„New Age“ (8a+, 5 pitches) at Swiss Rätikon

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

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. Weiterlesen

Petzl Junior Rock Camp in Frankenjura

Training Café Kraft

Training at Café Kraft with Dicki & Patrick from Gimme Kraft

The Petzl Junior Rock Camp in the Frankenjura was a new experience for us. This time it was all about some of the most motivated young guns from all over Germany who we could accompany for some days.

On our first day we went to Café Kraft in Nuremberg, meanwhile one of the most known boulder gyms in Germany. Every athlete got attached to a group of teenagers so that we attended approx. 15 kids each. In total there were around 50 youngsters who completed an individual training program. The boys and girls had the chance to meet and train with Patrick Matros and Dicki Korb who are known for publishing the classic training book called Gimme Kraft. The main training content was individual goal setting for competition and rock climbing as well as proper warm-up routines and specific boulder training in groups. After a recreative lunch break training continued with circle work outs. At the end the ones who still had some energy left in their arms could try the unfinished boulder problems of the pre-rounds on their own. Weiterlesen

Panel Discussion – Trend Sport Climbing

The Panel (f.l.t.r.): Karl-Heinz Steinmann, David Firnenburg, Andreas Kuhnt, Britta Schweigel, Ingo Leven, Prof. Dr. Semmler-Ludwig, Martin Schönwandt, Prof. Dr. Derecik (c) Andre Bertram

On September 23rd, 2015 David was invited to the podium „Freeride, Parcour, Slacklining: Trend Sports with or without Expiration Date?“ by the Academy of Sports in Lower Saxony (GER). The panel dealt with trend sports and their influence on youth life styles and organized sports (General report in German). David was supported by Axel Hake (IG Klettern / DAV-Landesverband Niedersachsen).  Weiterlesen

Firnenburgbrothers – Video Portrait

Finally!!! We are very happy to announce that our first professional film is online. In this 10 minutes film we get portrayed talking about how everything started, our passion for climbing, the experiences we made, training, competition and rock climbing and many other things. During the film we climb „The Essential“ (9a) in Frankenjura while testing Vertics.Sleeves, one of our hardest co-ascents on a rope to date. We don’t want to say too much here. Follow the link below and enjoy ;-) Cheers David & Ruben

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

David’s plans for the rest of the year

Invitation "Red Bull High Five"

Invitation „Red Bull High Five“

After coming back from the Rocklands, South Africa (Scorecard) by begining of August David will participate in Red Bull Five Blocks which is held in Galtür Silvapark in Austria.

Following the Boulder Worldcup in Munich David will instruct younger climbers on the Petzl Junior Rock Camp in Frankenjura. Weiterlesen

Flatanger Norway

cave in the background

Flatanger: Hanshallaren cave in the background

Last month we finally had the opportunity to go to Norway for the first time and to climb in Flatanger. There is a huge cave of finest granite which is surrounded by beautiful nature. In addition to the hard routes that we wanted to climb in Flatanger, we also had the opportunity to get to know new friends which graded up our two weeks even more. With an international crew on site, the nature and first class routes in the cave this climbing trip turned out for both of us to be one of the best we ever had.  Weiterlesen

New Base Line (8B+) in Magic Wood

This April I went to Magic Wood for a couple of days to work on hard boulders I couldn’t finish the last time I was there. On the very top of my tick list there was New Base Line, a boulder problem which was originally put up by grand master Bernd Zangerl as an 8C. Meanwhile it has seen several attempts by the world’s best boulderers and got downgraded to 8B+.

It is not only hard. It looks also fine. A noble crack line running from right to left with a slight rise through an overhanging wall. In the middle of the wall above the crack line there are nicely shaped crimps and side holds heading up to the top edge. It is just perfect. A dream boulder. This is probably why it is supposed to be one of the best in the world. Weiterlesen

Black Label (9a) in Frankenjura

At Schneiderloch: (1) Burn for You (2) Corona (3) Black Label (4) Pantera

At Schneiderloch: (1) Burn for You (2) Corona (3) Black Label (4) Pantera

Two days ago I was able to send Black Label (9a) at Schneiderloch (Ailsbach-Valley) in Frankenjura. It’s a new route by Markus Bock in 2013 which had only seen one repeat by Alex Megos last year. Now I have secured the 3rd ascent of this test piece.

During a comp last year Markus Jung recommended it to me. He was talking about the moves and I became excited to try it. After the comp was over I put it on my tick list and when I’ve headed to Nuremberg to live there for a while it became very close. I just had to wait for the right moment to try it. Around the Easter holiday my brother Ruben visited me and we drove out to the crag to give it the first tries. Weiterlesen

Presentation – Great Boulder Spots in Europe

(c) Petzl

(c) Petzl – FA of „Sunset in Prilep“ (2014)

During the DAV-day at Globetrotter Hamburg on March, 24th I will give a presentation on great boulder spots in Europe I already have been to in the past. It is going to be a little road trip with lots of photos, videos and useful information about the areas. The same day Dicki Korb, co-author of the training book „Gimme Kraft“, will give free training workshops too. So for everyone who’s interested here is the official announcement of the event! See You there ;-) David

Bouldering in the Oker Valley (Harz, Northern Germany)

In October last year I’ve been to the Oker Valley to the south of Hannover where I’ve done the FA of a nice Fb 8A boulder problem called Daruma. On 15th of February I re-visited the area with the local Falco Bartus who now published the nice little video above featuring Daruma and some other classics. Thank You Falco! I like it very much. Weiterlesen