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Simon Gietl & Mark Oberlechner make the first ascent of the “Kalipe” mixed tour on the north face of the Peitlerkofel

#ATHLETESTORY

“Nothing is stronger than an idea whose time has come!” – Victor Hugo

Simon first noticed the impressive ice track on the north face of the Peitlerkofel four years ago. Each time he drove past it on the way towards Bruneck, this thin, pale blue stripe in the imposing north face would attract his attention, but it never evolved into a concrete plan. And yet, it kept lingering at the back of his mind.

As the ice line started to form again this winter and the conditions were right, a vague idea turned into a fixed plan. And those who know Simon know that this means there’s no stopping him. And so he drove up to the Würzjoch pass to take a closer look at the north face on 18 January and returned home with the conviction that “this line has to be climbed” and the determination to draw up an action plan.

Preparation is half the battle – especially for such a challenging enterprise as this one. And so Simon returned to the Peitlerkofel with his rope partner Davide Prandini a few days before his ascent to take a closer look at the situation. Together, they mapped out the first six pitches. Their attention was fixed on the snow conditions and the possible routes on the ice track. And soon the idea evolved that the entire route should be climbed non-stop in one day, as well as the decision to actually climb it.

On 26 January at 6:30 a.m., Simon and his partner Mark Oberlechner started out on the route fully motivated and focused. During the first few pitches, a strong, cold north wind made climbing difficult for them. It made the already low temperatures feel much more frosty than expected. Up until the starting point of their route through the imposing ice track, they climbed next to each other. But then they reached the tricky and difficult passage through the ice track. The crux pitch turned out to be a serious endeavour with lots of frozen snow cushions and a very thin layer of ice in which reliable protection was virtually impossible and countless spindrifts made climbing particularly challenging. Highly focused and with utmost caution, they eventually mastered this pitch, during which falling was simply not an option. Then the ice line became noticeably flatter and climbing was more relaxed and easier from a technical point of view. With the increasing incline of the terrain, the possibility of setting up reliable anchor points increased once again, and it was even very difficult to install intermediate fixing points. After about 200 metres, the ice track ended and a logical channel as well as a snow ridge pointed the way to the peak. But that was still extremely difficult to reach because of the loose deep snow.

At 11:50 a.m., after more than 5 hours of extreme physical exertion, Simon and Mark finally reached the peak and shook hands, beaming with joy. A very special feeling was in the air: the feeling of having picked exactly the right time to turn this idea into action.

 

Information about the route:
The new “Kalipe” route with a length of 600 metres and a 700-metre climbing stretch is located on the north side of the Peitlerkofel
Difficulty: M6
Material: a set of cams, possibly a hammer and hooks, 5 hooks were left behind
Access: at about 1 hour from the Würzjoch mountain pass (clearly visible from the road)
Descent: Normal route
First ascent: 26 January 2019

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