, Friction Labs, Escaladrome Hannover and the DAV section Rhineland-Cologne for the amazing support lately. As the Spanish climbers say: A Muerte!!!

David in the „flight phase“ on one of the world most famous climbing moves – the first jump from mono to finger pocket of Action Directe (c) Lars Scharl

Please, find the original article on the website of The Circuit Climbing!

Wolfgang Güllich and Action Directe

With the first ascent of Action Directe in Frankenjura Wolfgang Güllich introduced a new dimension to climbing. During the years before, he had already revolutionized the difficulty levels. In 1984, he climbed the worldwide first 8b, „Kanal im Rücken“ in Altmühltal. And in 1987, he also sent the world’s first 8c, „Wall Street“, in Frankenjura.

Taking difficulty to the next level in 1991, Action Directe became the test piece for the world’s climbing elite. At first Güllich assessed it UIAA XI, corresponding to 8c+/9a on the French scale. But then, during the following years, the climbing community agreed to make it a gold standard for the 9a level. Even today it is considered a very special route. Many world class climbers found it a hard nut to crack.

However, Action Directe might not have been the first 9a. „Hubble„, in the English Peak District, first sent by Ben Moon in 1990, is also endowed with this mythical grade by some climbers. Initially, it was considered the first 8c+ in the world. A few years later, Ben Moon corrected the difficulty to 8c+/9a or 9a. Accordingly, Hubble would be the first 9a in history.

Güllich himself could not participate in such discussions. He died in 1992 after a tragical car accident. If he was still alive, who knows to what dimensions Wolfgang Güllich would have taken sport climbing. A climbing idol par excellence for the generation of the 1980s, he still remains a role model up to this day.

Bolted by Milan Sykora, Action Directe is about 15 meters long. It runs through a 45 degree overhanging rock formation and – depending on the chosen beta – consists of 13 – 19 moves beginning with a characteristic and famous dyno from a mono into a sharp two finger pocket.

Hitting the two-finger-pocket on the first jump-move of Action Directe (c) Lars Scharl

During my ascent, I chose a way to ease the mono. I took exactly the same pocket with my left ring finger, but then piled my middle and index finger on it and let them hang down. This way, it felt more like a three finger pocket.

The initial dyno into the sharp two finger pocket is followed by a passage with extreme lock-offs on small finger pockets. Then there are technically complicated side holds and pinches with difficult foot changes before you run out with a tricky to hit crimp at the very end, where I still fell several times before sending.

The name of the route refers to the French terrorist group „Action directe“. With this name, Güllich symbolically wanted to point to the terror attack of the route on the finger joints.

Actually, Wolfgang Güllich was also the pioneer who invented the campus board to train for the special requirements of such routes. He trained his finger power on this special wooden board with small crimps, on which he constantly bounced upwards on single fingertips.

Finally, he needed 11 climbing days in the route, spread over three weeks, until – 25 years ago – he managed to send the route in free climbing style. This was not much time compared to how long it takes many top climbers nowadays to perform a project on their personal limit. Therefore, Action Directe certainly would not have been Wolfgang’s most difficult sport climbing legacy, if he would not have died that early.

First repetition by Alexander Adler in 1995 and further ascents

The early repeaters also had to train specifically for the route, because it was „a whole new kind of contactless climbing“, as Alexander Adler stated. The winter before, Alex began with a consistent and very intensive finger and muscle training. He climbed and exercised with a lot of body weight until summer. One month before sending, Alex was more or less constantly on the route, until he could master it after weight reduction.

Alex, today living in Dresden where he runs a climbing gym, gave a CD with a TV broadcast about his ascent of Action Directe to my brother Ruben and me when we were about 10 and 12 years old and visiting his climbing gym. Watching this, we were so impressed that we also wanted to climb this legendary route one day.

Kurt Albert was, besides Güllich, another former iconic Frankenjura climber. With the title “Fight Gravity” he published in 2005 a book about sport climbing in Frankenjura. In this book Alex Adler also describes his impressions (translated by D.F.):

„The second ascent of Action Directe undoubtedly represents a borderline in my life. For me it is the most difficult route I ever climbed. It demanded far more than my repetition of Wall Street or any other similar difficult routes. From the beginning – when I did not try Action Directe yet, but watched the others checking it out – I was thrilled by the sequence of the moves. When I then tried it myself, I went back again and again to just climb one single move even more optimally. In the end, I was engrossed so far by this route that I climbed nothing else, except for some warm-up routes. I was completely focused on the thirteen moves during the last three weeks before the ascent. Almost to the end, I went there with the idea of never being able to climb through. As I rehearsed the route top down to master the run out perfectly in case of getting through, I left the dynamic entry to the end. I knew that this was primarily a matter of maximum coordination. When I then devoted myself to the initial jump one and a half weeks before the ascent, I was at first surprised that I had fewer problems than expected. At this point, I could imagine the possibility of getting through for the first time. But during the next few days the well-known problem began, which many of us know by experience: when the moment of the successful ascent is coming closer and closer, the head blocks out, the psyche strikes. The initial dyno, which I firstly did not regard that difficult, became a „head killer“. Sometimes the jump worked at the first attempt, but then I fell nervously just before the last moves. Another time I made five jumps to grasp at nothing.

So, there came September 13^th, 1995, a day with worst conditions. It rained the day before. And then the temperatures rose to 24 degrees centigrade. When I came to the “Waldkopf”, the rock where Action Directe is situated, after my obligatory warm-up on the nearby rock “Rotenfels”, a catastrophic picture was waiting for me: the entire entry of the route was wet. Disappointed, I said to my girlfriend, I would like to use the day again as a training day and try to do a few attempts without pressure. In this weather I did not expect any chance to succeed in the route. After I had put some tin foil on the wet jumping-off point, I made the first attempt. The climbing shoes remained dry, but the foil did not remain. Finally, the jump succeeded at the second attempt and I was able to climb to the penultimate move. Surprisingly, in my next attempt I could manage to do the jump right away and I arrived well to the hold, where I otherwise had often failed. For a moment I thought I was getting through, but my left foot slipped from the hold and, well, that was it. I then took a longer break again. The third attempt really was only supposed to be for training and to re-collect the quick draws. But nevertheless, I wanted to have a try again. The initial jump succeeded right away. On the last clip I rested a few seconds before the finger became numb in the pocket, and, I was off then: crimp, side hold, two finger pocket … At that moment I realized that I was above my obligatory „drip-off point“ and I started to fight. Cross over, dissolving, crimp, and not getting lost in thought before the last move. Sideundercling and … exit move.  The rest was like in a trance. After that, I needed a lot of time to process everything. A dream came true and yet the time, when everything was still a dream, was the best.“

Falling nine times on the very last move is part of the game (c) Lars Scharl

In spring 2016, ten of the previous repeaters of Action Directe came together in Frankenjura on occasion of the 25^th anniversary of Güllich’s first ascent and discussed their experiences. Alex Megos reported that Alex Adler was the only one who had climbed the route in exactly the same moves like Güllich. All others would have used holds to the left or right. Impressively, Alex Megos himself managed to send the route in May 2014 in just two hours.

The route has been climbed 21 times in total now, including my own ascent. One ascent is discussed controversially. During the first 12 years, only three more climbers next to Güllich and Adler managed to repeat the route. From 2005 onwards the frequency increased, possibly because of the generally improved training conditions. Although women have been able to cope with the 9^th French grade for several years, none of them yet was able to do Action Directe. It will be exciting to see in the next few years who will be the first. Some have already begun to meet this challenge and to try Action Directe.

My ascent of Action Directe in October 2016

After my competition season 2016, which went very successfully with semifinal and final results in the World Cups as well as an overall bronze medal at the World Championships in Paris, I was psyched again for hard rock climbing. Action Directe was one of my open projects.

Due to my obligations in my studies at the University of Zurich, I was forced to complete a lower volume in the training sessions than I was used to during the competition season before. I took the training easier. I put my focus on short and qualitative training sessions with short boulders on pockets and crimps, longer 20 moves maximum strength endurance boulders, finger and maximum strength as well as explosive power on the finger and campus board. I wanted my finger joints and tendons to get used to the extreme stresses and strains in Action Directe and build up a sufficient muscle tone in my fore arms.

Since I committed myself to my studies during week days, I shifted my travels to Frankenjura to the weekends. From Zurich, that is 500 km forth and 500 km back. All in all, I drove almost 4000 km to climb the route.

