Andreas Hofherr repeats Into the Sun, 8c+ trad in Murgtal, Switzerland

It all started with a spontaneous decision by Nemo Feurle and myself to check out the bouldering area Murgtal, located next to Lake Walen close to the Austrian border in Switzerland. We had a specific line in mind: we wanted to check out Into the Sun, the 8c+ trad climb put up by Bernd Zangerl in 2017.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon without high expectations and spent the late hours deciphering the bouldery start. I quickly managed the individual moves and tried to link some sequences together.

Satisfied and highly motivated, we returned two days later, this time with a harness, rope and a rack. To warm up, I checked out the moves ince again and it quickly became obvious - I was in good shape! So to save some energy, I decided to check the gear placements and the exit slab from above. After discussing things with Nemo, I was pretty confident that the three cams I chose would hold a fall.

So I put on my harness, tied in and gave it a try. The first two attempts ended due to a foot slip, then I flew off the last move of the boulder crux on the third attempt. Nonetheless, I made a fourth attempt shortly afterwards. Everything went smoothly and I reached the top hold of the boulder from where, full of adrenaline I pulled up my rack in order to place the gear during my ascent.

I then placed the first cam, which was not only the first cam on the route but also my first trad experience ever. Despite my lack of trad milage, I climbed the final meters fairly calmly.

When I topped out, I realizsed what I had just experienced! Even though the hard part of the route is the boulder at the start, and the trad part is much easier, the overall experience is what makes Into the Sun so special!

by Andreas Hofherr