The
Frankenjura was in mind for a long period, I had the desire to be in contact
with this environment and this style of climbing but I never had the opportunity to visit it. One evening
Gabri Moroni sent me a message and he asked to my brother and I if we are
interested to spend one week in Frankenjura. We were super sycked and motivated
to leave again from the boring routine days, so we accepted the Gabri’s request
so Gabri, Marco, Ema and me prepared the stuffs and we left for the Germany.
After six hour
of car we were in Frankenjura, the sun was shining but we still not too tired
so we decided to climb some routes to test the new kind of rock. We opted for
Eldorado sector because it is very close to the flat that we rent. This crag is
featured by a small steep wall just above a playground area. “No more
babysitting for neurotic girl today” was
our first route because it was the easiest one; then we move without fear on
“Nightmare” a famous 8b composed by only
9 moves on pockets.
In the firts
go I menaged to climb all the single moves but I felt a bit tired from the long
trip but I wanted just climbing without any expectations. On my sencond go I did a mistake at the very top
of the route I felt a bit weak and tired but I wanted to get another try. At 3rd
go everything went very well and I managed to send the route. I realised that
the trip was starting in the best way so I was incredibly sycked for the next
days
 |
| Nightmare, Eldorado sector. |
The next day
we checked Bärenschlucht sector, that is good place close to a big camping where
a lot of families spent many days to
stay in contact with nature and to practice many activities like: cycling, hiking
but grilling meat is the most important thing that they do.
We climbed two 7a for warming up and then Ema,
Marco and I looked the guidebook to find a project for the day. "Subway" 8b was
the one
This route
seems to be a sea wave so it is really steep but it is short like many routes
in Franken. it is s composed by a fantastic double dyno, from a mono for the RH and a good
shoulder crimp for the LH, to a jug and then follow powerful moves on pockets and little crimps. On
my first tries I had difficulties to
find the right way to get the dyno and some moves in the middle part. The
weather was also not so good because just before my last try the rain come. I
started really focused and finally I did weird
dyno and I continued to climb all the route until the rest-jug few
meters below the chain. I shaked my forearm and with the rain that fell on my
face I clipped the chain.
The third
day the weather was really bad but we were so sycked to climb in all kind of
conditions so we checked Hoelzgauer sector. Our warm up was very fast but we
climbed good lines like Ostwand 7a+ and another 6 grade route.
The first
route that Gabri racommended to me to climb was "Casablanca" 8a+, a steep roof
with physical moves; I felt some moves harder then they are because I was not
enough warmed for this kind of tension moves and because this type of climbing
doesn’t siut my style very well. On my second attempt I sent it without any mistake. The day was still long so I decided to try
Ema’s proj called “Blowjob" 8a+ but it is completely different from the first
one. This route is almost vertical with
a cool boulder at the first two quickdraws where you have to stick a
small one finger pocket and get into a small li pfor the RH. The second part
was mostly like endurance and technical climbing on little crimps and tiny
pockets. I was able to complete also this route on my second go finishing the
day as well as it started.
 |
| Casablanca, Hoelzgauer sector. |
The rain
didn’t seem to quite and the painful of the fingers rised so we took a rest day
in order to be ready and well rested when the weather would become better.
The 5th day we
woke up hopeful for good condition but the rain continued to hit the forest, so
we moved to Zwergenschloss sector, a quite
big cave where you can climb when it rain. I tried “Linie 1” an amazing 8b/b+,
probably one of the best routes I tried in this trip but I wasn’t in a good
shape and the conditions didn’t help me so I wasn’t able to climb it, in my
best attempt I fell in the last move of the hard section grabbing a good crimp,
I was really disappointed because I had the desire to climb that line.
The sixth
day we came back in Bärenschlucht sector because my brother wanted to try
Subway again, so I decided to try a route called “Queeel Dich,
Du Sau” situated in front of Bärenschlucht sector, precisely
in the Erinnerungswand sector. This route is graded 8b/b+ and it’s way longer
than I was used to find there. It is a bouldery route anyway, composed by two
parts; the first one is characterized by a long bouldery sections on little
crimps and pockets than allow to join a perfect no hands rest. The final
section consists in a short boulder on small pockets with slopy feet-holds with
few pumpy moves on slopers to reach the top of the route. In my first go I felt
it hard but I was able to climb all the moves so I was so sycked for the second
go. I put up my shoes I started for the second go, my hands was a bit cold so I
climbed all the first part with some problems but with a big fight I get the
rest point anyway, I relaxed till I felt ready for climbing again. Everything
went very well, I got the last boulder and with some screams and with a forearm
super pumped I clipped the chain.
I was really
surprised an unbelievable about what I was able to climb probably one of my
biggest effort.
The seventh
day we went to Maximilianwand sector, probably one of my favourite sector of
the trip, composed by a big number of cliffs surrounded by an amazing forest so
was increadible stay in conctact with that place. The first two routes that I
climbed was "Free Will" 7a+ and "Amazonenpfeiler" 7b bolted by Wolfgang
Gullich in the 1981. Marco and I tried maybe our short route ever, an 8a+
called “Bad brain” featured by a one move only to grab quite good pocket with
the RH but Marco found a different beta, he used a heel hooking with the RF in
order to stay higher and to reach the pocket more static. I tried it with his
beta and I almost flashed it, I reached the pocket but the heel hook slipped
off so I wasn’t able to get the swing. The second go was the replay of the
firts one but in the third go I grabbed the pockets and I climbed all the
route.
 |
| Free Will, Maximilianwand sector. |
The last day
we checked Rotestein sector where there is The Essential 9a, one of the hardest
route that inspired me more. I felt really tired and with a bad skin but I was
super motivated anyway so I tried “Die Kante” 8a+ that follow a perfect
technical arete composed by crimps, pockets and pinches. In the first two
attempts I was disappointed because I wasn’t able to find my beta so I felt it
really hard. In my third go I climbed all the moves really well and I crusched
it. I was super sycked to have climbed this gem but I was sad at the same time
because I knew that this route was the last one of the trip.
When I left the Germany I thought back to all of
the good moments I spent with my friends in this magic forest and the fantastic
lines I tried and climbed made me smile
again.
