How do 13 pitches of climbing up to 5.14d sound? Oh, and it’s the tallest artificial multipitch route in the world.
Late last year, Slovenian world-class climbers Janja Garnbret and Domen Škofic ventured into the biggest climbing project of their lives: attempting the longest artificial multipitch route in the world.
Garnbret and Škofic chose to set their sights on the highest chimney in Europe (360 m high): the Trbovlje Power Station, a rising concrete dagger of a building that stands over 1,100 feet tall. That’s taller than the Eiffel Tower and the Chrysler building.
And just like those towering landmarks, the chimney they’re climbing isn’t rock, but manmade materials of metal and concrete. In total, Garnbret and Škofic had to climb 13 pitches, ranging from 7b to 8c. On their second attempt, the duo managed to conquer the 13 pitches — without falling — in 7 hours and 32 minutes.
The route was designed by IFSC route-setters Katja Vidmar and Simon Margon. Watch the exclusive full film below:
Here’s what the climbers had to say about the route.
“I was scared of falling, which can be really uncomfortable with a vertical wall compared to an overhanging wall,” said Garnbret, “So I had to fall a couple of times until I finally calmed down and I was able to dispel the fear.”
“The chimney is completely different from anything I’ve climbed before,” Škofic said. “It’s a gigantic manmade object that I found mystical. I was very scared, but I quickly made friends with the chimney.”