I first tried Action Directe the year before, partly with Julius Westphal, when I spent some time climbing and training in Frankenjura. So I already knew what I would have to go through. Back at the time, my high point in the route was at the last quick draw. I realized that I still had a certain deficit of maximum strength and endurance and I was forced to stop trying it because of the still running competition season.

One year later, I came back with a higher maximum strength level. The successful training with my coach, Urs Stöcker in Zurich, played a decisive role in my improvement of climbing this year.

I needed the first weekend in the route to get used to the small holds and therewith stress and strains on my fingers. Throughout the whole season I trained and climbed on mostly ergonomically shaped holds and my fingers weren’t really used to pulling hard on monos and two finger pockets which are only rarely set in competition climbing. On that first weekend, I already reached my high point from the previous sessions the year before. I felt optimistic.

On the second weekend, I showed a significant progress although I fell three times at the last hard move to the saving hold at the very end of the route. This gave me an extra motivational boost to finally send it the weekend after.

However, during the following third weekend, I failed to finish the route. Another four falls on the last hard move left me behind disappointed and frustrated. I also started to doubt if I could still finish the route, because it seemed to be a much too limited time regarding the upcoming cold and wet autumn of Frankenjura. I accessed it bottom-up. Was I about to get the same „head killer” at the top of the route like Alex Adler described it for the first dynamic move during his top-down trials?

I wanted to keep pushing through and not give up, coming back a couple of days later, mentally even stronger, relying on myself and not losing hope for an ascent still this year. Arriving, though, there were even more difficulties with the weather. A sudden high above Southern Germany with warm temperatures of almost 20 degrees centigrade and water condensation on the still cold rock led to completely wet conditions in the route.

Luckily, not all was lost. I still got another chance a couple of days later when weather and autumn in Frankenjura showed themselves of their friendlier sides with dry and cool conditions. On the first day of the fourth weekend (Saturday, October 29^th) I fell once again at the last hard move. Subsequently, in visualizing the route, I tried not to think about every single move, but focused on the changes that I had considered necessary to be able to get through. These were a certain move in the middle of the wall and the exact execution of the last hard move with a modified closure for a crimp with my left hand. This mental attitude – do not think too much, do not make it more complicated than it is, concentrate on the essentials and simply go through, you are able to do it, simply wrap it up and just tick it – was probably the crucial factor for this successful ascent on the second go of that day.

During my following go, I did not reflect much, but was attentive and focused. I did not make mistakes while climbing the route. On one hand, I was sufficiently relaxed and on the other hand, also sufficiently tense, determined, accurate and speedy on the way. I breathed deeply several times and finally managed to stick the very last hard move. Frankly, I was a bit surprised and had already seen me hanging in the rope again. It had become way of mental routine and expectation in the sessions before to fall there every time I got up there. Clipping the anchor this time all the way right from the bottom was a great relief and satisfaction. Immediately, an intense feeling of joy and pride came up.

One of the moves in the middle of the route where David had to be very focused to hit the pocket right (c) Lars Scharl

Overall, I returned stronger to the route than the year before. I struggled with the weather conditions and had to prove mental endurance, will and perseverance. Through the long road trips and the consecutive time expenditure, I had to accept some shortfalls in my studies, but could reward myself in the end with the ascent. As the route still held me back a little while, taxed my patience and challenged me, the success was even sweeter. I am proud that I managed to make my dream come true of climbing this famous and difficult route ever since I first heard about it and all the stories around Wolfgang Güllich and Alex Adler’s second ascent which I had seen in the old film recording as well as those of other strong and world famous climbers.

Today the ascents seem to be faster. On the one hand, a certain mitigation has occurred by different betas with more holds to the right and left of the original line being used. On the other hand, climbers nowadays arrive with a higher level of physical fitness due to improved training possibilities with higher climbing limits up to 9b+. Although, this might reduce a psychological hurdle, as climbers might be more confident to tackle climbs in the 9th French grade, it seems to me that some other psychological challenges still remain the same like the respect for the status of this prestigious route, pressure and expectations as well as “head killers” at the moment right before you get successfully through.

