Wikipedia

Prinzip Hoffnung

This article is about the Austrian climbing route. For the book by Ernst Bloch, see The Principle of Hope.

Prinzip Hoffnung (in English: Principle Hope or Principle of Hope), is a 40-metre (130 ft) long traditional climbing route on a thin crack up a conglomerate rock slab on the "Bürs plate cliff" (German: Bürser Platte) overlooking the village of Bürs in Vorarlberg, Austria.[2] The route was greenpointed by Austrian climber Beat Kammerlander [de] in 2009, and was one of the earliest traditional climbing routes to be graded at 5.14 R (American), 8b/+ (French), X/X+ (UIAA), or E9-E10 (British);[2] it is still considered one of the hardest traditional climbing routes in the world.[4]

Prinzip Hoffnung
Principle Hope (Principle of Hope)
Anna Hazelnutt inspecting Prinzip Hoffnung
Map showing the location of Prinzip Hoffnung
Map showing the location of Prinzip Hoffnung
LocationBürs, Vorarlberg, Austria
Coordinates47°09′03″N 9°48′05″E / 47.15078°N 9.80127°E / 47.15078; 9.80127[1]
Climbing areaGerman: Bürser Platte
Route typeTraditional climbing
Vertical gain40 metres (130 ft)[2]
Pitches1
Grade5.14 R (US), 8b/+ (French), X/X+ (UIAA), or E9-E10 (British)[2][3]
First free ascentBeat Kammerlander [de]
(1997, as a sport climb),
(2009, as a traditional climb)

History

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The blank south-facing black conglomerate slab on the "Bürs plate cliff" that overlooks the village of Bürs in Vorarlberg, had been known to climbers in the region as a possible project.[2][5]

In 1997, Austrian climber Marco Wasina made the first redpoint (i.e. after several failed attempts, the first free ascent without falling during that ascent) of the lower part of the route up the length of the first 25-metre (82 ft) thin crack that splits the face, which he did as a bolted sport climb.[2][6] A few months later, his friend Beat Kammerlander [de] repeated Wasina's route, and then made the difficult moves to extend the route rightwards into another set of even smaller fissure cracks through an almost blank featureless section of 6 metres (20 ft) to create an even harder 40-metre (130 ft) sport climb that he graded at 8b/8b+ (French).[2][7][6]

In 2009, Kammerlander removed the bolts (called greenpointing) and spent several months training and mentally preparing himself (and admitting to sleepless nights worrying about the falls),[7] to reclimb it as a traditional route.[7][8] During his attempts, he took several 15-metre (49 ft) falls from its crux onto small wires below.[7] In September 2009, Kammerlander, aged 50, made the first free ascent (FFA) of Prinzip Hoffnung as a traditional climb.[6] He said: "The Burs Face has always fascinated me. The climb is very particular and uses tiny edges and footholds. If you try it too often you bloody your fingers and wear through the rubber on your shoes. It's a hell of a battle."[7][8]

In March 2014, Austrian climber Barbara Zangerl made the fifth overall free ascent and the first female free ascent (FFFA) of the route.[9] Even a decade after Kammerlander's first ascent, the route had only recorded its tenth ascent,[5][10] and in 2023, the route is still ranked as one of the hardest traditional climbing routes in the world.[4][11]

Route

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The route is described as a mix of a crack climb and of a slab climb.[12] The first section is the 25-metre (82 ft) thin finger-crack protected by small cams and wires that eventually peters out.[10][13] The crux is the transition right across the slab and upwards for another 6 metres (20 ft) to get to a second, very narrow crack, around 9m long, which leads to the top.[7] The crux is described as crimpy and unprotected,[7] and there is a long distance — known in climbing as a runout — to the last point of climbing protection (i.e. being the micro-wire inserted at the top of the first crack).[7][10] Falls at the crux are intimidating, with an added danger that if the last micro-wire breaks, the fall can be over 15–20 metres (49–66 ft) in length.[14]

Legacy

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The Prinzip Hoffnung route is considered a classic crack/slab traditional climb and an important testpiece,[15] with subsequent repeat climbs of Prinzip Hoffnung being closely followed and recorded in the climbing media.[16] Both British climber Maddy Cope, and American climber Anna Hazelnutt, said that it was a dream-climb.[16] Hazelnutt called it "a perfect mix of crack and slab – although it was definitely more cracky than I anticipated".[14]

