Lara Neumeier does 360m End of Silence (8b+)

Lara Neumeier has climbed the eleven pitches End of silence (8b+) in Feuerhörndl after 7 days of work. Neumeier’s ascent marks just the second time the route has been climbed by a woman, following her good friend Babsi Zangerl’s first-female-ascent in 2012.

“At the end of June, just a week after sending Silbergeier, I was still full of motivation and already on my way to End of Silence. Together with Romy Fuchs we hiked up to the base of the wall. The approach is pretty long, and the first time it took us 2.5 hours (luckily, we got much faster the next times).

Over two climbing days with one rest day in between, we made it up to pitch 8, fighting with slippery rock and super tricky moves that needed precise micro-beta. Then came a long break: military exercises above the wall, the Arc’teryx Academy, endless rain, and finally a bad infection that knocked me out for three weeks.

Mid-August I could finally return with Tobi Ebner. Our goal was simple – climb from bottom to top in one day, just to see all the pitches. It worked out, but I couldn‘t do the crux moves on pitch 9 – a tiny two-finger pocket that reminded me of my old pulley injury. At least we fixed ropes for the photographer, and two days later I went back up to brush and tick some holds. One week later, I checked the crux pitches again with Manu Papert, found a solid beta and felt ready to give it a try from the ground.

The following Tuesday everything fell into place – perfect conditions and lots of motivation. Still, the day started with a real “what a start” moment: I fell on the very first pitch at the second draw. My climbing partner, SteUen Hilger, lowered me back to the ground, we pulled the rope, and I gave it another go – this time it worked. From then on I sent every single pitch first try on lead. We set off at 9:30 in the morning and topped out by 6 pm. Number two of the Alpine Trilogy – done.”

Neumeier’s ascent of ‘End of Silence’ follows on from her success on Silbergeier in June, leaving just ‘Des Kaisers neue Kleider ‘in Wilden Kaiser, to complete in her quest to climb the notorious ‘Alpine Trilogy’.