Hansjörg Auer

Peak to Creek – not only a race

hensn — Thu, 02 May 2013 04:44:46 +0000

One more month in my home, and I will leave for another expedition. A different one to the ones in the past. I will try to fathom new perspectives and did so much training over the last couple of weeks to be ready. Virtual from Peak to Creek. My memories are going back to all the snow ridges I climbed, all the peaks I was doing by skies and all the time I spent with my ice climbing tools. As it was getting warmer I set off to Croatia to climb some fresh routes there, spent time on my new sportclimbing projects in my home and came down to the sea of Kalymnos Island for about 10 days to bolt and try the new lines of the 2nd edition of the Kalymnos Climbing Festival.

I nearly forgot to write some lines about Peak to Creek. It´s a really cool relay race covering 85 km and 2500 meters altitude gain from”Schwarze Schneide“ peak to the waters of the “Ötztaler Ache” river on skis, bicycles, kayaks, parachute and rockclimbing plus loads of adrenalin. The competition including training and race is held on 4 days. Three teams of internationally renowned pros fight for their chance at glory.

As an athlete of Ötztal Tourism I was invited to be part of Team Silver and to do the climbing. Retrospective I´ve to say, that it was an amazing event and so much fun with all the famous athletes. I will never forget the battle on the raft to defend our first position until crossing the finish line. I´m already looking forward to next years edition …

“The Waiting Game” Climbing on Baffin Island – Trailer – Spring/2013

hensn — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 20:58:24 +0000

length: 3:13min, from: STORY teller COLLECTIVE

First Winter Ascent of Sagwand/Zillertal Alps

hensn — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 17:46:27 +0000

The Sagwand, high up in the Valsertal in Austria’s Zillertal, is a cold and inhospitable place even in the best of summers and its sinister reputation for damp, brittle rock convinces most climbers to quickly look elsewhere. This massive “tooth” had been breached back in 1947 for the first time by legendary Hias Rebitsch via the obvious diagonal leading “Schiefer Riss”, the crooked crack which immediately became one of the most fearsome alpine outings in Austria’s Tyrol. So much so that the first repeat was carried out by Heinz Mariacher, Peter Brandstätter and Hans Hölzl in 1976, almost three decades later. 66 years have passed since the first ascent and the known repeats were few and far between; a few years ago a massive rockfall took away an enormous chunk of the route and although it no longer exists in its original form. Anything here is a real alpine undertaking and you can always be certain you’ll be alone up here. It’s one of the most beautiful areas for winter climbing in the Tirol and you often encounter Chamonix-like conditions.

Originally I called David to invite him trying an unknown northfacing wall in my home valley. But he had a much better idea. A winter ascent of Sagwand in the Zillertal Alps via the line “Schiefer Riss”. The Schiefer Riss is the most obvious line up the face, graded VI this route made climbing history not only here in the Tyrol, we simply had to give it a go!

David and me made good progress on our first go, which took place on 11 March. We only reached 2/3 height before night set in. Without bivy gear and with temperatures well below zero we abseiled off from this demanding and exciting first attempt.

We returned 5 days later, this time with bivy gear and, importantly, with Peter Ortner. After a 2 hour skin up we reached the base of the route at 9:00am and then set off, aiming for a small ledge at circa half-height they had noticed on the first attempt and which would serve as our comfortable bivy spot for the night. But things would turn out differently.

We hacked away at the snow and ice and then got ready for what was probably the hardest night of our lives. When we left the car at 7:00am the temperature had already dropped to -22°C and although we’d brought bivy gear, we’d opted for some lightweight sleeping bags and so we shivered through the freezing night, exposed to the constant spindrift.

We slept for no more than 1/2 hour in total and after enduring the bitter cold – and seriously questioning their sanity – we got off to an early start and completed the route. We reached the summit shortly before midday.

The climbing was intense throughout, only a few pitches can be considered “easy”. Everything was done with ice axes and crampons, the pro wasn’t great and a fall is not recommended. Leading a route is always tough mentally, so it was really great to climb as a trio and be able to exchange leads. We all managed to climb the entire route free. For all three of us this was definitely one of our hardest alpine routes.

Climbing in Patagonia – Vol. 5

hensn — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 14:05:43 +0000

Another season in Patagonia. This time I just want to give you some short notes about my climbs. I did three routes in total, but couldn´t finish the big things, due to short weather windows and changing conditions. Torre Egger´s East Face was more like a waterfall and on the Torre Traverse I got into a massive storm. Anyway I climbed Ag. Desmochada linking the first part of “El Condor” and “Golden Eagle”, climbed the “Festerville” up to Cerro Standhardt as the start for the Torre Traverse, and finally opened “Trollo y Trollin”, a new route on the East Face of Ag. Guillaumet. It´s not a major line, but offers quite cool mixed climbing on traditional gear. It goes free at M6+/75°. Height: 500m.

I felt somehow more responsible to write about “The Climbing in Patagonia“. I´m a little bit worried how the approach towards the mountains in the region of El Chalten is starting to change. Read it, make your thoughts and if you want tell me what you think.

