John Thornton's film "Renaturation" follows Silvan Schüpbach to Wilderswil. There, he freed a forgotten sport climbing route from its rusty bolts and then climbed it clean. A film about style, climbing ethics, and what climbing beyond maximum difficulty can mean.
A forgotten sector in the forest
Wilderswil in the Bernese Oberland is not a place where you'd expect to find yourself in the headlines. The climbing area lies on the north side of the forest, dark, damp, and teeming with life. The routes come from another era: old-school lines that hardly anyone climbs anymore, overgrown with moss and simply forgotten over the years. Now, this place has become the stage for a film that poses a question that has been a topic of discussion in the climbing community for decades: How much protection does a route actually need?
Dalton Joe – without bolts
In early 2025, Silvan Schüpbach succeeded in ascending Dalton Joe (7c+)On its own, that's not headline news – the Bernese alpinist and climber has far more difficult achievements to his name. However, his climbing style is remarkable.
If the route had been bolted, I would have climbed it and forgotten about it. As it was, it stayed with me for a very long time.
Silvan Schüpbach
The route's bolts had been forgotten and left to rust. Silvan Schüpbach removed them and decided against replacing them. He thus restored the line to its original state and subsequently climbed it using traditional protection, with mobile protection devices.
Climbing with your head
The film's second narrative thread is more personal. Schüpbach talks about getting older. At some point, the maximum difficulty level can no longer be arbitrarily increased. But that doesn't have to be a loss. His focus has shifted: away from pure difficulty, towards reading the rock, assessing risk, climbing with his head. Traditional climbing offers him precisely that playground.
This will likely be a familiar feeling for many climbers. Not every development in climbing needs to be measurable in numbers.
Ongoing discussion about bolts
Removing bolts is and remains a sensitive issue. Where some see a piece of climbing history and an access point for many lost, others see a rock face regaining its natural form. "Renaturalization" doesn't provide an answer to this stylistic question, but that's not the point. Rather, the film makes it clear that style is a decision that every generation of climbers must make anew.
Removing the bolts is a polarizing issue. Some people think it's great, others think it's terrible.
Silvan Schüpbach
Here's the link to the film on YouTube:
You might be interested in:
- New route in Greenland | Jernej Kruder, Silvan Schupbach & Filippo Sala open “Sila” (7c/A2+)
- New mixed route on Klein Fiescherhorn by Schüpbach, Kolly & Sala | »Zébu« (M8/+)
- Trad first ascent on the north face of the Eiger: Silvan Schüpbach and Peter von Känel open the Renaissance (30 SL, 7c)
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Credits: All images: John Thornton