Huge 8b+ Multipitch Routes for Nina Caprez and Babsi Zangerl

August 10, 2012

Austrian climber Barbara ‘Babsi’ Zangerl has just repeated the famous alpine multipitch route End of Silence, which was first climbed by German big wall guru Thomas Huber back in 1994.

The route, which is one of the famous ‘Alpine Trilogy’ (three desperate long routes of 8b+ in difficulty, which were for a long time the three hardest in the Alps), is on the Feuerhorn in the Berchtesgadener Alps in southern Germany.

Babsi had been trying the slightly more famous route Silbergeier (again one of the Alpine Trilogy), in Ratikon, Switzerland, but due to the crux pitch of this giving the young Austrian back trouble, she switched focus to the End of Silence. End of Silence is 11 pitches long, with many hard sections, the crux being 8b+. Babsi is one of the top climbers of Europe, having previously bouldered Font 8B, climbed 8c sport routes, and climbed 8b+ multipitch routes.

Another top female climber – Nina Caprez – has also knocked out a multipitch 8b+ recently. Nina (who actually became the first woman to climb Silbergeier last year) has completed her recent project and made the third overall ascent of Carnet d’Adresse, on the Rocher du Midi, Chartreuse, France.

Nina Caprez on the multipitch 8b+ of Carnet d’Adresse, on the Rocher du Midi, Chartreuse, France. Photo by Sam Bie

This route was bolted by Philippe Mussato a few years ago and got its first free ascent in 2011 by Yann Ghesquier, and then its second just a few days before Nina, when her boyfriend Cedric Lachat managed an ascent. The route is eight pitches long, with three of them being 8a+ or harder and the crux being 8b+.

Commenting on her climb, Nina said:

“On ‘the day’ I actually wasn’t expecting it to work – the 8b+ was still uncertain. But in fact, I was feeling good that day, I felt light and precise as I climbed and placed the draws and hauled the bags. It’s really this kind of day I like – being super concentrated on each pitch. Every move is then such a pleasure and I feel powerful. I love it!’

Petzl have an article and interview detailing Nina’s ascent on the Petzl Website.

You can also watch the interview we did with Nina earlier this summer when she swung by the EpicTV studio a few weeks ago to talk about her current projects.