From the series: in search of rock climbing in the vicinity. This time: Nagelfluhklettereien in Zihlschlacht.
The search brought us to Zihlschlacht. To be found on the map at Zihlschlacht-Sittersdorf. A little farther up, in a forest on the top right, is a 15-meter-high steep wall made of Nagelfluh rock. At the foot of the wall there is a barbecue, in the cave you can even sleep (on request). Topos is there Climbing guide Hohlenstein (pdf).
At the first sight of the rock I felt a little strange, I was torn between "boah, totally grippy" and "oh my god, that is crumbly". We moved straight into the "children's area" and climbed there the worthwhile routes between III and V-.
From the IV degree, you notice: As handy as it looks, the rock is not. The handle must first be found. A bewildering number of baked pebbles in all shapes and sizes makes the search for suitable "handles" a hopeless task. The positive side effect: from the many searches, the muscles tire quickly, so you are forced to climb cleaner, to stand well and above all to keep the handle once taken simple - what better is probably not. Exact glances facilitate the search, because finger marks are already recognizable on closer inspection.
When changing to the main wall was then immediately another difficulty: the great handles consist of holes from which the pebbles are broken out. Depending on the direction of stress, the sometimes sharp edges that remain after such an eruption can be quite painful.
Especially in crowding places like on the mini-tummy in the route "Pin Up (5c)" one could hear a curse or two. The route "Fitnesstest (5c)" is quite different - very easy to climb to the key point, then suddenly: smooth! Get up very well here to get to the next grip. From here it is not far to the diverter.
