Lara Neumeier makes first female ascent of 'Psychogramm', 8b+ trad at Bürser Platte

Earlier this month Germany's Lara Neumeier made the fourth repeat and the first female ascent of the trad-route Psychogramm at Bürser Platte, in the Vorarlberg region of Austria. Originally climbed as an A3 aid route in the 1990s by Wolfgang Muxel, this tenuous line was freed as a trad climb at 8b+ by Alex Luger in February 2014. It was previously repeated by Fabian Buhl, Jacopo Larcher and Michi Wohlleben.

Psychogramm is notoriously dangerous, with significant risk of injury if a fall were to occur from certain positions on the climb. Previous ascensionist Jacopo Larcher commented, "Psychogramm is a bouldery route, characterized by a long run out on a tiny nut. To fall at the end of this section could be extremely dangerous."

Neumeier spent a total of seven days working the route in ‘headpoint’ style, before finally making her first lead attempt and sending the route first go. The 26-year-old placed all of her protection on lead, whilst climbing.

After her ascent, Neumeier commented: "Psychogramm (8b) at Bürser Platte – a route where the name says it all. Technically demanding, mentally challenging and with micro-gear as protection: a real challenge.

The idea of climbing this route has been on my mind since I spoke to Michi Wohlleben about it last fall. Despite its intimidating reputation and its few ascents, I made my way to Bürser Platte mid-January to give it a try. It was a cold day, the conditions weren't ideal - but I was able to find a beta for the crux move, which I was very happy about as it is known as a reachy move. I was motivated but decided to come back with warmer temperatures.

I returned to Bürser Platte at the end of February. It was much warmer, the sun was higher and the rock heated up during the day, limiting the climbing window to an hour or two in the evening shade. In these warmer conditions, the crux felt extremely hard and I only managed to stick the move on one out of ten tries. Small and sharp crimps, micro footholds and only a few placements consisting of micronuts made it spicy, scary and made me doubt: was it really possible to climb the route safely? Was it worth the risk?

But, I kept trying it. On day four, I managed to send it on toprope, on day five I checked the gear and ordered a few more micro nuts. On day six, I managed to send it on toprope while placing the gear. After that, I felt ready to lead.

The night before my first lead attempt, Jacopo and I went through the pictures and footage of his ascent, and Jacopo gave me some of the micronuts he had placed at the time. The next day, I went up the static rope once again and made some minimal adjustments to my placements. In the evening, the time had come: with Jacopo Larcher and Calum Muskett as belayers, I dared to try on lead - with two ropes to prevent a possible ground fall.

I was motivated and a little nervous but felt well prepared. The first part went smoothly, even though placing the gear was tiring. The crux demanded everything: technique, precision, and trust in the gear. I managed to stick the crux move and climbed on, leaving the last piece of pro below me. The run-out to the belay was big and the last moves were a bit shaky, but I didn't let go. The last move. The last hold. Then clipping the chains. And I sent it. What an experience!"