Garnbret and Škofic doing a 360 m artificial multi-pitch

Janja Garnbret and Domen Škofic are challenged by the tallest artificial multi-pitch route in the world in a chimney at Slovenia's Trbovlje Power Station. The 13 pitches route, graded between 7b and 8b+, was designed by IFSC route setters Katja Vidmar and Simon Margon but it has now been removed. Janja and Domen managed to both do all pitches on their second attempt that lasted 7.5 hours.

“I was a bit scared before the start,” Janja said, “I was afraid of falling, which can get really nasty in case of a vertical wall compared to an overhanging wall where you hang in the air. Here you can quickly hit a wall or a hold before the rope stops you. Thus, I needed to fall a few times until I finally relaxed and banished the fear.” Škofic’s experience of such climbs was hardly much greater having done just one multi-pitch previously. “The chimney is completely different from anything I've climbed so far. It is a giant, artificial object, which I found rather mystical. I felt discomfort, strong fear of the unknown but I quickly made friends with the chimney, as the route was really beautiful and challenging. Once I started focusing on climbing, all other thoughts were gone, and I was just enjoying it”, he said.