Ascents by Christoph Rauch having Trad CPR

Tough one! I didn't climb the actual start, but started right into the second half from the last bolt of "Direkter Plattenweg". Powerful overhang which I attacked a little to the right of the ring to do a big rockover on the left foot above the bolt. Then a few meters of nothingness in a terribly shallow dihedral (if you can even call it that). Sketchy moves first lead a little to the left (to gain a mediocre crimp), then again to the right. Foot even popped off at one point and I have no Idea how I stuck to the wall.

Quite solid for 8-, but I'm not talking about the rock quality. Splintery after the first bolt (of the route proper), but rapidly improving. The bolt spacing is perfect, but airy. Well, as long as there are bolts. The last third or so, when climbed directly up, was kept unbolted. Most people probably bail out to the right into "Direkte Nebelsteiner", but the direct line is really worthwhile, with lots of jugs and a few decent placements (tricams might be great).

Slightly intimidating line that pulls up over the little roof to the right of "Neuer Gemsenweg" with just one shabby bolt. I extended the third bolt of the Gemsenweg to back up the bolt. There's a narrow slit a little to the right of the line right where the hardest moves are. A black totem fits perfectly there. After a few moves on edges, you reach a dihedral with a sensible nut placement. The last part from the ledge is quite easy, with another bomber nut placement.

One of the hardest summits in the Frankenjura. The easiest route (this one) is rarely climbed, therefore dirty and vegetated. Crux is the start of the second pitch, to get past the first, massive ring. The rest is way easier but a little brittle. Backing up the uppermost ringed piton with a nut is advisable. Unfortunately, ants gobbled up half of the summit book and used it as their nest.

Slimy hand jam into steep dihedral, followed by a tricky section up and right to the last bolt of "Schöner Weg" (or at least that's how I read the line, didn't see an anchor on the left; merging is the longer option in better rock, anyway).

Might have been the first free ascent, at least of this line. The first ascensionists seemingly chickened out on the ledge and went to the left, but the two pegs leading further up into the interesting crack dihedral suggest that at least someone didn't agree with that strange decision. Nice start via the obvious dihedral (cams!), then a step to the right to get onto the massive flake. The series of rusty pegs starting here doesn't radiate a lot of trustworthiness, but at least there's 3 of them before the hardest part and another one when you've reached the suspiciously vibrating flake on the left. It would have made a lot of sense to use slings on these, the rope drag afterwards was horrible. Once you're on the ledge, creep up to the Bühler bolt right next to another peg, the last piece of fixed pro, just in the right place because the crux of the whole route awaits here. Save a few bigger cams for the crack in the end. Well, who am I telling this … probably not going to see another repeat in the near future, anyway.

The easiest route here, but probably not a good #warmup for most people. Decided to do just that, anyway. Chossy start. I climbed in slightly from the left. Just below the crack, there's a decent placement for a #1. Great rock quality as soon as you're in the crack. Eats protection like mad, too, so you can fully concentrate on the awkward moves. Bomber jams, but far in the back of the crack, so your movement is limited quite a bit. There's an anchor below the vegetation.

The guides list this as chossy and grassy. Neither of it is really true. Yes, there are a few loose bits here and there, but it's overall good rock with reasonable placements (the first ascensionist actually wanted to climb it as a trad route but chickened out, the bolt is in the right place, though).

Finally buckled up to try this, and I can confirm that it's not 8, but 7. Great crack climbing and a good route to level-up your trad skills. Careful with the first placement, though, the crack is quite smooth at the beginning and some brands of cams might slip out. The original line apparently stepped onto the arête at the end (hence the name) and drew up to the left (a peg is still there), which is then the crux of the whole route. However, there's an anchor a little to the right now, too.

Great wall climbing along obvious crack lines with a technical crux on small holds in the upper headwall. The boltless crack in the middle can be easily protected with friends (at least a good yellow and pink Dragon cam; if you feel insecure, add a red and green one, too) and a bomber nut (red DMM offset).

Awkward pockets at the start, then easier to the ledge, runout to the next bolt (which had three draws in, so I didn't bother to thread slings or place nuts in the slab), then a short bouldery section on the dull arête.

Brutal boulder for the grade. Actually relatively big holds, but quite athletic and the section directly after the second bolt is nasty and powerful. Decent finger jam in the crack afterwards, but you should definitely place a nut in that slot once you repositioned yourself. You can use the anchor of the routes on the right.

Not the best #warmup if climbed directly. Two good nut placements, but the crack is quite closed and there are a few loose pieces hanging around. Once you can grab the big chockstone on the left, it's in the bag. Knew the upper part already, which is great. The original start suits the route better.

Another great crack that can basically be climbed without the bolts. Didn't have all my cams on me, though, so I chickened out and used them both, but using cams is essential nevertheless. Relatively easy up to the roof, great traverse to the left on undercling jams. I decided not to throw myself up into the offwidth at the end of the traverse, but instead continued a tad further to the left into a shallow dihedral, then bridged up in wide chimney style to the anchor.

