2015-04-20

Climbing Roggenflue

We have been blessed with beautifully clear skies and lots of sun during the last couple of days. Andrey and I left work a little early on Monday to climb the three pitches of Rumpelstilz 5c+ up to the summit of the Roggenflue. We used a mobility car sharing car again. Being just barely ahead of peak commuter traffic it took us a bit longer than expected to get to the mountain. It turns out the restaurant at the crag is closed and with it the road leading up. This meant we added an unexpected 40 minute hike up the mountain to our itinerary. We also missed the right fork in the trail (who puts up green signs in a forest?!) and had to backtrack a bit. When we finally reached the base of the climb it already started getting dusky beneath the trees.

Schloss Neu-Bechburg
Looks easy enough, right? Let's try it!

The first pitch was supposed to be 5c+, easy work for Andrey and me. Motivated, Andrey started up the first two moves and... got stuck. He kept trying back and forth but didn't make any progress for a long time. He finally gave up and came down. My turn. My reach is a little longer than Andrey's, so I managed to get higher. There I was, leaning back slightly, hands on scary slopers, strength slowly seeping away. The last clip way below me, the next one, unreachable, a meter to my right. More rope between me and the last bolt than between Andrey and the same bolt - a guaranteed ground fall. Not a good position to be in.

Okay, maybe check the guide book first this time.

I managed to retrace my moves and down climb safely. Checking the wall and guide book again we discover that we have been struggling trying to climb a 7b. With our back packs on. No wonder it felt slightly more difficult than expected. We finally start up the correct route at around 19:30. Luckily this one feels trivial and we basically run up the rock. The final pitch in particular feels almost like cheating. It is an easy 4b with the harder climbs right next to it. Another day. We make it to the summit just in time for a fantastic sunset. Beautiful colors, sweeping views all the way to Eiger, Mönch and Jungfrau. A truly grandiose finish to a mission that started less than promising. Yay!

Maybe we should practice this selfie thing.

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