Quick ascents in Frankenjura

The origin of sportsclimbing is located in Frankenjura. Actually, a trip to this area is a must-do. But the well-known aggressive pocket climbing has always scared me. Is this reputation true? I found the answer in a short trip there.

We traveled around 400 km from my hometown Imst to Frankenjura. The landscape there consists of forest and greenland, where the rocks are hidden or towered. The first visual impression of some routes is a bit strange, but the climbing is mostly perfect. Some routes are technical and powerful, and the first bolt is quite high. Nevertheless, it was great to check out legendary lines such as ‘Rauchende Bolts’ in the Bärenschlucht in Pottenstein with its poor protection or ‘Supernase’ at the Gernerfels in Gößweinstein, that Wolfgang Güllich did without a rope.

And now, what is it about pocket climbing? This reputation is true, but beyond the 14,000 routes I found nearly the same amount of crimps as pockets. For instance, ‘Magic Sound Waves, 8a+’ at the Applauswand or ‘Battle Cat, 8c’ at the Hängenden Stein require crimp power, too. Apart from other ascents, I am very happy to have succeeded with the last route mentioned, because I climbed it after two and a half attempts (two and a half because I did the first part for warming up).