Timo Užnik ticks Bügeleisen Sit (8C)

Timo Užnik, with four 8B+’ to his name, has completed Bügeleisen (8C) in Maltatal. The 19-year-old has won four IFSC youth competitions, and among the seniors, his best result is 21st in a World Cup. ”By far the best boulder I’ve done so far. Had lots of people there to share the experience with, so happy about this one!” (c) Sofya Yokoyama

Can you tell us more about the great experience?
I first tried the stand start of Bügeleisen when I was around sixteen. Back then, I could hardly move on it. Two years later, at eighteen, I climbed the stand - but after that I didn’t return to the line for almost a year.

In November I came back with the goal of trying the sit start. I ended up having three sessions on it before the send. The actual send go was completely unexpected. We were seven or eight people at the boulder that Sunday, the 21st of December. I had trained two days in a row beforehand, had barely any skin left, and actually planned to rest that day. But on the drive toward Innsbruck we stopped in the Maltatal, and the conditions were simply too good to ignore.

I warmed up for maybe ten minutes, sat down at the start just to see how I felt - whether I was too tired to try or still fresh enough. I pulled on, and everything just clicked. I fell into this crazy flow state where every move felt solid. I kept climbing, didn’t hesitate, and suddenly I was topping out.

Sending Bügeleisen Sit was a childhood dream come true. It’s one of the most legendary boulders out there, and definitely the best and hardest line I’ve done so far. I love the problem for how beautiful and pure it is, and I’m incredibly happy to have climbed it.

What are your plans for next year?
For 2026, the plan is to do the boulder world cup season and climb some cool boulders mainly in Switzerland and Austria. Since I moved to Innsbruck about two months ago, it‘s great to visit Switzerland more often. For bigger trips I have nothing planned yet though. Rocklands is high on the list, but not for next year probably…