Jakob Schubert and Jessy Pilz Win Multi-Pitch Speed Comp

The final round of the 2024 Red Bull Dual Ascent multi-pitch climbing competition was held today in Ticino, Switzerland. Two teams of climbers – Austrians Jessy Pilz and Jakob Schubert versus Swiss Andrew Kumin and Sascha Lehmann – raced up six pitches of plastic holds bolted to the imposing face of the Verzasca Dam.

The Austrian team of Paris Olympic bronze medalists won the comp, reaching the top of the 180-metre climb in just 48 minutes and 46 seconds. Neither Pilz nor Schubert fell along the way. They also achieved the fastest times in the qualification and semi-final rounds, each time climbing the route without falling. In the final round, the Swiss team achieved a time of 56 minutes and 43 seconds, with two penalties from two sections where Kumin continued climbing after falling.

In Wednesday’s qualification round, 10 teams raced in heats up the route. The top four teams then competed again in Thursday’s semi-final. The pitch grades for the qualification and semi-final round were 5.11b, 5.11d, 5.12c, 5.12d, 5.13a, and 5.13b. In the finals, the sixth pitch was modified to increase its grade from 5.13b to 5.13d. The event was the third time the Dual Ascent comp has been held. Alberto Ginés López and Luka Potočar won the inaugural event in 2022, and siblings Jernej and Julija Kruder won at the second event in 2023.

At this year’s event, Pitch 3 featured a hand crack crux down low and an a chimney crux up, both made of Wide Boyz volumes. The hand crack section in particular gave many climbers trouble throughout the competition, including Schubert and Kumin in the finals. Schubert got through the section but ended up getting seriously pumped in doing so. Kumin fell several times on the section, having to eventually just continue on, accruing a penalty for her team.

“I feel like I did the crack pretty well in the other rounds, but somehow today we were already in the lead, and I knew [Kumin and Lehmann] had a penalty, so I thought I could try and climb it more efficient – maybe even be faster,” said Schubert about the crack pitch in the final round. “But then I was completely stuck and I couldn’t reach the next hold. I slipped out, [caught] myself, and had a huge fight to make it out of the crack. It kind of destroyed everything from there because I had such an incredible pump from there up until the top. I just had to fight and let myself [carry on] from Jessy.

“My pump was incredible. I was lucky and just had 1% left to be able to do all the other routes. In this case, when you’re really pumped, when you’re really desperate and just fight for your life, it gives you so much confidence when your partner is looking crazy strong and super safe, so I was really happy I had Jessy on my side.”

“It doesn’t happen that often that you see Jakob pumped and destroyed!” added Pilz about the ordeal. She continued about her time at the comp. “It was a super nice experience. When do you get the chance to climb on a dam? It was really fun and different compared to World Cups. I really enjoyed myself and it was fun to climb in a team. I’m really happy that we won the competition.”

Results

2024 Red Bull Dual Ascent Finals