Acknowledgment

I am grateful to Franz Kaiser, a good climbing friend, who is studying in Erlangen, for his hospitality, his time in belaying me and above all his encouragement when the last hard move did not want to work several times. With such a sportive challenge, you simply need such an active support. It is impossible without it. Last but not least, his mobile finger board helped me very much to warm-up my fingers specifically for the route. Without it, perhaps it would not have worked.

By the way, the original video recording of my ascent of Action Directe will be uploaded here soon. To be continued…

Mastering the body swing which sets in when sticking the pocket on the first jump-move (c) Lars Scharl

Santa Linya in Catalonia is a very impressive sport climbing destination. Not only because of the steep power moves in the big cave and the spectacular shots in this film by Hening Wang. It´s also because of the many falls, frustrations and failure that are behind a sucessful climb. Ruben is showing this fighting spirit in “Seleccio Natural” (9a) that has turned out to be his hardest project up to now even though it is not his first route in the grade. And by keeping working on it he fires all our inspiration for hard climbs.

David in the 2nd qualification route in Frankenthal

The last stage of the German Lead Championships took place at Neu-Ulm (Bavaria) last Sunday. As last year, this year’s championships consisted of 3 competitions, in Germany known as German Lead Cups. The first cup was hosted at the brand new DAV climbing gym at Munich Freiman and the second at a rather old but gold climbing gym at Frankenthal in Pfalz close to Mannheim. For us two it was a nice series with various challenges because the Cups had different route settings.

We’ve never been to the new gym at Freiman yet so we didn’t have any idea how the wall with its structures and angles would be like. In addition, it was outdoors but luckily it wasn’t that autumnal like now. Usually artificial holds get more slippery when cold. The qualification routes were sustained and demanding. Ruben easily qualified for finals and David nearly missed it with an 8th place. The final was well set but could have been a bit harder. Jan Hojer and David fell at the last move to the top but Jan won due to better results in the qualifications. Ruben finished 1st in the juniors ranking and 5th in the men’s category. He definitely could have done better but he hesitated while clipping and lost power and flow.

Frankenthal is a steep and powerful wall and the 2nd cup was set in a very dynamic style with at least one jump in almost every route. The qualifications went well and we both qualified for finals as 3rd and 4th. Unfortunately, the final route was very unsustained. It was maybe an 7c+ climb until a huge jump to the left where almost every finalist fell except Jan who fell two moves later. It is always a pity when one move spits off more or less every athlete so that the pre-round counts for a final result. However, we were close on the jump (David made a foot mistake and Ruben got stuck with his hand in the rope while jumping) and definitely able to stick it so it’s hard to complain. Ruben finished 1st in the juniors again and 3rd in the men’s event which was one of his best results so far. David missed the podium as 4th place which made him a bit frustrated.

Observing the final route in Frankenthal together

Last weekend turned out to be kind of a speed final in a lead final route. The qualification round saw a bunch of double tops with a tricky slab. Regrettably, Ruben fell too early in the first qualification route and got a time-out in the slab. He couldn’t make finals with a 12th place but nevertheless he won the juniors game and therewith became German juniors lead champion winning 3 out of 3 events. And that was also enough to save a 5th place in the seniors championship overall. Pretty good season for him this year!

Sebastian Halenke was the first to top the final route. And since Jan Hojer, Chris Hanke and David also topped it, it was all about time to secure the victory of the day. David, being the last one to come out of the Isolation zone, actually had the most pressure but eventually it was a tactical advantage because he knew from backstage that the route must be doable and that he had to climb fast. In the end he clipped the anchor by 15 seconds slower than Jan who was literally running up the wall without taking a single rest. A 2nd place in the day ranking assured David of the vice title in the championship behind Jan which was tactically the priority because Jan more or less secured the title already by qualifying for the final. Props to him for a strong performance on all three events and especially to our team mate Lena Herrmann who became German lead champion after a break of competition climbing and some 8c’s on the rocks lately!

