Category Archives: news

Before coronavirus

Paula nad prepadom (8a+) in Črnotiče

Gregor Šeliga in FA of Paula nad prepadom (8a+) in Črnotiče @ photo by Štefan Wraber

Before coronavirus hit us badly and climbing outdoors was still allowed, Gregor Šeliga first ascended a new route in Črnotiče cave. The new route now has the name »Paula nad prepadom« and a proposed grade of 8a+. It starts with the same boulder as Gnojna bula (8a+) and then goes left into Kremplja (8b). In Mišja peč, Luka Biščak showed up after a while, back in shape and has finished his nemesis route Gorenjski šnops (8b). Thumbs up guys.

Due to coronavirus, all the climbers are asked to avoid climbing in our climbing areas as hospitals are fully occupied on handling the pandemics situation, so all the risks to get injured or spread the infection are way too much. Please respect that! The rocks will wait for you, maybe it’s time...

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Andreas Matuska repeated Adam Ondra’s More (9a) in Medveja

Medveja

Photo @ Medveja

Austrian Andreas Matuska made a first repeat of More (9a) in Medveja. The hardest route in Croatian part of Istria was first ascended by Adam Ondra himself back in 2016. It is the extension of Villa Oraj (7b+) and is characterized with far moves on small holds.

For Andi this is his second 9a after succeeding in Sever the wicked hand in Frankenjura last spring. For "More" which in Croatian means "the sea" he needed only three weekends of trying to finally clip the anchor of this 30 meters long beast in surreal landscape. Here is a funny video of Adam Ondra doing the first ascent.

Stay safe folks!

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Latest redpoints from Istria

Mitja Jereb climbing Kaj ti je deklica (8b+) in Mišja peč

photo @ Mitja Jereb climbing Kaj ti je deklica (8b+) in Mišja peč

The weather is treating us really well this winter. The sun is out, all the routes are totally dry and the psyche is high.

Many climbers are proving their shapes all around Istria, but the hardest routes are as usual done in the epicentre of hard-core climbing, Mišja peč.

Austrian Jakob Greistorfer succeeded in two 8b+'s, the short and bouldery Missing drink and long and sustained Kaj ti je deklica. The latter one was also done by Slovenian Mitja Jereb and Italian Giuseppe Nolasco, who redpointed as well Strelovod (8c) and flashed the classic powerfest Mrtvaški ples (8b). His friend, Stefano Bianchi, climbed the shorter version of Strelovod (8c), named Marjetica (8b). Mrtvaški ples was also climbed as a first...

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Adam Ondra, Gianfranco Dušić, Piotr Nižnik,…

Misja pec on Saturday

Photo @ Mišja peč on Saturday

A bit late news, but still better than nothing, I guess.

We have already reported a week ago about Adam Ondra onsighting Starec in morje (8b+) in Limski kanal and about his short visit to Kompanj for his first time ever.

He liked Kompanj so much, he returned soon after and smashed Klemen Bečan's masterpiece All in, I'm out (8c) which was repeated only by Jakob Schubert before. Adam's comment was, that if this route deserves 8c, then all the routes of Kompanj should be downgraded. So, he suggested an upgrade to 8c+ for this three star king line.

Also, he has visited the super steep Pandora where he onsighted Avatar (8b), 90 days (8b) and Toruk Maktu (8b). On the right side of the big overhang he briefly...

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Gregor Šeliga bolted and climbed Kremplja (8b) in Črnotiče

Gregor Šeliga in Črnotiče

Photo @ Gregor Šeliga in the first ascent of Kremplja (8b) in Črnotiče

Gregor Šeliga - Šeli first ascended a new route, that he bolted a couple of weeks ago, in Črnotiče cave. It begins a bit right from Gibanica (7c+) and follows obvious line in the roof towards left where in the middle it crosses Gnojna bula (8a+). Then it turns diagonal up towards the top on the left side of the cave. For success in Kremplja (8b) he needed only five visits, where the first one was meant only for bolting and cleaning the route.

By Šeli's words, the route might get a bit easier with time, because of maybe some easier sequences can be found, but for sure not easier than 8a or harder than 8b.

Another brilliant addition to the Tedi's cave in Črnotiče!

Why...

