Climbs
2026
Grand Capucin: the Swiss Route with an O Sole Mio finish
A classic combination on the Grand Capucin — superb granite above the Vallée Blanche.
Bloody Old Men: first up this year
A long route on the Rotspitze, fully bolted but with plenty of loose rock — and a descent that wouldn't end.
A Sunday outing on the Alpspitze north face
Six pitches to round off the long day on the Tajakopf. It didn't need to be more than that.
Drachentanz: 23 pitches, 12 hours car to car
A long day on the Tajakopf with Papa. The crux comes right at the start, with cold fingers and a heavy pack.
Rittlerkante, just Hannes and me
A good route on the Bauernpredigtstuhl. The crux bit back, the rest went fine — and we rappelled the line.
Aufriss: short trousers, long crack
A brilliant crack route on the Wampeter Schrofen, entirely clean. The shorts were, in hindsight, a decision.
Becci's first multipitch leads
A short, well-protected route on the Guggerköpfle — the right place to lead for the first time.
Meltzergrat: almost all of it moving together
A fine ridge up the Hintere Platteinspitze, with a night at the Muttekopfhütte.
Blue Moon: second time round
Turned back on the first attempt, got through on the second. The water-groove pitch was the highlight.
Seven pitches in 35 minutes
Moving together with Maxi up the Sonntagsspaziergang at Glaning. Very good indeed.
Wintergarten at Glaning
A bolted route on interesting rock, with Maxi and Vali right behind us. The 7- is the best pitch.
Sahneschnitte: plan B on the Buchstein
We'd meant to get on something else, but there was already a slow party on it.
Hey Leonie + Fahrt ins Blaue
A good route on the Leonhardstein in fine weather. The snowy descent was less good, and then came the back spasm.
The Zottenfall again
High avalanche danger, bad weather — so the route you already know. This time buried in snow.
Rolle-Fall: Joni's first ice route
A good fall in good conditions in the Zillertal. Joni's first — and probably not his sport.
2025
Südostgrat in trail-running shoes
Moving together over the Vordere Karlspitze. Rock shoes wouldn't have improved the day.
Alpspitz-Plaisir: hard cold start, flowing after that
Train and cable car in, perfect weather. The first two pitches were the hardest of the day.
Flora Bohra: south face in brutal heat
Nine pitches of steady grade 6 on the Leonhardstein. We ran out of water before the end.
Kleiner Trichter: 13.5 hours and various offerings to the mountain
Nominally 7+, psychologically rather more — and we never found the rappel line.
Kristall: slabs low down, a dream crack in the middle
By now we were properly dialled into the granite. Great weather, good climbing.
Schwarzgold: two pitches and done
The hardest route in the area. We did the first two pitches and left it there.
Kleines Kamel: the one from the advert
An interesting tower at the Furka, entirely to ourselves. The thunderstorm arrived in the afternoon.
FamGni: there is a bench on the summit
A good tower on the Hannibalturm, full south side, brutally warm. We took the traverse instead of the 7a+ on A0.
Sorgechind: Franzi's first granite
Warm-up route for the Furka weekend. Perfect granite, perfect weather, and relearning friction from scratch.
Sonnenzeit: eleven hours on the Sonnenspitz
A long route, a freezing start, wide bolt spacing — and a descent that drags.
Via Esculapio as a three
A good route on the Padaro. I led it, but there wasn't much to place.
Via Elda on the Paolo wall
A perfectly nice route. Franzi was a bit grumpy, and the Paolo wall is the Paolo wall.
Kampenwand traverse: passed everyone
A short Saturday outing. Busy, but most of it went unroped — and the 4+ wasn't as easy as it sounds.
Kommt Zeit kommt Rat: every pitch a dream
The bolted route at Wintertraum near Naturns. Alone again, and outstanding again.
In der Ruhe liegt die Kraft: clean and alone
A dream granite route at Wintertraum, entirely clean, great cracks and complete solitude.
Inntalsynfonie on the way to Sulden
A good route on the Geierwand as a stop-off. Franzi led the hard pitch.
Die Pflicht der Ehemänner: met at the top
A good end to the Graz week. My parents climbed a different route and we met exactly at the exit.
Hochzeitstanz: a relaxed family day
Long walk in, very good route. My parents climbed the line next door.
Fuchswirtweg: after failing on the Überdosis
A relatively easy route up the Nadelspitz. Nice, nothing special — and exactly right for the day.
Do it: an easy day back after being ill
A short route at the Weissbach crag, in good sun. Anything more wasn't on the cards.
Cosmiques ridge: finishing with the Vallée Blanche descent
Exposed but easy, and first away from the hut again. Perfect weather all day.
M6 Solar: first up an otherwise crowded route
A dream route in the best weather — and we were first on it, which practically never happens here.
Point Lachenal: the skis were a stupid idea
A great traverse in great weather. We should just have left the skis behind.
Chéré Couloir: freezing, but excellent
First route of the Chamonix week. The weather was mediocre, the ice wasn't.
