Katalin Paertan ticks Finales Funkeln (8B)

Katalin Paertan, who did her first two 8A+’ this spring, has repeated Thomas Fichtinger’s Finales Funkeln (8B) in Hirschwände. The 22-year-old says that the main reason for her progress is due to mental progress, staying optimistic and having confidence. ”Glad to have done this one! Really enjoyed figuring out a beta that works for me for the upper part. Probably not the hardest but also suits me quite well!”

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
I already started trying a few moves in spring when I was projecting Obszöner Zwerg SD (8A+). I was quite optimistic that I could figure out beta that works for me so I planned to return in the fall. It took me five sessions then to send the boulder.

I came quite close a few times in my forth session but always kept dropping the last hard move which requires an awkward dropknee in the wrong direction, pulling from a weirdly-shaped, bad hold. I just really struggled to commit to it. On Saturday I dropped the move on my first go as well, but luckily managed to convince myself enough to do it on my second try and somehow stayed on as I was feeling quite tired already and my fingers were numb.

While I do feel a bit stronger at the moment physically, I even more notice my mental progression in climbing. Staying optimistic and having confidence in the process definitely helped me the most.