Nemuel Feurle tames Sangre de Toro on Rote Wand in Austria

I first started climbing when I was 12 years old. Three years later I sent my first 8b+, a year later, at the age of 16, I redpointed my first 8c and also got my first taste of trad climbing when I repeated Beat Kammerlander’s famous Prinzip Hoffnung.

I did my first multi-pitch in 2016 at the age of 15. At that time Henry, a strong American who lived with us in Vorarlberg for a few years, took me to Switzerland to climbing a 5-pitch 6c arete. The following year, Mark Amann and Jacopo Larcher took me up Sangre de Toro. The route itself and the experience of climbing with the two of them immediately inspired me and I knew what I wanted to focus on next.

That same year I tried to check the route out with Fabian Leu, but we weren’t particularly succeed. It wasn't until 2018, when I went there two or three times with David Kaufmann, that I slowly felt like I’d found the beta that suited me.

At the end of August 2018, on my birthday actually, Nadine Wallner and I went up to the Rote Wand for a redpoint try. The first three pitches ran smoothly but then I faced the crux pitch; tackling a steep crack with runout bolts and needing some additional pro, this proved mentally demanding. Actually, this section proved to be my undoing. I placed two cams, connected them with a sling, clipped the rope and started climbing.

Physically the section isn’t the hardest, but nevertheless it’s difficult enough that it’s possibolleto fall off every move. Which, given the runout nature of the climbing there, can be quite adventurous.

And that's exactly what happened, because my left foot slipped and I fell. It was a fall that I won't be forgetting in the near future. Both cams pulled out because I’d placed the sling incorrectly, so I fell with both cams down onto the bolt below. A second beforehand I was 10 meters above the belay, not I suddenly hung upside down, slightly to one side, and below the belay.

This fall, even if thankfully was without consequences, got to me psychologically. Only this year, after an almost two-year break, did I manage to climb up without giving in mentally, and then I sent it on my third day! Over the years I’d spent about 15 days on the route, psychologically though I’d dealt with it for far longer!

I was pretty lucky to have Luigi Dellarole with me as the photographer on the day of my send. Not only was he additional motivation, he also brought with him some fresh energy and a relaxed atmosphere on my redpoint burn. At first I felt conditions were too warm, luckily that changed on pitch 2 and the friction was good, enabling me to send all pitches first go, It was a really cool feeling when we were on the summit, not just because it was my first 8b+ multi-pitch, but because it meant far more to me than any grade can represent. Climbing the line free was a special process, it gave me the chance to learn a lot and hopefully I’ll be able to transfer this experience onto other big routes in the mountains.

Thanks and great respect to Alex Luger for his first ascent and the first free ascent. Thanks also to Leonie Venier for belaying me during my climb and the great days up on Sangre de Toro. And thanks to all those who accompanied me on this journey, or kept their fingers crossed for me !;)

by Nemuel Feurle