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Explore the Climbs of Germany’s Frankenjura, Home of World’s First 9a

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With more than 100 years of climbing history, this crag in southern Germany still has ‘limitless potential,’ devotees say.

While the world bristles with excellent terrain for climbing, only a few crags offer so much great rock that climbers decide to set up shop and live there.

The new vid from EpicTV proves that Germany’s Frankenjura makes the cut. Best known as the site of the world’s first 5.14d/9a, Wolfgang Gullich’s “Action Directe,” this crag has seen climbers for over a century.

The term “redpoint” started here in the ’70s, when a local climber painted a red dot on the routes he sent. Frankenjura’s coarse limestone provides a huge variety of climbing and holds requiring creativity and personalized movement.

While famous for its many pockets, the crag also has routes filled with crimps and others with slopers, as well as overhanging technical routes. It’s got short, powerful lines and also walls rising to 100 feet.

“It gives you a sense of climbing history, of climbing milestones,” one climber says. “Many things have happened here.”

Check out Frankejura’s prime limestone, in all its sprawling variety.

Runtime: 12 minutes

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