Opa Highway: unreasonably warm for February
A fine route on the Wilder Kaiser, in weather February had no business producing.
Linker Durchstieg: turned round after the second pitch
Good route, good ice. Franzi wasn't right that day, physically or mentally, so we went back down.
Eisenlehnfall: the upper section wasn't on
Nominally WI5-, but the ice up top wasn't climbable. Franzi led.
Kehlerfall: wet, but warm
Two short pitches in poor ice. Not the conditions you set out for.
Rubihorn north face: on top in an hour and a half
A good mixed route in the Allgäu, all of it moving together.
Eckbachfall: the variation instead
The Eckbachfall proper was the plan, but the ice hadn't formed well enough.
Zottener Wasserfall: the WI4 is a guess
A spontaneous outing with Maxi, more or less a single pitch. We had no topo.
Rechter Zottenfall: still with the wrong kit
A good short route to start the year. The equipment was the same as on New Year's Eve.
2024
New Year's Eve on the Mittlerer Durchstieg
A hard ice route to close out the year, with a rappel I'd rather not think about.
First go at ice: Linker Zottenfall
Where the ice started. Not much kit, lightweight axes, and we got on it anyway.
Rantamplan: Maxi forgot his rock shoes
A good route with the lads right by the sea near Bilbao. Sharp limestone and approach shoes do not mix.
Gandalf straight after Gollum
Second route of the day, same rock, same weather. One of the best days of the Norway trip.
Gollum: perfect rock, perfect weather
One of the best days of the Norway trip — 105 metres of cracks, entirely clean.
Eidetind, day two: practising belays
An easy line the day after the first route. Franzi led it.
Eidetind: the start of the Norway trip
We got on the wrong line first, which was grim. After that: entirely clean and very good.
Fontana di Giovinezza: rappelled after three pitches
Brutally hot in Samolaco. Good friction climbing, but at some point that's enough.
Biancograt: 3 a.m. start, completely done by evening
An iced-up snow ridge, two ice screws and a very long day on Piz Bernina.
Stüdlgrat: caught in a snowstorm
A fine route on the Großglockner, but freezing, partly iced, and a long wait behind a club group.
Fußstein north arête: away at 3 a.m. on mountain bikes
A good route with a glacier. Passed two parties on the fourth pitch, then moved together to the summit.
Slovenian Route: the Triglav north face
A long, demanding line up the north face of Slovenia's highest peak. Without crampons we lost a lot of time on the old snow.
Kraftkamin: a short route after failing convincingly
Beaten the day before, thunderstorms forecast — the Kraftkamin was the right answer.
Gänsekragen east ridge: a wet-snow descent
Good ridge climbing, all of it free. Franzi wasn't quite on form, and the descent wasn't trivial.
Lara: a genuinely bad route
Polished, loose, a via ferrata directly overhead and rockfall to match. Plus a thunderstorm coming in.
The crack opposite Camping Zoo
Tried the obvious crack in the morning and rappelled off. In the afternoon, the left-hand route, whose name I've forgotten.
Caliope: restaging our first photo in Arco
A nice easy route at Ceniga — and a photograph that now exists twice.
Haselburger Riss: the 7+ was exciting
Entirely clean near Bolzano. Dirty first pitch, and the 7+ takes poor protection.
2023
Via Sabina: misread and completely overrun
Far too easy for the day and full of people. Perfectly nice otherwise.
Katia Monte: good classic, brutally polished
An alpine classic on the Colodri with a lot of traversing. Somewhat grassy in the middle.
Pantarei: the topo didn't match
A short warm-up route by the campsite. Listed as easier than it was — consistently grade 7.
Koflerturm south-west ridge: a night in the hammock
A good ridge in the Karwendel. With a pack, the 5s and 6s weren't free.
Vinatzer on the Third Sella Tower: busy, and a lot of waiting
A very good route, mostly clean protection — and two very slow Englishmen ahead of us, who turned out to be good company.
Fehrmann on the Stabelerturm: finding the belay first
After some initial hunting for the stance, very good — and we had it to ourselves.
Winklerturm: the Piaz variant instead of the Winkler crack
Second Vajolet tower of the day. The first pitch was fully bolted, after which it went back to normal.
Delagokante: the better plan B
After bailing on Punta Emma, we tacked on the airiest 4+ in the Dolomites on a whim.
Kasnapoff: easy, good, and busy accordingly
The classic north route on the Second Sella Tower. Then up to the Vajolet hut by mountain bike in the evening.
Stegerkante: into the wrong crack
An easy start to the Dolomites trip. We went right instead of left on the second pitch — and the crux is brutally polished.
Dibona route: 17 pitches moving together
Done on the second attempt. The lower section went in three hours, after which Franzi was pretty spent.
Il Cielo Sopra Bolzano: Franzi redpointed everything
Porphyry, very entertaining to climb, and protection that was almost absurdly good.
Il canto dell'Indria: 15 pitches of sustained grade 5
Long and consistently demanding. Franzi was effectively done from about pitch seven.
