Five Women Who Crushed Climbs This Week
Babsi Zangerl, Anak Verhoeven, Laura Rogora, Michaela Kiersch and Lara Neumeier redpointed some test-piece routes over the past few days
Fall sending season is here as news about first ascents and repeats is flooding in from around the world. There are new Himalayan peaks being climbed and bold trad sends going down.
Here are five headline-making climbs this week from five of the most inspiring women in the world of rock climbing.
Babsi Zangerl is one of the world’s best trad climbers in the world. Over the past decade, she’s climbed some of the hardest big walls and crack lines ever established. This past week, she added another to her resume with Magic Line, a 5.14c trad route in Yosemite. She joins a short list of climbers who’ve sent it since the first ascent in 1996 by Ron Kauk, including Lonnie Kauk, Hazel Findlay, Carlo Traversi, Connor Herson and Jacopo Larcher. She followed up Magic Line by climbing Astroman and Rostrum in a day.
Anak Verhoeven was one of the world’s leading competition climbers until she retired a few years ago. Since then she’s redpointed several test-piece sport routes, including Sweet Neuf 5.15a, Joe Mama 5.15a, No Pain No Gain 5.15a and La Planta de Shiva 5.15b. Her most recent send was of Greenspit, a 5.14a crack in Italy.
Laura Rogora is one of Europe’s best sport climbers, with five 5.15a routes to her name and dozens of 5.14s. This week, she climbed an Adam Ondra 5.15a on her first day of trying it in only four goes. This fall, Rogora flashed Aggresif You Want 5.14b and La Feu Occlte 5.14a, onsighted Spanish Caravan 5.14b, and redpointed Le Flute e Chantier 5.14c on just her fourth attempt. She next made the second ascent of Flipping the Bird 5.14d in Grottosauro, Italy. She followed that ascent up with a repeat of Prima Classe 5.14d in La Stazione, Italy. She then flashed La Via del Quim 5.14a and sent the famous Estado CrÃtico 5.14d.
Michaela Kiersch became the first woman to climb both V15 and 5.15a this week with her repeat of the famous Fred Nicole boulder called Dreamtime V15 in Cresciano, Switzerland. She has climbed two 5.15a sport routes in total with La Rambla in 2023 and VÃctima Perfecta in 2024. She’s also the first woman to climb Dreamtime. She was already the first woman ever to tick both 5.15a and V14. In addition to her two 5.15a’s, she’s climbed climbed three 5.14d’s over the years, including Dreamcatcher in Squamish, and Victimes del Futur and Era Vella in Margalef. She’s climbed many V13s and several V14s, including Hailstorm in Utah and New Base Line and Tigris Sit in Magic Wood.
Lara Neumeier has freed the 27-pitch El Niño via the Pineapple Express variation, an 800-metre 5.13c on El Capitan in Yosemite. She did so with her partner Nemuel Fuerle. In 2023, Neumeier freed the 30-pitch El Corazon 5.13 also on El Capitan. Earlier this year, Neumeier climbed the nine-pitch 5.13d Headless Children on the Schijenfluh in the Rätikon, Austria.
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
