Kampfzone 8b+ MP by Barbara Zangerl

Barbara Zangerl has made the first repeat of Beat Kammerlander's five pitches Kampfzone 8b+ in Rätikon up at 2 800 m altitude. (c) Reel Rock/Alpsolut Pictures. The Austrian has previously done three of the most difficult MP on El Capitan and most of the hardest in Europe and should be considered as one of the Top-10 MP climbers in the world.

"I was blown away by the scenery up there. After a two hour approach you reach the ridge, from which you get a first glimpse of the pillar where „Kampzone“ is the central and only line. After all those classic Kammerlander routes like Silbergeier, Unendliche Geschichte, New Age… I couldn’t imagine that it could get any better. And, to be honest, after my first look at ‘Kampfzone’, I didn’t expect it to be such a gem. But, as soon we got on the route, we were really surprised by the rock quality and the varied styles of climbing. From powerful moves to technical, scary slab climbing; you can find everything on „Kampfzone“.

We (together with her partner Jacopo Larcher who later also did it) worked for two days on the line, before I surprised myself to climb the whole line ground and up all pitches free! It was an honour to partner up for a single day with the master himself Beat.

Until 2009, the 32-year-old was one of the best female boulderer until she stopped due to an herniated vertebral disc. In sport climbing, she has now done four routes 8c+/9a or harder and in trad climbing she has done up to 8c. In other words, she is the best female multi-disciplin rock climber out there. Last year, she was awarded with the National Geographic adventurer of the year.