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Jakob Schubert & Katharina Saurwein: hard bouldering in America

Austrian climber Jakob Schubert has made a swift repeat of Meadowlark Lemon 8B+, while Katharina Saurwein has repeated Lethal Design 8A+.

Planetmountain

February 2014

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Jakob Schubert climbing Meadowlark Lemon 8B+, Red Rocks, USA

Jakob Schubert archive

What's the secret to Austria's sport climbing success? There are obviously many reasons why Austria has fared so well in competitions for the last few decade, and one is certainly linked to fact that the athletes are a small, close-knit group that spends a lot of time climbing together, not only in comps. This explains why some of Austria's strongest are currently touring the USA, and the results, understandably, have been pretty swift in the making.

After spending a couple of days working off the jet-lag and warming up around Las Vegas, Katharina Saurwein got her outdoor season off to a good start with her repeat of Lethal Design V12 at Red Rocks. "My big goal for this year is to climb 8B" she told Planetmountain, and given that she has now sent seven 8A+ problems, this new level (which, for the record, is almost the current female max) is evidently well within her grasp.

Teammate Jakob Schubert for his part has made short work of nearby Meadowlark Lemon 8B+, sending it after just a few hours of work spread out over a couple of days. Interestingly, this this is the hardest boulder problem to date of the reinging Lead World Champion... "Yeah, much more is possible" Schubert told us before dashing off to the next problem.

Next on the agenda are a few more days in Red Rocks, followed by Hueco Tanks, always in the company of other strongmen like Jorg Verhoeven and Sean McColl. More news soon?

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