Ruben resting at volume in the final route in Frankenthal

We had a lot of fun this year competing at the nationals but from our point of view there are still some things which can be suggested to make lead competition climbing in Germany more attractive. Not only for the athletes but also for the audience. This is why we want to mention some points how to improve the quality of the events based on what we’ve experienced this year:

• In our opinion this year there hasn’t been a superior route setting. We would like to have harder routes, especially in the finals. Predominantly, we climbed at a grade of 8a+ but we actually need final routes at a level of 8b+ to be hard enough to separate the finalists. And it shouldn’t come down to only one move which spits the majority off like in Frankenthal or too many double tops even in the finals like in Neu-Ulm. More sustained and harder routes would add value to the events! And this is what awaits the athletes in the world cups. Young talents start training the characteristics of the routes in the lead nationals but this won’t prepare them to be successful in the world cups later.
• We would also appreciate a strong field of competitors next season again. Especially in Neu-Ulm it was nice to see the whole German lead team and the strongest competition boulderers of the country. But athletes must have great reasons to come and compete at the nationals. So far there hasn’t really been an attractive amount of prize money and we think it’s time to raise it. It’s not an economic and rational choise as a competitor to spend hundreds of euros for the travel and the accommodation and to spend a whole weekend of time to maybe collect some prize money in the end to not fully be able, even as a finalist, to re-finance the effort. If nothing changes it is only a matter of time that the cups become less and less attractive for the strongest athletes to come.
• We also would like to get rid of all the waiting times during the competitions, particularly when the youth events get integrated into the seniors‘ competition. Please, let us seniors compete on Saturday and in a shorter time. Qualification can be done at around midday and finals in the early evening without a long break of several hours in between the rounds. That requires a tight timetable but it’s definitely possible to organize that. This is also more attractive for the spectators because if they would have to watch finals on Sunday night they would overthink it twice because they have to start work on Monday again. If the finals would be on Saturday night that would have a day in between. And based on a tight schedule they wouldn’t have to stay a whole day in the gym waiting most of the time.
• And finally, meanwhile we know a lot of competitors and their teams, parents and relatives who support them during the competitions. We don’t see so many new faces though. Especially random spectators. It is only a small group of insiders who actually visit and watch the competitions but we think the competition format can be entertaining for a wider range of people. It would be nice to see working live streams and better advertisements in prior for the competitions to reach more people. From our point of view the DAV (German Climbing Federation) should invest more effort into their event marketing and promotion.

That’s it for this year’s competition climbing. We are already looking forward to the next season. Now we are already in Catalonia for some off-season rock climbing. We’ve got some great projects that we want to work on and it’s always nice to see the big rock climbers‘ family from all around the world at the crags again. It always means great climbing together and good vibes. We are excited and keep You updated with our climbing experiences there.

Find the whole result list of the juniors and the seniors German Lead Championship via the links!

Cheers D&R

Juniors podium overall – 1st Ruben, 2nd team mate Lars Hoffmann and 3rd Paul Hettich (missing)

Seniors podium overall – 1st Jan Hojer, 2nd David and 3rd Martin Tekles

The crew. F.l.t.r. Julian, Ruben, David and Michi (c) Julian Bückers Photography

In the beginning of October we’ve spent three days at Swiss Rätikon for some multipitch climbing. Rätikon to climbers is well known for its hard alpine climbs on outstanding limestone and the surrounding beauty of mountain nature. It is located up in the mountains on an altitude above 2000 meters and is divided into two parts, a Swiss and an Austrian but the walls are mostly south facing so you predominantly climb on the Swiss side. The closest village is called Schuders consisting of only a handful houses. This time we were climbing at the Schweizereck in the region around Grüscher Älpli besides the other parts of the wall such as Kirchlispitzen (known for routes like Silbergeier, Unendliche Geschichte and WoGü), Drusenfluh and Drusentürmen.

It was our first multi pitch experience ever and we could share it with multi talent Michi Wohlleben and photographer and mountain guide Julian Bückers. They were introducing us the required belaying techniques for alpine routes and supporting us up there every time we needed some help. During this short but really enjoyable time we were curious and attentive as small kids. Greedy for knowledge waiting for the new adventure to come. It is always nice to feel that there is still high motivation and exaltation when trying new things and there are a lot of things we haven’t seen in climbing yet although we’ve already practiced it for almost 15 years now. That’s such a great aspect of climbing. That’s its unique variety and we love it.