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Adam Ondra is back in Istria

Adam Ondra in Vicious circle (9a+), Mišja peč's hardest route

Adam Ondra in Istria's hardest route Vicious circle (9a+/b) in Mišja peč, that still waits for its first repeat @ photo by Luka Fonda

Did you hear? Adam Ondra, the world’s best and strongest climber ever, is back in Istria after a couple of years. He visited Limski kanal where he onsighted Franci Jensterle's hardest route over there, Starec in morje (8c), for which he thinks that it should be downgraded to 8b+. Then he visited for the first time the beautiful crag above the village of Roč, named Kompanj, where he onsighted Hard sun (8b+), Reinini (8b) and Nussknacker (8b). Hopefully he has still some days left here in Istria, so he can onsight or  redpoint some of the others king lines in the area as well.

In Istarske toplice, Italian Gabriele Gorobey smashed in just couple of tries the 4th ascent of Caveman's underground...

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Luca Bacer crushes Intensive (FB8a) in Črnotiče

Luca Bacer

[email protected]Luca Bacer in Intensive (FB8a) in Črnotiče

Trieste based local climber Luca Bacer crushes Intensive (FB8a) in Črnotiče. He crushed the sit start to Less intensive (FB7c) on a night session between his studies for university exams. Link to the video of his ascent!

In the same garage sized cave in Črnotiče, Gregor Šeliga bolted a new project that starts in Gibanica (7c+) and then goes to the left. This new addition in the big roof will weight around 8b+ by Šeli's words.

Last weekend Mišja peč was visited by Slovenian youth climbing team who smashed a big number of hard routes. Let's mention Timotej Romšak who redpointed classics like Mrtvaški ples (8b) and Lahko noč Irena (8a+). Lahko noč Irena used to be 8b until a hold broke in the upper part and suddenly a new juggy undercut showed up...

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Happy new year 2020!

Martin Tekles Sanjski par
photo @ Martin Tekles in Sanjski par extension (9a) in Mišja peč Happy new year 2020 to all of you climbers! We wish you a healthy and injury free year, full of prime conditions for climbing, with lots of sun. May it bring a bunch of hard onsights, flashes and redpoints. In Istria Christmas and New Year passed with great conditions for climbing. Sun, clear skies and wind made it possible for many routes by many climbers to be ticked. Let's start with the queen of Istrian climbing, Mišja peč in Slovenia, which was as usual the crowdies place where lots of hard redpoints and onsights were done. The hardest redpoint was for sure the first 9a for German Martin Tekles, who did Sanjski par extension (9a). The route is located in Tedi's cave on the left side of Mišja peč and was first ascended by Slovenian Uroš Perko, back in 2003. This is the 14th ascent of this...
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Repeated Mister Fantasy in Costiera

Pedoč (8a) FA in Costiera

Benjamin Marjanovič in Mister Fantasy (8a) in Costiera @ photo by local Aldo Michelini

There was quite a bad weather everywhere in the last days or even weeks, so not many hard routes were climbed. But still, in Istria you can always find some dry rocks. Thankfully in the next days it will be only sunny, so the climbing is going to be great.

In Costiera, Benjamin Marjanovič made a rare repeat of Mister Fantasy (7b+), for which he proposed an upgrade to 8a. It is 40 meters long with a technical crux just under the chain.

In Mišja peč, Ukrainian Illya Bakhmet – Smolensky clipped the chains of crimpy Človek ne jezi se (8c). Then Jakob Bizjak fired super bouldery and rarely done Matrix (8b), while his girlfriend Petra Zupan smashed endurance testpiece Albanski konjak (8a)....

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Sun, crowds & pleasant conditions for climbing

Črni kal

photo @ the magnificent view from Črni kal

Finally, the sun got out and pleasant conditions for climbing arrived, so yeah, on Saturday there were crowds in all the climbing areas around Istria and many hard routes were climbed. Sunday was a bit cloudy, yesterday it rained, but now the sun is back and it should stay for at least couple of days.

Nikola Kramarić from Split, Croatia, made a fast ascent of famous Missing link (8b+) and also flashed Sonce v očeh (8a+), both in the right part of Mišja peč in sector called »freezer« by the locals.

Then his friend, Vana Piccini, crushed Samsara (8a) in Mišja peč, as well Zadnja skušnjava (8a) in sector Babna in Osp.

Another Croatian, this time from Rijeka, Lucija Brkić clipped the chains of her first 8a, Samsara in Mišja peč.