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Mountaineering is a dynamic entity. Always exposed to a steady development, and that’s a good thing. Basically, I don’t really care about which direction this sport develops, as long as climbers adhere to certain basic rules.

Having said that, I see the current development in Patagonia in a very critical light. Climbing in Patagonia seems to moving more and more away from what were formerly feared and revered mountains towards Chamonix-like customs.

I certainly don’t want to preach to anyone or provide a false impression when it comes down to deciding about how much one is willing to risk. And I am also aware that I’m probably the wrong person to talk about risk. I’ve simply been too happy to move across this scorching dance floor, and after all my free solo climbs I’m sure people will believe me.

I’ve now been to Patagonia five times. Once in the Chochamo valley and once at the Torres del Paine. Apart from Chochamo valley and my latest new route on Guillaumet, I’ve never climbed without encountering a storm, snow or rain. Either I’ve always chosen the wrong moment, or they simply still exist. Those treacherous weather conditions where within just a few minutes you switch from climbing pleasantly in a T-shirt to battling hard wearing a full-blown Gore-tex shell. Where in just a few minutes a pitch transforms from easy grade V climbing into the impossible.

Unfortunately this season I experienced all of this once again. During our attempt at the Cerro Torre Traverse we were caught out by a sudden storm, not forecast by the weathermen. We were at the bivouac on Cerro Standhardt and the situation was extremely bad. Only thanks to our years of experience and with a lot of luck did our team (Thomas Huber, Much Mayr, Mario Walder) we survive the descent down the East Face unharmed.

And then when you return to El Chalten for a steak and beer and overhear the plans of other climbers, then it makes you feel sick. Without any particular experience they discuss running up the the “pleasant” Via dei Ragni route on the West Face of Cerro Torre. This route isn’t extremely difficult, but it is nevertheless located in one of the remotest corners and this surely is worth bearing in mind. Or they talk about other “not too bad” routes that, were they in the Dolomites, would be regarded as extreme classics. And then there are comments like “anyway, they’ll be loads of other climbers on the route”. It’s clear that things change and one might believe therefore that there is a reduced risk, but Patagonia gives nothing away for free, adequate climbing technique, endurance and experience are all necessary pre-requisites. Sure, in good weather conditions and without gale-force winds all will turn out for the best. But what happens when suddenly and quite unexpectedly the infamous Patagonian weather takes hold. There is no helicopter rescue, other climbers coming to the rescue is limited and the paths that lead to El Chalten are very, very long.

People see the dotted red lines in the guidebook and interpret them in much the same ways as those in the guidebooks for Finale or Arco. I don’t want to belittle the work of Rolando Garibotti or Dörte Pietron in any way, but through the guidebook routes are served on a platter far too easily to the inexperienced. And I also think that much has been taken away from the Patagonian feeling. All the groundwork and finding out about a particular route is no longer necessary, but it is exactly this homework which might avoid potential mistakes and accidents. Getting to grips with a particular subject matter results in increased safety.

It’s like this that people find themselves on the summit of Fitz Roy, after having climbed up the Affaniseff route all of a sudden they decide to abseil down the Tehuelche. A route for which you need years of experience simply to free a rope which has become stuck, or even to locate the start of the abseil when approached from above. They don’t even know where the “normal descent” lies.

Hence also alpinists who climb the Via dei Ragni and to reach the summit aid climb A0 up the ice screws. Unbelievable! Of course these are just isolated cases. The majority of alpinists who come to Patagonia have years of experience in the mountains and know how to deal with Patagonian terrain. But it’s only be illustrating particular examples that one can start to rethink.

With these words I don’t want to put anyone in a bad light, portray anyone negatively. My aim though is to demonstrate that in Patagonia the weather still changes dramatically and suddenly, that the West Face of Cerro Torre is one of the remotest peaks, that there is no helicopter rescue in Patagonia and that in just a few minutes continuing upwards or even descending can transform into real hell. I’ve been through this myself a few times and I wouldn’t wish this on anyone.

Ice FA´s in Ötztal

hensn — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 13:48:10 +0000

I did a lot of ice climbing over the years, was fanatic searching for it, made new routes up to M9, hiked up the mountains to climb long waterfalls, took my headlamp and climbed during the night. I was totally obsessed. When I made my first sportclimbing trip to Spain to avoid the Austrian winter I stopped ice climbing a little bit. This was in 2006, when I found this new playing field of overhangs, tufas and pumped forearms. I was getting really psyched and couldn´t get the motivation for my ice tools anymore. I made new friends, who gave me space to develop myself further.

But this year it seems to me that I found my old love again. I skipped a sportclimbing trip to Sicily and grabbed out some old ideas of new ice routes in my home valley.

Unfortunately, the conditions for ice climbing were not really good due to the high temperatures. All the classic routes were not well climbable. Some of them came crashing down after the last rainy period. Nevertheless I found some interesting stuff. I just had to walk longer and spent some days looking around in some corners of the valley. Over the last days I established three new routes. The last one is part of my hardest ice climbs so far. Thanks to Heiko, Mathias and Eli for sharing the adventures.