The route is an important part of Beat Kammerlender's legacy, who was one of Europe's strongest rock climbers in the 1990s, and who made the first-ever ascents of multi-pitch routes at the grade of 8a+ (5.13c) and of 8b+ (5.14a). Kammerlander remarked in 2009 that the climb had "an equal significance in my personal development" as his other major climbing projects that had also required him to develop himself.[7][8]

Ascents

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Climber abseiling Prinzip Hoffnung, Bürs

Prinzip Hoffnung has been ascended by (first ten ascents):

First female free ascents (FFFA) were:

See also

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  • Indian Face, British E9-graded traditional climbing route from 1986
  • Separate Reality, American 5.12a-graded traditional climbing route from 1978
  • Cobra Crack, American 5.14b-graded traditional climbing route from 2006

References

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  1. ^ "Prinzip Hoffnung X/X+". theCrag. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Prinzip Hoffnung, from Beat Kammerlander madness to new classic" [es]. Desnivel (in Spanish). 10 March 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  3. ^ a b "Lena Marie Müller Sends Prinzip Hoffnung 5.14R Trad". Gripped Magazine. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  4. ^ a b "The World's Hardest Trad Routes by Winter 2021". Gripped Magazine. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b c "Maddy Cope adds Prinzip Hoffnung to her Euro tick-list". Climber. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Jacopo Larcher repeats Prinzip Hoffnung in Austria". PlanetMountain. February 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Beat Kammerlander believes in Prinzip Hoffnung". PlanetMountain. March 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d "Principle Hope: climber Beat Kammerlander scales vertical cliff in Austria". The Daily Telegraph. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  9. ^ a b c "Babsi Zangerl Sends Test-Piece Prinzip Hoffnung 5.14". Gripped Magazine. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d e Pardy, Aaron (23 April 2023). "Anna Hazelnutt Sends Iconic Spicy Trad Line in Europe". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  11. ^ Kuelthau, Willis (24 September 2019). "The Hardest Trad Climbs in the World". 99 boulders. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  12. ^ a b "Iris Bielli blasts up Prinzip Hoffnung at Bürs in Austria". PlanetMountain. 19 March 2024. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  13. ^ a b Pardy, Aaron (20 March 2024). "20-Year-Old Climbs 5.13d/14a Trad in Austria". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved 10 April 2024.
  14. ^ a b c Berry, Nathalie (20 March 2023). "Prinzip Hoffnung E9/10 by Anna Hazlett". UKClimbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  15. ^ a b c "Nadine Wallner picture-perfect on Prinzip Hoffnung at Bürs". PlanetMountain. March 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  16. ^ a b c "Now Maddy Cope Sends Pinzip Hoffnung 5.14 R". Gripped Magazine. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  17. ^ "Prinzip Hoffnung, second ascent by Alex Luger". PlanetMountain. March 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  18. ^ Pohl, Bjorn (7 March 2014). "Prinzip Hoffnung, ~8b+ E9/10, by Fabi Buhl". UKClimbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  19. ^ a b "Michi Wohlleben Sends Hard Trad then Gets Bacteria Infection". Gripped Magazine. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  20. ^ a b Brown, Nick (13 March 2019). "Michi Wohlleben climbs Prinzip Hoffnung F8b+/E9/10". UKClimbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  21. ^ "Michael Gunsilius climbs principle hope". LACrux. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Young Nemuel Feurle masters Prinzip Hoffnung". PlanetMountain. April 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  23. ^ "Nemuel Feurle climbs the principle of hope at the age of 16 years". LACrux. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  24. ^ "Madeleine Cope deals with difficult trad slab Prinzip Hoffnung". PlanetMountain. April 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  25. ^ Brown, Nick (2 April 2019). "Maddy Cope climbs Prinzip Hoffnung F8b/E9". UKClimbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  26. ^ "Lena Marie Müller repeats Prinzip Hoffnung, Beat Kammerlander's perfect trad climb at Bürs". PlanetMountain. March 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  27. ^ "Lena Marie Müller: Fourth female ascent of the principle hope principle". LACrux. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  28. ^ "Anna Hazlett tiptoes up Prinzip Hoffnung at Bürs in Austria". PlanetMountain. March 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  29. ^ Miller, Delaney (21 March 2023). "Anna Hazelnutt Ticks 5.14 Gear". Climbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
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