Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher have once again made the first ascent of a difficult multi-pitch route in the Rätikon: Next Generation (8b+), a project by Pio Jutz from 2018.
Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher were the first to cross the line Next Generation (8b+, 170 m), a six-pitch route on the west side of the Zwölferkopf in Tyrol. The route was originally climbed in 2018 by Urgestein Pio Jutz who established and first ascended many Rätikon climbing routes there.
Pio Jutz is a true pioneer of alpine climbing in Austria.
Babsi Zangerl
Together with Christian Fritz, Klaus Müller, and Christof Thaler, Jutz worked for some time on the first ascent of the route. Because they were unable to free climb the hardest pitch, they eventually handed the project over to third parties.
Next Generation (8b+) at a glance
The 170-meter-long route Next Generation on the Zwölferkopf consists of a total of six pitches ranging in grade from 6c to 8b+. Zangerl and Larcher were the first climbers to free the third and most difficult pitch.
- Pitch 1: 7a
- Pitch 2: 8a+ (first crux)
- Pitch 3: 8b+ (second crux)
- Pitch 4: 7b +
- Pitch length 5: 7c +
- Pitch length 6: 6c
For Babsi Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher The route is practically on their doorstep. "Only" a three-hour approach separated the arguably strongest climbing pair in the world from the start of Next Generation.
Simply great climbing on perfect limestone.
Babsi Zangerl
First attempts already made in 2022
In 2022, the duo took on the challenge for the first time Next Generation Time – after that, various climbing trips kept coming. Now that summer temperatures are slowly reaching the valleys, Zangerl and Larcher are heading back to the big walls of their homeland.
On the first day back on the wall, in June 2025, Jacopo managed the two hardest pitches, but Babsi fell on the 8b+ difficult crux.
We knew it could work – we just had to come back and give it a good try.
Babsi Zangerl
Last Friday, June 20, the time had finally come: Both of them led the three hardest pitches. "In the evening, we stood at the top of the Zwölferkopf – it was so cool to look down and see what we had accomplished," says Babsi Zangerl.
That might interest you
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Credits cover photo: Babsi Zangerl/Jacopo Larcher