Home > News

Beat Kammerlander Opens New 5.14 in Ratikon

Legendary Austrian climber Beat Kammerlander has made the first free ascent of Kampfzone 5.14b in the famous Ratikon range.

He established the hard line in 2015, but had to abandon his free attempt due to an early winter. Scroll the photos below.

In an interview with Planetmountain, Kammerlander said this about what makes the five-pitch alpine sport line so hard, “I’d say the continuous difficulties coupled with the style of the actual moves.

“The climbing on the crux pitch is extremely technical, you stand on the tiniest of footholds, crimp the smallest edges. The moves are really, really complicated. Power won’t get you anywhere up there.” Full interview here.

Kammerlander has established some of Europe’s hardest multi-pitch climbs at altitude, including New Age 5.13 in 1988, Unendliche Geschichte 5.13 in 1990 and Silbergeier 5.14 in 1993. He climbed the north face of the Eiger in winter in 1980 and established the trad test-piece Prinzip Hoffnung 5.14R.

Watch the video below of Kammerland on Kampfzone. Put on some music because the audio was muted due to a copyrighted track.

Check out the latest buyer's guide:

The Best Climbing Gear According to Our Editors – March

Every month we're bringing you our favourite gear so you can complete your climbing kit with the latest and best stuff out there