Jabberwocky 8A (+) by Katalin Paertan

Katalin Paertan has done Jabberwocky (8A+) in Merkenstein. ”More like 8a without the shoulder beta, awesome moves!” The 20-year-old has previously done two 8A’s.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
The crux is the left hand move into the crack and then getting the right hand to the hold above. (The originally beta is going with the right hand first, which requires much more shoulder strenght) So this new beta, which was pioneered by Bernhard Fiedler I think, makes it much easier, but is at the very limit of my reach. When I started trying it this winter, it didn't feel possible at first, but in my second session I managed to stick the move. Then I think I had two more sessions in the winter without much progress where linking the moves felt quite hard. Lately I felt like my strength has improved so I decided to return there and see how it feels.

Last Friday I had my first solo session there and it felt surprisingly possible. I even managed to get past the crux to the pinch once, where I powered out before getting the knee bar in. So yesterday I returned and with adjusting the micro beta, I managed to do it in my first send go.

What is your climbing background?
I started climbing in 2010 and quickly entered the youth competition team at my local climbing gym in Vienna. I regularly competed at national competitions until Covid-19 hit, after that I found more joy in outdoor climbing at the beginning of 2021, and I also progressed more quickly in it. Now I work part time at Boulderbar Vienna as a routesetter and coach and try to get out to the surrounding areas on weekends and do as many climbing trips as possible in the holidays.