On the first day we met at Bad Ragaz down in the Tamina valley and drove to a nearby sport climbing crag close to the village called Fläsch which is funny because as German speaking climbers we spell it like English „flash“. Sometimes things are meant to be and fit together

Nevertheless, Michi and Julian gave us a technical briefing to prepare for alpine terrain and all of its challenges and risks. They taught us how to install a belay, haul, jumar and place gear such as cams and nuts. Basically, learning all of this techniques enables you to move in alpine terrain in a safe style. But gear is only steel. What you also need are strong mental abilities. Focus, alertness and rationality are one of the most important ingredients you need up in a high wall with a lot of air below your ass. After this extensive briefing we drove up to the car park below the wall to stay the night and therewith be able to start our tour right after an early breakfast the next day. It was an adventurous drive with our old van because the zig zag road is steep, long and often tight. But we made it and David as the driver was totally done afterwards

On the second day we woke up at 7 a.m. and had a nourishing out meal. Well rested and euphoric we hiked up to New Age, our main mission for this stay. Austrian pioneer Beat Kammerlander opened it as one of the extreme multi pitch classics back in 1989. Such a big achievement back then and always worth to remind yourself what this has meant during this time. A milestone. It’s located at Schweizereck and is 5 pitches long (150 meters, first pitch starts at 100 meters above the ground, until there it’s easy climbing but you have to belay each other). It’s mainly very technical climbing on compact and sometimes very sharp rock with a powerful roof passage in the third and hardest pitch.

The Schweizereck (c) Julian Bückers Photography

Well, we got our asses kicked in the beginning. Already the first two pitches (7a and 7c) turned out to be super special and technical. We were bewildered as climbers who already have sent 9a but they told us that alpine climbs and grades are tough compared to the modern sport climbing disciplines and now we know that it’s true. It does not mean that the climbing itself is harder but it’s the stress and pressure which comes along with longer bolt distances, own mobile placements, technical climbing styles and of course the heights. We were also very slow but that’s normal as „beginners“. Professionals have a collective routine and flow. It’s about fast partner shifts, belaying and knowing what to do in different cases. You have to be spontaneous as a good alpine climber.

Finally, we made it up to the fourth pitch that day. Then strong wind appeared and we started freezing and even shaking. Moreover, it was quiet late and it was time to get back to the ground. So we lowered down and went back to the van. Opening its doors and sitting down we realized that being out there all day, walking, freezing, climbing and focusing is completely exhausting. We were actually too tired to cook some dinner but we had to reload our batteries because the next and last day of our stay would be as tiring as this day. It’s this enjoyable tiredness though you probably all know when coming back home after a long day at work

On the third day up in Rätikon our goal was to send New Age. Red pointing the pitches felt possible so it was only about going up there again and get our mission done. The weather this morning was cloudy and very windy though and when we approached the route Michi wasn’t sure if it would be possible to ascend it. However, we decided to give it a try at least. Let’s say there was still some hope to get rewarded in the end

David was leading the first two pitches and it was a true struggle from the very first moves on. It was so cold that it was impossible to get warm fingers to feel the holds. He somehow made it up until the belay below the roof of the third pitch although some sequences almost shook him off the wall. He fought and even sometimes screamed but that comes out by its own when you try hard and need to push yourself. It should have been a team ascent so we switched knots and decided that Ruben should lead the third and hardest pitch. The weather started to clear and it was only a matter of time that the sun started to reach our belay to encourage us with its warmth. Ruben started to reach the crux moves, slowly pulling over the edge of the roof but then he fell on the crucial move, a long move from a jamming side pull one pad crimp high up left to another crimp of the same size, hitting his wrist against the rock. David lowered him off to the belay that he could get his down jacket back on to warm himself. 5 minutes break and then it was time to give it another shot but the same happened again. Back to the belay.

Ruben while trying the crux moves in the third pitch on the first day in „New Age“. Michi is belaying (c) Julian Bückers Photography

Not sure what to do, still freezing and a bit frustrated Michi pulled out his mobile phone and showed us some videos of old men sitting in a bar and making funny jokes about alcohol. We started to laugh and then the sun came around the corner and started to touch our helmets on our heads. In retrospect these were the two recipes which probably saved us the ascent of our first demanding multi pitch. David started to take over the lead again, fell once even before the crux slipping away with his foot, returned to the belay and managed to get up to the next belay without falling into the rope in his next try. That was refreshing and we got the energy and confidence back again to reach the top.

