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Fabi Buhl Sends 27-Year Ratikon 5.14c Project

The 12-pitch bolted route has a number of stacked 5.13 pitches

German climber Fabi Buhl has made the first free ascent of Déjà, a 400-metre multi-pitch alpine route at 5.14c. It climbs up the Seventh Kirchlispitze in Switzerland’s Rätikon .

The route was bolted in September 1992 by Michi Wyser and Andres Lietha. Buhl has been projecting it for four year. Buhl attempted the crux with a number of partners, including Jacopo Larcher and Melissa Le Nevé. The first free ascent took five hours up the 12 pitches.

Buhl is a strong all-round climbers who has ticked Dreamtime V15 and Prinzip Hoffnung 5.14R. He’s also climbed a number of serious alpine lines in the Himalayas. Watch the first ascent below.

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The last fall my mind was occupied by Déjà a 10 pitch route in #raetikon . Not only this year, it is a project that started for me 4 years a go via a hint from @kammerlander_beat and @michi_wyser I checked it out alone and then invited @jacopolarcher to try a bit with me over the first 2 seasons. We found a good part of the beta but realised that the crux is difficult and super condition dependent. Soon it was clear that it is possible, I went back sometimes with friends sometimes alone, just to play and find the smallest little details of my beta. I made nightsessions during summer just beacuse I wanted to climb at least some moves. This year was different, after coming back from Peru, I really focused all my energy into training. As soon as I felt in shape, I invested all into the route. @melissaleneve kicked my lazy alpine climbing ass and helped me with her motivation to train and climb more then I have since a while! Unfortunately I got quite late in good enough shape but then I went all in. From the 6th October my mind was fully occupied by this beautiful piece of route from Andres & Michi! With each day that passed, I felt closer and closer. But the crux remained unclimbed. All the sudden the winter was rolling in, I will always remember admitting to Mél while we where waking up in a snowy and frosty car, that this might be to cold, even for me to climb? From that point onwards It got super difficult to find belayers and the weather was really getting worse. Nonetheless Andres was always there and battled the conditions as hard as me, just to support me and finish his 27 year old story with this route! In the end I climbed all of the 10 pitches first try, during surreal 5 hours of climbing! Never would I have dared to climb it in such a perfect flow. Thanks @melissaleneve @andreslietha @h_zak1965 @f.sattelberger @raphaela.haug @maxiknapp and Andi for all the support, without you Déjà 8c+ would not have been possible! Thanks also for @adidasterrex and @petzl_official for supporting the shooting, so you guys can have a glimpse into it! ? Thanks @stefanschlumpf for the killer shot ( studying made him the official #masteroflight ) @goclimbon

A post shared by Fabi Buhl (@fabi_buhl) on

Déjà

 

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