Nice easy traverse at the start, then on big holds (but vegetated) to the ledge and a little bushwhacking to the finish of "Direkte Talseite". Apparently, the old farts traversed further around the corner for even more meandering (and little protection), but probably a good deal easier. #jahreserste2022

Unusual, powerful arête boulder with hooks in the beginning (bolted) followed by an easier crack (trad) after the ledge.

Direct line from the starting dihedral of Grünbauer to the finishing crack after the original traverse, via a thin crack line. There's a Bühler bolt in the cave above the first bolt of Grünbauer, from there it's just rusty pitons. Unfortunately, the most important peg has been completely obliterated by rust, meaning that it's gone. Took me some 10 minutes to prepare a nest of gear in that place, which is super important but nontrivial to say the least. The next peg also doesn't look too good, which makes it all the more vital to place good gear. The ringed piton afterwards is a little better, and the terrain also eases off there a little. Good cam position (+ piton) in the slightly overhanging layback section, then easy via another piton to the top.

Dream line through the west face with quite a few rings. Quite directly up the western arête, then through the middle of the headwall with a crux on thin holds. A slightly overhanging finish leads you diagonally rightwards to the summit (nuts and cams possible here). Extending the second ring and maybe the one in the crux is advisable.

Striking line and also a good climb. Directly up the arête in the upper part, mostly on jugs. The finish was quite dirty, which is strange, I would have thought this to be quite popular.

Marvellous route. Found a good sling placement below the roof, climbed down again to test it. After clipping the ring, I had to come back down again to unclip it, though. Fantastically varied climbing. Powerful over the little roof, then technical climbing to the left of the first ring (felt like the crux to me), easy meters on big holds to the third and fourth ring, crimpfest in black rock diagonally up to the right to the last ring, then straight up to the big ledge and the summit.

Climbed it again, after Markus' onsight attempt. Took out each piece and placed it again to convince myself that the placements are really solid. Again, a very delightful experience (if you don't mind making a hard move above a bomber nut).

Climbed it as described in the 1991 Bühler guide, that is, to the second bolt of "Südriss", then to the right into the crack parallel to "Südriss", up this to the top. Nuts/cams absolutely necessary, or you'll have to run it out for 5 to 7 meters after the rusty peg. Felt quite tough compared to "Südriss", since there are no good hand jams, only a mediocre fist/open hand in the middle. I'd love to try the direct variant, but that one looks really desperate and the old expansion bolt doesn't look trustworthy either.

Nice starting variant along the obvious crack, nuts are a must.

Originally climbed with only one bolt in the first pitch, which is astonishing. The second pitch is only recommended for enthusiasts; the ringed bolt directly after the belay is followed up with only three pitons and a good tree. Powerful over the bulge, then grassy to the headwall, which is actually quite nice and not too intimidating despite the old pegs.

Somebody stole the pencil again. It's becoming a nuisance. I climbed this thing 6 times now and only once had the chance to sign the book.

Funny overhanging crack dihedral. Not easy to find the right position. Once you're out in the vertical part, it's over. Good placements all the way.

Good line. Starts up like the first pitch of "Punta Civetta", then onto the big spiky (and slightly spooky) block and up left into the overhanging crack dihedral/chimney. Strenuous moves from the block, a small silver cam would have been optimal, my purple was a bit overcammed. Once you're stuck in the chimney, there are lots of good placements and the climbing eases off, with a few good holds and solid jams. The farther up you get, the more it stinks, though, the cave below the anchor seems to have been the falcon's toilet.

A two star adventure all in all, so the rating is just for the climbing and the route itself, not considering the approach and descent, which can by themselves become epics, and almost did for us. Lost the cairns on the approach at some point in a thick brush, didn't want to waste any more time continuing the search and had to whack our way through, partly crawling along tunnels made by (probably) pigs. The climb itself went pretty well, the massive tafoni cave is the distinguishing feature of course. The line is not always 100% clear and there's lichen and a thin layer of moss in many places, but it's manageable. The crux pitches are a steeper tafoni section after the cave and a traverse, both of which have enough bolts. The pitch to the summit is an easy slab stroll, so we soloed it. After abseiling from that last pitch, don't miss the slit opening behind the huge boulder, you really need to crawl through it! There are a few cairns marking the first part of the descent from there, always traversing out a little, then finally through a narrow section onto the slab. From there, it's an easy, but exposed scramble down the slab, you have to trust your guts to find the easiest way. On our way down, we luckily found the cairn path and also realized where we lost it, so we marked that passage as good as we could (it's also not entirely obvious because you need to go down towards a deep ravine, then turn sharp right after a few meters).

