Zeitläufer 9a by Matteo Menardi

Matteo Menardi, who previously has done eight 9a's, has done Zeitläufer (9a) in . (c) Weger Philipp "Queen of the valley, glad to finally climb this 40 meters endurance benchmark! Dolomites sport climbing at its finest: the first couple of draws from, "All In" then on to the right. Thanks Hannes once again for the vision and bringing it to the light."

Can you tell us a little more about your ascent?
The “Landro” valley (Höhlensteintal in German) has been for me probably the main summer climbing area since I began. Pangea was one of the last sectors that I had the pleasure to discover and climb in. In 2015, at the end of the summer season, I would then free the last of those long endurance dolomitic projects. 2020 went by and just before autumn a new outstanding project was born: Hannes Phfeifhofer (local long-time passionate climber and driving force for the development of these areas) bolted a new route on the right of “All In” with the same start, which follows a logical line up the orange/pale yellow wall. Alexander Megos, in one of his visits to South Tyrol, would also go up to Pangea on a freezing cold day and confirm that yes, this project is hard and in fact might be “9a or harder”.

I discovered it and took the decision to wait for the summer and start exploring. I dedicated at least five sessions to understanding the rock and its holds as well as figuring out the betas: some moves seemed really low percentage. But I insisted because I liked this challenge, loved being in (my) nature and it really made sense as Landro in general is just a short drive from my hometown. The season went by and it had all started to build up: sequences, links, power, endurance… So I kept on trying until it was too late because I had missed one detail, which made me always fall at the last quickdraw.

This year I knew how things were: the small pockets get humid easily and I personally really struggle with bad conditions on such long routes with few rests. Starting in July until late September I worked at the local tourist information point and focused on trying it at best in a few days, having great times with my friends who also patiently let me practice German! All in all this season it took me a dozen sessions and on October 7th, using another foothold and this tiny intermediate at the top, I screamed with joy holding the jug of glory.

I named it “Zeitläufer” because there are just a few good dry days for it and time flies! My approach to grading is based on other already established routes in the same sector like Open Project (8c+), discussions at the crag as well as personal experience. All in all, I propose 9a for one of the hardest routes in South Tyrol and the nearby province of Belluno.