Paraclimber Angelino Zeller dares to take on the Sarre 2000 route (8a+) in the Aosta Valley and reaches his personal limits there. What drives Angelino goes far beyond the desire to win competitions. It is the pure curiosity of achieving the impossible and exploring the limits of human potential.
Angelino Zeller is not only a three-time world climbing champion - but also a source of inspiration that reminds us that much more is possible than we initially think. Once a professional industrial climber, Angelino's life was turned upside down after a serious paragliding accident.
From one day to the next, the wheelchair became his daily companion. But instead of letting this fate slow him down, Angelino rediscovered his love for climbing during his rehabilitation and found not only a passion in it, but a new meaning in life.
Video: Angelino Zeller vs. Sarre 2000 (8a+)
Angelino started training regularly again and made rapid progress. After just a short time, he mastered one-armed pull-ups and complex moves on the climbing wall. For Angelino, every move on the wall was a sense of achievement and a confirmation that much more was possible than he had originally assumed - even without the functionality of his legs.
Start of a successful competitive career
It wasn't long before Angelino was competing and winning on a regular basis. His unwavering motivation to train and the ability to perform exceptionally well under pressure make him an outstanding competitive athlete.
But Angelino is much more than that. He is a nature lover who appreciates the entire experience of climbing.
Challenges on the rock
Despite his physical limitations, he repeatedly ventures on rock routes that are accessible to wheelchair users. Due to his physical limitations, the options for routes are also limited: the rock routes he climbs have to be accessible and overhanging so that he can climb them easily.
It is precisely the last circumstance that makes it clear that the difficulties are always high, because climbing a steepness over 90 degrees on small ledges and holes without legs quickly brings you into the terrain of extreme sport climbing.
Sarre 2000 (8a+): The challenge has been found
One such exceptional route is the Sarree 2000 in the Aosta Valley. Back in 2015, the Italian professional climber Stefano Ghisolfi conquered this 8a+ tour without using his legs to show what is possible.
When Angelino saw the video of it years later, he knew he had to take on the challenge.
In his first attempts in the Aosta Valley, Angelino realized that his previous training was not always enough for competitions. But his determination knew no bounds. After a few attempts he was finally able to solve the difficult sequences on the small ledges.
This of course motivates him to continue preparing for this challenge with special training. Even if he doesn't know whether a route of this difficulty will ever be possible for him. Simply because it has never been done before.
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Credits: Cover photo David Schickengruber, text: Black Diamond