Babsi Zangerl Climbing Meltdown 5.14c Trad
A new video features Zangerl making the fourth ascent of the iconic Yosemite crack
Photo by: Ben Neilson
Austrian climber Barbsi Zangerl has repeated Meltdown, a 5.14c trad route in Yosemite first climbed by Beth Rodden. It’s considered one of the world’s hardest crack climbs.
“I am so happy that I finally sent this route,” said Zangerl in a press release. “Such an amazing line. I think it was the hardest trad line I have done so far. It felt hard for the grade. For me it was a real mental battle. I had to reduce my gear to a minimum to save some power, because to get through the crux was always a low percentage. It was not even close to 50/50 that my foot stuck on the tiny mini-edge. My foot slipped so many times. When I got past this hard sequence today I knew that it was my chance; I had to keep it together. It is still not over there. The upper part of the route was still very hard, and very tricky to place the final micro-nut. I almost fell off on the last two hard moves.”
Located in Cascade Creek, Rodden made the first ascent on Valentines Day in 2008. Countless climbers learned about Rodden’s historic ascent thanks to it being featured in the film Dosage V from Big Up Productions. Notable attempts were made by Ron Kauk (who bolted the anchor and first tried the line), Enzo Oddo and Tommy Caldwell. When Rodden made the first free ascent, she’d already climbed several Yosemite big wall free routes, such as Lurking Fear VI 5.13c, El Corazon VI 5.13b and the Nose VI 5.14a. It wasn’t repeated until 2018 by Carlo Traversi and then in 2022 by Jacopo Larcher.
“Such an iconic line and big thanks to Beth Rodden for the inspiration, you are a legend,” said Zangerl. Watch her send Meltdown below.
Zangerl on Meltdown
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