The last pitches weren’t that hard anymore and especially the last pitch was varied climbing in corners with many body position shifts involved in the lower overhanging part. That was kind of the perfect end of the whole project and when we all reached the top, shook hands and hugged each other everyone of us was happy that all the hard work payed off and everything was successful and no one hurt himself. But as every mountaineer says: You not only have to get up the mountain but also back down to the base camp. There was a way down a steep slope on the back side of the wall but one part of it was so steep and slippery that we were wondering how to get down there in a save way. We both would have taken the risk to climb down on the rubble but Michi told us that this won’t work and would be too dangerous. He felt responsible for us and with his expertise he found a spot to place cams and fix a rope to be able to lower down the slope. This is what we did and after a short shock we all stood on solid ground again. At this point New Age was really done! Yesss man

We threw all of our gear into our backs and hiked back to the car. When we got there we were even more tired than the day before (we expected that) but the feeling that everything worked well in the end and that we’d completed our mission was stronger. We sorted our gear, shared some victory cookies and had a fresh little beer before Michi and Julian left with their car on the way back home.

Such an experience with all its components keeps staying in our minds and it motivates us to face new alpine projects and challenges in the future. We’ve already got some lines on our tick list which definitely are even more challenging than New Age. We are very satisfied to have done it as our first multi pitch though and we think that Michi and Julian showed us all the skills to conquer new heights soon. Thanks for your great work guys and to our partners Scarpa and Petzl for making it all possible. We are really looking forward to climbing in the future together again in the same style and with the same motivation and good vibes as this time.

Thank You and take care!

David & Ruben

Link: The Firnenburg Brothers climbing „The Essential“ (9a)

(c) – Ben Ullmann

Today I was able to send „The Elder Statesman“ (9a) at Rotenstein in Northern Frankenjura which is just some footsteps away from „The Essential“ (9a) at Luisenwand.

The Elder Statesman is the direct version into „The Last Rites“ (8c+) I’ve sent some days ago when Ruben sent The Essential too. It is the boulder at the start which adds one grade. There is one tiny crimp for the left hand from where You have to catch a three finger pocket. This move is quite hard. The upper part is the same climbing.

The temps are cold right now (around 5 degrees C) and I had to struggle with numb fingers again. Besides this the climbing felt easy today. It could be a soft 9a.

If a project is ticked, the next one’s waiting! I am motivated.

Cheers David

(c) Ben Ullmann

Last weekend Ruben went direction south to meet up with David and to try some projects which they couldn’t finish last fall holiday at the „Luisenwand“ and „Rotenstein“. Ruben had been already pretty close to send „The Essential“ (9a) and after one day of getting back into the route he did it. It’s his second 9a after „Era Vella“ in Spain and his first in the Frankenjura. The send was unexpected because of rainy and foggy weather but fortunately the rock was almost dry. Just the top-out was a little wet but still climbable. For Ruben the crux consists of a dead-point-move at the second bolt. He is really happy that he was finally able to climb this beautiful, short and bouldery line on pockets.

At the same day David tried „The last rites“ (8c+) at the „Rotenstein“ which starts on the left side of „The Elder Statesman“ (9a) and goes into the same line afterwards. Because of the cold weather and the small crimps David often got frozen finger tips and had to struggle at the top of the route after the crux. To skip a clip was the quintessence for keeping the fingers warm enough and then he did it more or less easily.

Now Ruben has to be focused on school starting to pass the graduation exames soon. After a little rest and if the outdoor conditions will stay stable which isn’t sure yet David will go for „The Elder Statesman“ …

Cheers Ruben + David

David in the men’s final route (c) Thomas Schermer (DAV)

David has achieved the second place in the final German Lead Cup of this season in Berlin last weekend. The overall ranking (after Darmstadt and Neu-Ulm) corresponds to the German Championships for the seniors and the juniors at the same time. David has become the winner in both categories. The comparable applies to Ruben as the winner of the German Youth Lead Cup in Berlin and the overall ranking in the Youth A category. We both are very happy about it

Together with two other candidates David is proposed for the title „Junior Athlete of the Year 2014″ in Lower Saxony. The announcement of the outcome of the election will be held at the so called “Winner Party” by the Youth Sports Association of Lower Saxony under the auspices of Sports Minister Boris Pistorius in Hanover on December, 13th.

Full competition report (DAV in German) with pictures

Cheers David & Ruben