Pfalz Pfotos.

Okay okay some proper climbing ones to share the psyche (I'm still waiting for some others from the team, I'll update this when they get sent over...):

Warning images might feature sandstone, trees, power vests, compression stockings, etc.

Update: Added some photos that Kirsty took with her fancy DSLR:

Neueste Kreation 7, Hochstein - day 1, route 3. Quite a steady start to proceedings.

Sudostkante 7, Frohndellpfeiler - really cool route this. Started up a gnarly little "HVS 5b" crack on the right side of the arete, swung into a cool heel-toe rest in space, and then yarding up the crest on perfect flat jugs. This was shortly before failing on the brilliant Spidermove because I was too casual deadpointing from a slopey crimp to a two finger pocket. Cue the mother of all tantrums and a bit of tree-climbing to recover my quickdraws from where they ended up.

Langer Amenweg 7+, Spirkelbacher Rauhbergpfeiler - very cool route with probably only grade 7 climbing, but 7+ commitment and excitement including a handless knee mantle onto a constricted ledge, pinchy bridging up a blank hanging groove and then an obligatory exposed run-out. Can I get an amen?!

Planet der Affen 7 @ Buttelfels - typically aesthetic and scenic little wall, albeit without the usual towering tower above. This route had a tricky start to get to the bolt an a fun finish on good holds. This was shortly before failing on an excellent 7+ wall because I got fooled by white herrings and didn't look around to find the un-chalked easy sequence, there might have been some rage.

Eroika 7- @ Spirkelbacher Rauhfels - grand old wall of masses of honeycomb pockets and spaced bolts / threads. Easy and unrefined but a nice adventure. This was shortly after failing on a great bouldery 8- with a hard deadpoint to a 2 finger pocket - I was very focused and determined but half a cm too shallow, gutted.

Intensivstation 8- @ Dahner Kuckuckfels - something hard I didn't actually fail on. The crux involved a merciless rockover via a razor crimp, in the first shot. My sort of move but even so part way through I nearly ground to a halt and really hard to dig deeper and crank harder. The most satisfying move of the trip.

Klink Flink 7- @ Weiherwande - easy but very aesthetic wee scoop thing. A nice warm-up.

Lange Westwand 7- @ Ringsberg Westpfeiler - very nice wall this. I did a sketchy 7- on the right slab below the arch, an easy 7+ on the right slab above the arch, a cool 7/7+ up the right side of the main wall, and this really nice easy 7- up the middle-left side (where my rope is in the 2nd shot). Pfalz wall bimbling at it's best.

 Zu Fruh Gelacht 8- @ Luger Geiersteine -  a very aesthetic wall on impeccable rock. It involved a jump from a slopey pocket to a decent rail then a grovelly slopey lip-turn over the bulge above (2nd shot). Good cool conditions for this. This was my day of "trying hard not climbing hard" and around this I failed on a big 7+ with a desperate precarious crux and then a burly slopey lip-turn that I fell off, an 8 just left of this route with a big dyno to an unexpectedly slopey break that I fell off, and another 8 with more desperate precarious climbing eventually leading to a brutally hard slopey lip turn that I fell off. How the fuck I managed to fail on all that lot and not lie down in the middle of the road waiting for an HGV to take me out, god only knows.

Direkte Talwand RH 7+ @ Dingentalturm -  bit of an odd line as I think the original direct is suppose to go left of the upper bolt and a new sport route seems to join it and finish up right, but what we did was the logical direct line and really good, with positive moves on positive but diminishing honeycomb leading to an easier "resistance" finish. All with a fine towering backdrop of course.

Pfalz Pfrustrations.

Trip 3....days 16-24....crags 26-34... After one trip in a sweltering summer and one trip in a claggy autumn, surely a fresh spring trip would be the time to really push myself on the ever-intriguing Pfalz sandstone?? 3rd time lucky or maybe not...

There were tantrums, swearing, gear-throwing, sulking (and subsequent apologies to the team), and then plenty of realisations, learnings, and semi-calm acceptance that the ever-intriguing Pfalz sandstone is bloody difficult and I might have to adjust my aims. I focused on trying hard instead of climbing hard, ticking crags instead of ticking routes, and had a great trip overall (which was probably inevitable given the area). I also learnt a fair bit so I'm writing this partly to share the knowledge and partly to remind myself for the similarly inevitable "next trip".

Pfalz Challenges:

1. Friction and conditions are absolutely crucial, breeze especially (rare *).
2. Routes require a mixture of gritstone technicality / friction AND limestone power.
3. Routes are often incredibly cruxy with easily droppable cruxes.
4. Some "sport" routes can be pretty bold / committing.
5. Specific common hard moves are: precise deadpoints to small pockets, massive reaches / full dynos (sometimes to non-jugs), hard pulls / rockovers on razor rugosities, slopey mantles / lip turns, figuring out best sequences from a sea of pockets **.

Pfalz Grades:

1. They are VERY variable and random. Expect a full grade variance on up to 50% of routes.
2. They have no correspondence to the standard grade tables, being at least a grade harder.
3. A few grade comparisons from similar sandstone:
Helsby:
Flake Wall E4 6a - Pf  7/7+
Calcutta Wall E4 6a - Pf  7+
Brandenburg Wall E3 5c - Pf  7-
Armathwaite:
Viennese Oyster E3 5c - Pf 7-

 Diamond Lil E3 5c - Pf 7-

Berdorf:

Arete Paulette 7a+ - Pf  8-
Voleur De Spits 7a+ - Pf  7+/8-
Yellow Submarine 7a - Pf  7+
Mike 7a - Pf  7+/8-
Nesscliffe:
Marlene E4 6a - Pf 7/7+
Straight Talk E3 6a - Pf 7+
Red Square E1 5b - Pf 6/6+
4. Since the routes are so cruxy, a comparison with grit routes might be more accurate, e.g. E3 6a rather than 6c/+ for 7/+, E4 6b rather than 7a for 8-. Remember to factor in the variable grades AND how variable very bouldery cruxes will feel***.

Pfalz Tactics:

1. Heed conditions as key - adapt challenges to suit.
2. Toughen skin constantly with anti-hydral
3. Take a spare rope bag for the sand, clipstick for miles high first bolts, pointy shoes for pockets (dragons for me), brush for clipstick for bouldery starts.
4. Accept Pfalz is hard, get focused right away, e.g. deadpoint precision as early as possible in trip.
5. Always plan for various move options, always look around for holds and possibilities (despite chalked white-herrings).
6. Heed the likely challenges** and train those as much as general climbing prior to trip.

N.B.

* -  The crucial breeze is still a difficult factor to predict from the weather, as due to the endless valleys, hillocks, forests and sandstone ridges, the wind can wander around and appear/disappear of it's own fickle will.
** - The likely challenges were what I learnt specifically from the harder routes I failed on and the harder routes I succeeded on - there were distinctly common types of crux moves.
*** - The variety / morphology of crux difficulties is very similar to grit and cannot be underestimate.

Finally...

If all else fails, just do some awesome sandstone bimbling on funky towers and ridges :)


If you've read this far, feel free to be rewarded with some entirely useless non-climbing photos: