First Repeat of a Six-Pitch 5.14a Freed by Adam Ondra

A film about Edu Marin's second ascent of WoGü from back in 2016 was just released

Gripped January 3, 2023

Recognised as one of the most difficult bolted alpine climbs in Europe, the 200-metre WoGü was established ground up by Rätikon gatekeeper Beat Kammerlander in 1998 and freed in 2008 by Adam Ondra, who was belayed by Pietro Dal Prà. Ondra was 15 years old at the time.

It wasn’t repeated until August 2016 when Edu Marin made the second ascent with his father Francisco Marin belaying. It climbs next to the multi-pitch Die Unendliche Geschichte 5.14a on seventh Kirchlispitze in Switzerland, which was also first freed by Ondra. The six pitches of WoGü break down to 5.13b, 5.14a, 5.14a, 5.14a, 5.13c and 5.13a.

“One of the most difficult multi-pitchs in the world,” said Marin. “Sending all pitches separately was a long process, I needed several weeks to find the right methods. When I managed to send all pitches, I started the attempts to free climb all pitches in one day. It was another interesting process where I had to look for the best condition during the day, very complicated because climbing in south face and in August means to expect hot temperatures. From 9:00 am to 17:00 pm it was impossible to climb. I had to invest three attempts to make all the route in a row. The key strategy was to start climbing Wogü at 17:00 when the sun went down from the wall and make a quick and effective climbing. I only had two falls during the climb.”

The film of Marin’s second was just released online. Since 2016, WoGü has been repeated by several other climbers.