Climbing Gold Babsi and Jacopo: The Flame Burns Bright
Sep 13, 2024
Babsi Zangerl, a leading figure in traditional climbing, joins Jacopo Larcher, known for tackling challenging routes, to discuss the passion behind their sport. They delve into the risks and thrills of traditional climbing, sharing tales from their ascent of the notorious Eternal Flame route in Pakistan. The conversation highlights overcoming fear, the importance of gear reliability, and how their perspectives have shifted from competition to tackling the wild. Their insights shed light on the future of climbing, balancing risk with growth.
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Risk Is Contextual And Uncertain
- Trad risk assessments remain probabilistic because many failure modes are never fully tested.
- Rock type strongly changes trust: granite cracks feel bomber; limestone placements feel uncertain.
Make Gear Trust Invisible
- To climb hard trad, cultivate trust in gear so you can focus on moves instead of placements.
- Use top-roping to rehearse moves so lead attempts require less mental bandwidth.
When Placements Rip Out
- Alex described a past lead where a fixed piece ripped and he dropped below his belayer with gear on his harness.
- He hung mid-wall and had to ascend back to the belay using jumars.