GlobalClimbing

Back in the late 90ies (I was still in high school) there were only a few climbs at the Zigeunerloch. As far as I recall there wasn’t anything in the 7b-range but I had just gotten a power drill so I went and bolted a new line in the center of the cave. Later this climb called Anya, named after a song by Deep Purple should become a classic. But what does that have to do with this post?

[Doing the classic Anya, 7b+.]

Several years later and after having done the first ascent of Siri Perera and Public Enemy I was looking for new possibilities in the Zigeunerloch and started equipping an extension to Anya. Then, for some reason I lost interest and the line remained unfinished for almost 3 years.

This spring I got active again, finishing bolting the line and adding a second line to the right, now called Kabinenparty (see post from April 2011). However, the route was now fully bolted but still I didn’t find time to really work it and get on it a several times in a row. I tried it twice this spring, then didn’t manage to go there until late September, where I spent one afternoon cleaning spider webs off the holds and working the moves. The second try went well and I got far on the route but then some business-trips to Belgium and Poland kept me from getting on it again. Now, during the last days of November I was just out there to catch some sunlight and do a few easy moves when I decided I might as well give it a go an clean the holds again…
The result was the first ascent of The Battle Rages On – an outstanding individual line which can be described as a link-up of Anya andKabinenparty.

Enough said! Here are some pics and explanations of the route:

[When getting to the anchors of Anya, take a deep breath and prepare for The Battle...]

[The steep part starts with a narrow 2-finger pocket - small fingers would help...]

[From the pocket you move to a undercling. Part of this hold broke in sepetmber 2011 but it is still ok.]

[The next moves are moderate, but very cool!]

[After a long reach into another pocket you can clip the last bolt.]

[Now focus, because the next three moves are intense.]

[Two more moves on incut edges and you can shake out at some big underclings. Then finish up the crux of Kabinenparty! Easier said then done because it still requires a lot of body tension!]

But how come the name? Well, first of all it’s the name of Deep Purple’s album containing the song Anya and secondly: Nomen est Omen. Get on it and you will see!

Oh, yes, and I put a few more pics in the gallery section.