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Janja Garnbret and Domen Škofic Send 13-Pitch Artificial 5.14a

It's the hardest and tallest artificial climb ever built

Slovenian powerhouses Janja Garnbret and Domen Škofic have climbed a 13-pitch 360-metre 5.14a plastic route up the highest chimney in Europe. The route was designed by IFSC routesetters Katja Vidmar and Simon Margon.

This is the world’s tallest artificial climbing route. The crux pitch 10 is 257 metres off the deck and goes at 5.14a. Their first go was an onsight attempt, which took them 12 hours from bottom to top.

This was Garnbret’s first multi-pitch route. About the climb, she said, “I was a bit scared before the start. I was afraid of falling, which can get really nasty in case of a vertical wall compared to an overhanging wall where you hang in the air. Here you can quickly hit a wall or a hold before the rope stops you. Thus, I needed to fall a few times until I finally relaxed and banished the fear.”

Škofic said, “The chimney is completely different from anything I’ve climbed so far. It is a giant, artificial object, which I found rather mystical. I felt discomfort, strong fear of the unknown but I quickly made friends with the chimney, as the route was really beautiful and challenging. Once I started focusing on climbing, all other thoughts were gone, and I was just enjoying it.”

Four days after their first attempt, they returned for the redpoint in seven hours and 32 minutes, almost four hours faster than the first attempt. Of climb two, Garnbret said: “The most difficult pitch is really hard and so high up the route but I wasn’t afraid of it in the second attempt, I was more afraid of a few big dynos lower down the route where you lose a lot of energy and you need to be 100 per cent focused to prevent any falls. A fall means repeating pitches and losing additional strength and time.”

Watch the full film here.

 

 

 

 

 

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