Angelika Rainer powers through French Connection in the Dolomites

Shortly after having claimed silver in the Ice Climbing World Cup 2017, in mid-February Angelika Rainer managed to repeat French Connection, one of the most difficult total dry routes in the world. Located at the massive Tomorrow's World cave below the Marmolada in Italian Dolomites, this route is climbed with ice axes and crampons but totally devoid of ice, hence why it is defined as being total dry. With its whopping D15- it checks in as one of the hardest of this discipline.

40m long and put up by Britain’s Tom Ballard in 2016, French Connection is now the hardest total dry route the three times Ice Climbing World Champion has redpointed. In February the 30-year-old also repeated Oblivion at Tomorrows World. In the past Rainer has repeated other notable climbs, such as the mixed testpiece The Mustang M14- at Vail in Colorado in 2016 and, in 2014, the WI10+ Clash of the titans at Helmcken Falls in Canada.