Poland

Friday morning was when we were supposed to be leaving for Rabenstein, Italy. The week preceding the comp the area received around 2meters of fresh snow driving avalanche danger off the chart. It was disappointing to have the comp cancelled, but it was a great opportunity to go visit some new countries and check out some of the worlds most difficult drytooing routes. In the end the avalanche forecast was correct and while the actual venue wasn't hit, the areas directly  around  it were, and would have likely put all the athletes in great danger.

The drive to the Tatra Mountains is about 7 hours from Prague. Because the first place we were going to visit was inside an actual cave it didn't matter if there wasn't much day light left when we arrived. My friend  Lucie Hrozová had been there last year and had tried a route that had just been completed and was hoping to finish it off. Bafomet is rated M14 which would make it one of the most difficult in the world.

 The hike in from the parking lot was fairly easy and took less than 15 minutes. Earlier in the winter the area was hit with a storm that loaded the trees with snow and then toppled them with heavy wind, leaving a terrible mess of the forest.

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Lucie Hrozova

The opening of the cave is quite small, but once inside the floor drops down and the cave is actually quite large. Near the back of the cave is where the route starts. After the first three bolts there were two ways that it looked like you could climb and after a lot of discussion we climbed the line going to the right. Lucie went first and figured out where all the holds were and hung the quickdraws on the bolts that didn't have any. We each tried it twice with Lucie climbing it no problem on her second try. I was able to climb to the end and do all the moves, but only after resting on many of the bolts.

The flash makes it seem very bright inside the cave. It was actually pretty dark. 

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Libor Hroza

After we finished up climbing for the evening we went into town in search of WiFi so I could see about changing flights and so Lucie could check and see if we were climbing the correct route. After looking at photos and video from last year, Lucie and I were convinced that we should have gone left while her father was still pretty sure we went the correct way.

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Libor Hroza

Photo: Libor Hroza

The next day we went back and fortunately there were some Polish guys there who knew the routes and pointed out the correct line. We had started and finished in the correct place, but where we went right we should have went left. The correct way had slightly bigger moves, but climbs rock that was not as steep. I climbed first that day and stripped the quickdraws off the bolts from the wrong section of climbing and moved them over to the correct route and also searched out and found all the holds at the same time. Because the route was all prepped and she knew where to look for all the holds, Lucie was able to fire off the route on her first try that day. Super impressive!!! This was the first female ascent of the route. I gave it a red point attempt, but came nowhere close to finishing it before needing to rest on the rope. We both feel that the line we climbed the day before was as hard or maybe a little harder than the correct line that Bafomet takes. The moves on Bafomet are a little further, but really not any harder because the rock isn't very steep making it possible to get some rest between moves.

Photo: Libor Hroza