One of my absolute favourites. This time, I got attacked by angry ants in the middle of the dihedral, though. They were swarming all over a thorny bush that grew there, which I brushed with my face a little, which again coaxed them into jumping onto my face and spraying their venom into my eyes. Nasty little buggers. I removed the bush afterwards. Another note: a green dragon cam is perfect to protect the section below the roof (better than the rusty peg). You should leave out the bolt in the chimney to avoid massive rope drag, or take a long-ass sling to extend it.

Long, astonishingly horizontal traverse, especially given that it's going on for about 40 meters. You gain about 5 meters of height at the start, then traverse below a roof with bad feet and not a lot to hold on to. The protection at this point is also mediocre, two spaced out Bühler bolts with a rusty peg in the middle that has not been driven into the rock completely, so it's best to sling it. This is the crux, but the fun isn't over. A little green after the second Bühler bolt, but manageable and relatively easy to the belay. Second pitch gets you around a round pillar via a slanted ledge (do not climb up the crack as indicated in some guide books; climb down half meter instead, then continue traversing); crouching is the best option. Careful, the holds at the start of the ledge are brittle. Luckily, there's a good bolt there. It's best to set up belay once again at the book case. After two more meters of traverse, you can then heave yourself up onto another little ledge with a roof over it and crawl along it around the corner; the ledge gets steeper, though, so the finish is again a bit bold. Funny exit through a narrow tunnel to the vista.

Much harder than the left one. Exhausting fist/offwidth passage at the start, sling necessary between the first two bolts (chock), another nut sensible after the second. Merges with "Linker Westriss" just below the book case.

Felt a tad easier than VIIIa, but fantastic climbing. Steep, but good holds except for a few small sections around the rings. Finished via the overhang a little to the right of the arête, not too hard, but very airy. The first big chicken head doesn't feel too solid, better sling the second one.

Great wall climbing, straight up in the middle of the wall to the left of the wide chimney. Tricky crack in the beginning, then easier to the big hole (careful, loose blocks lying around in there). A bit sandy, unfortunately, to the ring, then a crimpy wall leads to a short, round crack (small rock tunnel on the right) and up to the second ring on the ledge. Crux is the bulge afterwards, I went a little bit left, then had to traverse to the right again, which was pretty airy. Bomber sling around the big chicken head and a typical finishing overhang with slopers in the very end.

Good, spicy variant to "Grautvornix" that drives out left to an orange corner; quite spaced protection.

Not exactly clear where this is supposed to go. Followed the chalk over the little pillar straight up after the third bolt, but still clipped the bolts on the left. Nice section over the little bulge in the end this way, but I presume the route originally drove off further to the right.

Interesting trad line that just aims for the overhanging finger crack right next to "Handriss", which is also the crux. The rest is relatively easy and climbable just about everywhere, just choose the easiest, boltless and protectable path. Good yellow dragon cam at the start of the crack. You can back it up with a nut, then just power through to the anchor.

Short, but rough offwidth. Some hand and fist jams, but otherwise just shove in what you can. Big cams necessary.

Tough start. Already quite bold to clip the first bolt, then a short crack boulder in the overhang leads to easier terrain with lots of good placements. Beautiful climbing on cracks and flakes. I wonder what old route the big rusty ring in the upper third belongs to?

Brilliant wall climbing in the lower part, homogeneous on iron crimps with the odd boulder move strewn in. Jugs from the third ring on to the top.

Captivating line. The wider section can be climbed as a chimney, interesting section after the big chock stone. Lots of good placements, I sort of zipped it up, only had a single nut left when I reached the anchor (single set of cams from green to blue plus various medium to big stoppers).

Wonderful easy route, more a walk than a climb, but with a nasty little passage at the beginning, justifying the grade. You can just pull on the draw, though, then it's something like a grade 2 or 3 up to the finishing crack, which is again a little harder (but not exceeding grade 5, I'd say), but can be climbed nicely as a narrow chimney. Really worthwhile!

Great slab climb with two distinct little cruxes. Smaller cams helpful to bridge the gaps between the bolts. A real gem here, if you like intricate slab puzzles.

Took a wrong turn because the description in the guidebook was obviously incorrect. Climbed on for a few meters before I realised it; too late to back off at that point, so I struggled my way up the utter choss. Half a first ascent, but I wouldn't recommend any repeats.

The upper part is good (apparently there's a newer ring up there, too, which helps a lot) but you have to get past the rooflet in the middle, which is a bit of a showstopper after the already demanding slab dihedral in the beginning. The bolt at the rooflet doesn't inspire a lot of confidence and neither does the rock quality in that part of the wall. Also, after you've heaved your body over the lip, you still have to do a few sketchy moves with mediocre protection (placed a green cam) before you reach the ledge.

Not as brittle as the name might suggest … except maybe the upper third. Quite long and the protection is sensible. Interesting section over the little overhang. A decent climb as long as it's clean.