In mid-December, Simon Gietl and Manuel Oberarzbacher made the first ascent of the spectacular mixed route Hybrid on the Gardena Pass. With difficulties up to M8+ and WI6, the tour demands not only clean technical precision, but also mental strength.
Experience report by Manuel Oberarzbacher
An adventure that began with a car breakdown found its exciting end in a challenging mixed climbing route in the Dolomites. On December 12, 2024, the two South Tyrolean alpinists Manuel Oberarzbacher and Simon Gietlto first ascend a new climbing route on the Gardena Pass: Hybrid (M8+, WI6)
A plan that fell apart
The two had originally planned to reach a different destination on December 2nd. But fate had other plans: a car breakdown on the slippery ice literally caused their plan to slip. After three hours of hard work, during which they freed their car from the snow, they spontaneously made a new plan over a cup of coffee in a cozy village café.
Oberarzbacher remembered a line on the Gardena Pass where he had heard that the ice conditions were currently excellent. The great start to the ice season had awakened their desire for more.
"Why not try something new?" asked Manuel. Simon was immediately interested. So they agreed to meet again on December 9th to tackle the challenge. With the question in mind whether they could manage to find a climbable line through the black, compact rock slab, they set off motivated.
The first attempt – and an unexpected surprise
The beginning was promising: nice, positive holes and ledges enabled them to make rapid progress. But as soon as they reached the distinctive beginning of the ice track, the mishap occurred: they realized that they had forgotten their ice screws.
The experienced team could only laugh at this. No problem, they thought: the plan for that day was gone, but the completion of the line would simply be postponed to another day.
The second attempt – with success
On December 12, 2024, Oberarzbacher and Gietl made their second attempt - this time well prepared and with ice screws in their luggage. The second pitch, which was a challenging combination of mixed climbing (M8) and ice (WI6), made their climbing hearts beat faster.
After a challenging climbing passage, the third rope length followed, a real highlight: pure ice climbing (WI5+), which, however, did not represent an insurmountable obstacle for the two climbers. But the real challenge was still to come.
The crux of the route Hybrid
The fourth rope length was the most difficult. A crack led under free-hanging icicles, from which the climbers had to cross onto the ice. "The fourth rope length was the key to the entire route," explains Oberarzbacher. "Technically demanding, determined climbing and absolute focus were required." The two climbers mastered the passage with flying colors and continued on their route.
The successful conclusion – a tour in a class of its own
On December 13, 2024, the time had finally come: Oberarzbacher and Gietl had free climbed the entire route. The four pitches - with difficulty levels M5, M8/WI6, WI5+ and M8+/WI5+ - create a harmonious line that the two climbers consider to be a true masterpiece.
It is a beautiful, natural tour that offers a perfect mix of ice and rock. Its alpine character in this stunning landscape makes it a true five-star tour.
Simon Gietl
The route was opened in classic style, without the use of bolts, and is now a brilliant new challenge for all ambitious mixed climbers. The first repeaters were not long in coming. Shortly after the first ascent, Greg Boswell and Jonathan Joly as well as Daniel Ladurner and Alex Piazzalunga secured a repeat of the line.
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Credits: Text and cover image Manuel Oberarzbacher