Czech Climbing

La Rambla - one of the most well-known routes in the world - and as well one the longest and most difficult… Together with Realisation in Ceüse it ranks among the two only routes confirmed so far in the current difficulty limit 9a+, which currently only a handful of climbers could break through. The 40m long line heads up the entire central wall of the sector „El Pati“ in the Spanish area Siurana. The line is always present: from the street up to Siurana, from the surrounding sectors or from the small village Siurana itself.

La Rambla was first ascended by Alexander Huber in 1994 up to a pocket at 3/4 height, and extended in 2003 by Ramón Julián Puigblanque to get its 9a+ grade. It was repeated only last year in quick succession by both Edu Marín Garcia and Chris Sharma.

After the open and technically very fastidious entrance crag (around 8a+/8b) - the difficulty here is very dependent on the conditions – follows a 20m long, athletic face with hard single moves, which require full concentration. Those together about 30 m from the entrance result as a solid 8c before you can reach a rest point before the key passage after approximately ¾ of the wall. The following crimpy and extremely strength-robbing face again demands everything: the dynamic move to a small under cling from a crimpy side pull, the move from a micro pinch into a two-finger pocket. - The crux for itself might be comparable with the difficulties of an 8a-boulder. Then you have to reach a ‘distributor’-pocket right besides the old chain and cross downward to the right with the help of a toe hook in order to arrive to the following 5m-face straight to the top.

La Rambla… - an optically and also sportily incomparable challenge…

On 02/05/07 Andreas Bindhammer from Germany made the fourth ascent of Siurana's famous testpiece, La Rambla 9a+. Four days later he also repeated the nearby Broadway 8c+/9a in just three attempts.

Andreas, who needed roughly 2 weeks to repeat the 95 move stamina fest, recounts the successful redpoint as follows:

"It was almost unreal… That day it was really cold, circa 14°C, it was humid and I could even see my breath when I got out of the car. The first attempt was good but not really promising, so I was surprised to catch the undercut. The shouts from nearby climbers encouraged me more - at this point I really had to give it everything. I had just optimized the move into the two finger pocket, finding out that I had to stand more sideways to stop swiveling out. When I stuck the pocket that I had failed twice to hold in best conditions, I then climbed the rest like in a trance. Even the climbers on the other side of the valley had stopped to fire me up the final meters. When I reached the chain I felt incredibly relieved and free. I'd never thought that I'd manage it just then...!"

Asked about a comparison between La Rambla and Abysse, the 9a/a+ in France's Gorges du Loup which he repeated in October 2006 Andreas replies:

"In fact it's difficult to compare these two routes as the character of the routes is very different. Abysse requires extreme stamina, has no true rest point and is about 40 moves long. It takes circa 5 - 6 minutes to climb. And tufa-climbs I prefer the most.
La Rambla has hard sections with extremely difficult single moves, but also good rests. The crux comes after 80 moves, and the route totals 95. It takes circa 25 - 30 minute to climb. I'm not that good at bouldery routes, especially since the moves are reachy.
I have the feeling that for me personally both routes are roughly the same grade since the effort needed to climb them is similar. Add to this though that La Rambla is mentally harder due to its length, since you reach the crux after circa 20 minutes and have already climbed a solid 8c. However different these two routes may be - they are both the most fascinating lines I've ever climbed."

Andreas Bindhammer: La Rambla
photo by © Xandi Kreuzeder – www.xandikreuzeder.de

Andreas Bindhammer: Broadway
photo by © Xandi Kreuzeder – www.xandikreuzeder.de

Katerina Schmidt and Andreas Bindhammer
photo by © Xandi Kreuzeder – www.xandikreuzeder.de

Andreas Bindhammer is powered by:

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LA RAMBLA – The Boulevard of Freaks

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