Katherine Choong is the first woman to complete a one-day redpoint ascent of the difficult multi-pitch route Zahir (8b+, 300m) on the Wendenstöcken in the Bernese Oberland. And as if the route wasn't difficult enough, she mastered the whole thing Ecopoint style - that is, using only her own strength.
Katherine Choong adds another milestone to its comprehensive list of difficult multi-pitch routes: Zahir (8b+, 300m). At the beginning of September, the strong Swiss climber made the first female ascent of the difficult line on the Wendenstöcke gesichert.
I am so happy that I was able to lead all the pitches of this mystical route on the Wendenstöcken without falling.
Katherine Choong
The crux of the matter
On September 2nd at 3:50 am, the alarm clock woke Katherine Choong from her sleep. At 6:15 am, she and Eline Le Menestrel climbed Zahir, one of the big test pieces on the Wendenstöcken. The goal: to redpoint it in one day.
In the first two pitches (6c and 8a) the Jurassian still felt fresh and confident. But when she fell during the first two attempts in the crux of the 8b+ pitch, doubts began to arise. "The sun was already burning down on the wall and I knew that this would be the last chance of my trip given the uncertain weather forecast for the coming days."
In the third attempt, she gave it her all again. She fought her way through the first crux, reached the second key point, where she fell off the wall on the last move right in front of the anchor.
I was so disappointed that I failed so close to the top and with a finger split the situation looked pretty hopeless.
Katherine Choong
Unexpected resources released
Despite the difficult circumstances, Katherine Choong did not want to give up her dream of being the first woman to climb Zahir. "I rested and made one final attempt at 12:30 p.m."
Although her fingertip was bleeding - not ideal given the tiny crimps in the key pitch - and the sun was shining brightly on the wall, she felt confident. Not least thanks to her rope partner: "Eline cheered me on so much. I could really feel her energy and fought my way through the crux with all my strength."
When she was able to clip the anchor of the 8b+ pitch, she could hardly believe what had just happened. But the redpoint ascent was not over yet: Katherine Choong still had five more pitches (7c, 7a+, 7a+, 7b, 6c) with decent runouts to complete.
The duo reached the top of the route at 6 a.m. Almost four hours later they were back at the parking lot, with Zahir's first female ascent in the bag.
Ecopoint Style
Exhausted but with a big grin on their faces, the two of them got on their bikes. Katherine Choong and Eline Le Menestrel had tackled their Wenden adventure in Ecopoint style and managed the journey there and back under their own steam. Chapeaux!
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Credits: Cover picture Julien Nadiras