Prinzip Hoffnung

Prinzip Hoffnung (in English: Principle Hope or Principle of Hope), is a 40-metre (130 ft) long traditional climbing route on a thin crack up a conglomerate rock slab on the "Bürs plate cliff" (German: Bürser Platte) overlooking the village of Bürs in Vorarlberg, Austria.[2] The route was greenpointied by Austrian climber Beat Kammerlander in 2009, and was one of the earliest traditional climbing routes to be graded at 5.14 R (American), 8b/+ (French), X/X+ (UIAA), or E9-E10 (British);[2] it is still considered one of the hardest traditional climbing routes in the world.[4]

Prinzip Hoffnung
Principle Hope (Principle of Hope)
Anna Hazelnutt inspecting Prinzip Hoffnung
Map showing the location of Prinzip Hoffnung
Map showing the location of Prinzip Hoffnung
LocationBürs, Vorarlberg, Austria
Coordinates47.15078°N 9.80127°E / 47.15078; 9.80127[1]
Climbing AreaGerman: Bürser Platte
Route TypeTraditional climbing
Vertical Gain40 metres (130 ft)[2]
Pitches1
Grade5.14 R (US), 8b/+ (French), X/X+ (UIAA), or E9-E10 (British)[2][3]
First free ascentBeat Kammerlander
(1997, as a sport climb),
(2009, as a traditional climb)

History

In 1997, Austrian climber Marco Wasina made the first redpoint of the lower part of the route up the length of the first 25-metre (82 ft) thin crack that splits the face, which he did as a bolted sport climb.[2][5] A few months later, his friend Beat Kammerlander repeated Wasina's route, and then made the difficult moves to extend the route rightwards into another set of even smaller fissure cracks through an almost blank featureless section of 6 metres (20 ft) to create an even harder 40-metre (130 ft) sport climb that he graded at 8b/8b+ (French).[2][6][5]

In 2009, Kammerlander removed the bolts (called greenpointing) and spent several months training and mentally preparing himself (and admitting to sleepless nights worrying about the falls),[6] to reclimb it as a traditional route.[6][7] During his attempts, he took several 15-metre (49 ft) falls from its crux onto small wires below.[6] In September 2009, Kammerlander, then aged 50, made the first free ascent (FFA) of Prinzip Hoffnung as a traditional climb.[5] He said of the route: "The Burs Face has always fascinated me. The climb is very particular and uses tiny edges and footholds. If you try it too often you bloody your fingers and wear through the rubber on your shoes. It's a hell of a battle."[6][7]

In March 2014, Austrian climber Barbara Zangerl made the fifth overall free ascent and the first female free ascent (FFFA) of the route.[8] Even a decade after Kammerlander's first ascent, the route had only recorded its tenth ascent,[9] and in 2023, the route is still ranked as one of the hardest traditional climbing routes in the world.[4][10]

Legacy

Prinzip Hoffnung route is considered a classic crack/slab traditional climb and an important testpiece,[11] with subsequent repeats of Prinzip Hoffnung being closely followed and recorded in the climbing media.[12] When British climber Maddy Cope climbed it in 2019 she said: "The route is a dream line, one that you see pictures of your climbing heroes on but never think you will actually do it yourself".[12] When American climber Anna Hazelnutt climbed it in 2023 with Tom Randall, she said: "Prinzip Hoffnung is seriously a dream climb! Tom and I have been eyeing this line for quite some time now, a perfect mix of crack and slab – although it was definitely more cracky than I anticipated".[13]

The route is part of Kammerlender's legacy, one of Europe's strongest rock climbers of the 1990s, who made the first-ever ascent of multi-pitch routes at grade 8a+ (5.13c) and 8b+ (5.14a). In 2009, Kammerlander said: "Prinzip Hoffnung has an equal significance in my personal development", and "Major climbing projects demand development inside myself and that was exactly the case here".[6][7]

Ascents
Climber abseiling Prinzip Hoffnung, Bürs

Prinzip Hoffnung has been ascended by:

  • 1st. Beat Kammerlander in September 2009.[2][6][7]
  • 2nd. Alex Luger in December 2009.[2][14]
  • 3rd. Jacopo Larcher in February 2014.[2][5]
  • 4th. Fabian Buhl in March 2014.[2][15]
  • 5th. Barbara Zangerl in March 2014.[8]
  • 6th. Christian Bindhammer in April 2014.[16][17]
  • 7th. Michael Gunsilius in February 2018.[18]
  • 8th. Nemuel Feurle, aged 16, in April 2018.[19][20]
  • 9th. Michi Wohlleben in March 2019.[16][17]
  • 10th. Nadine Wallner in March 2019.[11]

First female free ascents (FFFA) were:

  • 1st. Barbara Zangerl in March 2014.[8]
  • 2nd. Nadine Wallner in March 2019.[11]
  • 3rd. Madeleine Cope in April 2019.[21][22][12]
  • 4th. Lena Marie Müller in February 2020.[23][24][3]
  • 5th. Luisa Deubzer in March 2022.[9]
  • 6th. Anna Hazelnutt in March 2023.[9][25][26][13]

See also
  • Indian Face, British E9-graded traditional climbing route from 1986
  • Separate Reality, American 5.12a-graded traditional climbing route from 1978
  • Cobra Crack, American 5.14b-graded traditional climbing route from 2006

References
  1. "Prinzip Hoffnung X/X+". theCrag. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  2. "Prinzip Hoffnung, from Beat Kammerlander madness to new classic" [es]. Desnivel (in Spanish). 10 March 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  3. "Lena Marie Müller Sends Prinzip Hoffnung 5.14R Trad". Gripped Magazine. 3 March 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  4. "The World's Hardest Trad Routes by Winter 2021". Gripped Magazine. 1 February 2021. Retrieved 21 March 2023.
  5. "Jacopo Larcher repeats Prinzip Hoffnung in Austria". PlanetMountain. February 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  6. "Beat Kammerlander believes in Prinzip Hoffnung". PlanetMountain. March 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  7. "Principle Hope: climber Beat Kammerlander scales vertical cliff in Austria". The Daily Telegraph. 29 September 2009. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  8. "Babsi Zangerl Sends Test-Piece Prinzip Hoffnung 5.14". Gripped Magazine. 18 March 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  9. Pardy, Aaron (23 April 2023). "Anna Hazelnutt Sends Iconic Spicy Trad Line in Europe". Gripped Magazine. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  10. Kuelthau, Willis (24 September 2019). "The Hardest Trad Climbs in the World". 99 boulders. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  11. "Nadine Wallner picture-perfect on Prinzip Hoffnung at Bürs". PlanetMountain. March 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  12. "Now Maddy Cope Sends Pinzip Hoffnung 5.14 R". Gripped Magazine. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 16 September 2023.
  13. Berry, Nathalie (20 March 2023). "Prinzip Hoffnung E9/10 by Anna Hazlett". UKClimbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  14. "Prinzip Hoffnung, second ascent by Alex Luger". PlanetMountain. March 2010. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  15. Pohl, Bjorn (7 March 2014). "Prinzip Hoffnung, ~8b+ E9/10, by Fabi Buhl". UKClimbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  16. "Michi Wohlleben Sends Hard Trad then Gets Bacteria Infection". Gripped Magazine. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  17. Brown, Nick (13 March 2019). "Michi Wohlleben climbs Prinzip Hoffnung F8b+/E9/10". UKClimbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  18. "Michael Gunsilius climbs principle hope". LACrux. 12 February 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  19. "Young Nemuel Feurle masters Prinzip Hoffnung". PlanetMountain. April 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  20. "Nemuel Feurle climbs the principle of hope at the age of 16 years". LACrux. 3 April 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  21. "Madeleine Cope deals with difficult trad slab Prinzip Hoffnung". PlanetMountain. April 2019. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  22. Brown, Nick (2 April 2019). "Maddy Cope climbs Prinzip Hoffnung F8b/E9". UKClimbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  23. "Lena Marie Müller repeats Prinzip Hoffnung, Beat Kammerlander's perfect trad climb at Bürs". PlanetMountain. March 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  24. "Lena Marie Müller: Fourth female ascent of the principle hope principle". LACrux. 6 March 2020. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  25. "Anna Hazlett tiptoes up Prinzip Hoffnung at Bürs in Austria". PlanetMountain. March 2023. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  26. Miller, Delaney (21 March 2023). "Anna Hazelnutt Ticks 5.14 Gear". Climbing. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
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