La Luna Argentea: cruised through quickly
Very well protected, short walk in, quick descent. Franzi wasn't fully on form but got on with it.
Gelbe Kante: on the route just before seven
A superb route on the Tre Cime. The first belay is a hanging one for no good reason — there's a decent stance just above it.
Dülfer on the Fleischbank east face
Second Pause route with Franzi, on the hottest day of the year. The traverses are superb.
PinzgaWurm: 45 pitches and one shoe short
Away at four, back at the car at half seven. I lost an approach shoe on the face.
Schöne Tage: rappel in, then climb
A pumpy grade 8 to start, hard friction pitches in the middle, and an exposed traverse where I hung on everything.
Lucky Six: leading practice instead of the Dülfer
The real objective fell through on weather. An easy, well-protected route for Franzi to lead.
Herbstzeit: hard for the grade
A good route at Neufundland. Franzi wanted to lead, but the bolt spacing turned out fairly wide.
Balisto: a dream route on the Geiselstein
Very long pitches on mostly solid rock. Bus in, then an hour uphill.
Reindl-Kante: couldn't find the start of the Buena Vista
The plan was the grade 8 next door. Pleasant climbing instead.
Alte Südwestkante: one pitch of 6-, easier otherwise
A clean route on the Steinplatte. Very good.
Direkte Südwestkante: not my finest day
A brutally hard 7+. I hung on almost everything and used a sling as an aider at one point.
Green Mile: a few more metres before the day ended
A short, easy afternoon route. The grass matters less than the guidebook claims.
Hitzeschild: first route with a haul bag
A hard route on the Steinplatte. Cold start on the grade 8, a lot of hanging on the 9- and 8+ pitches.
La Ceniga Rossa: a quick afternoon route
After rappelling off Le Scalette dell'Indria after one pitch, we got on this instead.
Fiori di Primavera: practising rope commands
A pleasant plaisir route on the Regina del Lago, for practising rope commands and belay handling.
Via Barbara: the whole Colodri east face
A great route, off-line twice low down and considerably worse protected than the Via del Bepi. The crack corner is the highlight.
Via del Bepi on the Colodri
Hard down low, lovely up high — and better protected than the guidebook makes out.
Parete Nera: alpine protection, as a three
A great route on the San Paolo. Maxi led six pitches, I led three.
2022
Kuschelrock: one boulder move, and it means it
A good route on the Gimpel. The grade 8 is a single move, but a convincing one.
Via delle Fontane: Franzi's first alpine fall
One of the earliest routes in the Sarca valley, and alpine to match. Off route, and then into a piton and a tree.
Via Artemis: the rappel is the highlight
Lost on the approach, very good otherwise. Fully bolted these days, so cams are redundant.
Via Spignola: slab climbing that gets into your feet
Sport-protected slabs at the Sonnenplatten. Very good, and draining in an inconspicuous way.
Sonnenpfeiler: entirely alone, wet in places
A very good long route on the Wilder Kaiser, with an entertaining A0 traverse.
Vinatzer on the Piz Ciavazes: an overhanging offwidth
A good alpine route. The 6+ pitch through the overhanging shoulder crack is spectacular and very airy.
Via del Calice: 13 hours car to car
14 pitches, all on gear, and a party ahead of us. Then we got the descent wrong.
Delenda Cartago: sport plaisir in the Dolomites
Superb rock and the best bolting you'll find. Second route of the day on the First Sella Tower.
Schober: freezing, because no sun
A good alpine route on the First Sella Tower. Bolted belays, enough pitons on the harder pitches.
Herzblut: a good plaisir route, slightly wet for us
Zillertal, botanical approach. Nothing spectacular, but good.
Grundschadner north arête: a tedious descent without old snow
A great route moving together. The descent is much nicer with snow — we had none.
Siciliano: the last pitch is superb
Approach botched, first pitch bypassed, cold, one wet grade 8 — and then a finish that makes up for all of it.
Dreierweg: moving together up top
From the Gruttenhütte. Partly loose higher up, so we kept moving.
Kopftörlgrat: unroped
From the Gaudeamushütte, without a rope. Exactly the kind of day this ridge is for.
Via dei Ciclamini: first and last pitches unroped
Very easy climbing at both ends, and the middle feels like the Sonnenplatten.
Caldo Inverno: last pitch hard for the grade
Arco, and the route saves the hardest bit for the end.
Astroman: forgot the knot when pulling the ropes
Great low down, loose up top — and a rappelling mistake you only make once.
Am Ende der Sonne: good the whole way
Joni led the 9-. One of the best routes on the Steinplatte.
Black Mamba
The weekend's second 9- on the Steinplatte, with Joni. I wrote nothing down about it.
Kreuzotter: one hard move, easier otherwise
The 8+ is a single move. The rest of the route sits noticeably below it.
Regensburger Weg: a short multipitch in Franconia
Kastlwand, short and unremarkable. The first route in this logbook.