Spongebob (WI7, 65m):

Amazing line along a nice and steep wall to finish on an icicle. Together with Heiko Wilhelm. Traditional gear, no pegs and no bolts.

Lucky Strike (WI6, 45m):

One of the most outstanding lines in Ötztal. An impressive ice column high up in a side valley.

Rätselburg (WI7+, 80m):

Serious climb along a steep north facing wall on thin ice and overhanging rock for the start. First ascent together with Mathias Nössig on traditional gear, no pegs and no bolts.

Rate of the Ascent

hensn — Thu, 03 Jan 2013 20:57:58 +0000

Recently I was in Krakau/Poland for the Gorski Mountain Film Festival. Presenting stories out of my life in front of an audience, which excelled my prospects totally. Around 1300 people listened to my speech. The polish mentality. An unbroken interest for alpinism and climbing. But this was not the top of the summit. The next evening more than 2000 people visited the lecture of Steve House and on the last day of the weekend the same amount watched the Polish Bouldering National Championship. Totally impressed I flew out of Krakau back home.

Looking out of the window, I saw the Tatra Mountains. They are not really famous outside of Poland. Not many people are traveling there to repeat a route or to check out new stuff. It´s an area of the locals, which brought out the strongest alpinists setting milestones in the Himalaya and the Karakorum. The list of the names would be too long to add. Unfortunately the list of the climbers died on the mountains is long too. The summits are looking snowy and cold. I´m happy to sit inside the well tempered cabin.

I´m back in Vienna airport, fighting my way through the christmas fever to catch the flight to Innsbruck. “It was a different way, how the polish people attended the Festival in Krakau”, is still floating through my head …

I had the feeling, that they exactly knew, what I was talking about, even more. Steve could have made his lecture without saying a word. The people understand his pictures, his spirit and his alpinism, understand how much he has to train, how much effort he has to put into the particular expedition. They know how it feels to be on the summit after several attempts, maybe spread over some years. They simply know, how to rate our ascents.

I appreciate that so much. But we need honesty and modesty for that. The most important ingredients for the flowerbed of alpinism. We shouldn´t use the ignorance of our fans to blow up the result of a route or an expedition. The perfect range beside the climbing is sometimes more important than the core why we are doing our sport. I´m just worried, because in some cases people just can´t see the difference anymore. Scads of information changes the perspective. Buzzwords versus sustainability? Speech balloons carried to end? Is there a chance to contain inflation?

But maybe I should better be quiet and mind my own business. As a professional climber I´m not only on Facebook, no I´m tweeting too!! Double moral standard or the only way to reach people nowadays?

However. In the end I´m just trying to question the topic to recognize that there won´t be an answer …

I wish you all an adventurous year 2013 and good luck with your dreams and projects. Thanks for visiting my website and following me.

Ciao Hansjörg

Rock in NM

hensn — Wed, 07 Nov 2012 20:24:33 +0000

Always expect the unexpected was in my mind as we got on the last mile of our drive down from San Francisco to Albuquerque. My friend Much and I had to say “Goodbye” to our Bigwall project in Yosemite Valley, even though we never said “Hi”. Already trying to walk with my climbing shoes looked like walking a stork having a shortened leg, apart from the pain I had on my toe. Still a gift, which I got during the final party night in Kalymnos ;-) …

So it happened that we changed our portaledge to the living room of Cody´s new apartment, the bothersome rangers of Yosemite Valley to the cops of Albuquerque and the hustle and bustle of El Capitan to some remote and untouched little walls near Cody´s hometown. But on the other side we changed also Bigwall freeclimbing to sport and trad climbing on the ground.

Anyway. The potential and the routes in the areas we visited are definitely deserving a “WOW”. We had an amazing time on the rocks of New Mexico, lot´s of fun with Cody and for sure we didn´t miss some “cultural activities”. On our last climbing day, nearly in the dark, we both climbed the route “Mainliner” (5.13d) in the Jemez Valley. Much did it on trad and I did it with pain on bolts. Cody did the first trad ascent last spring. Thanks to Andrew Burr for some pics.

Odyssey Movie – Official Trailer – November/2012

hensn — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 10:22:12 +0000

length: 1:18min, from: HotAches

The Waiting Game – Climbing on Baffin Island – Trailer

hensn — Tue, 23 Oct 2012 08:58:22 +0000

I´m happy to present you the trailer of my last big expedition to Baffin Islands East Coast. An incredible time up north coming back home with four new routes including “The Door”, the hardest free climb of the Island. Stay tuned for the full version of the movie coming out in Spring 2013. Hope you´ll like it.

More info and pics of the expedition here.

Licht und Schatten – Piz Badile Nordostwand – documentary/2012

hensn — Sat, 06 Oct 2012 18:38:43 +0000

length: 52min, from: Servus TV

Click here to enjoy the full length of the historical documentary about the free solo ascent of the classic “Cassin” by Hermann Buhl in 1952 and me in 2011.