Südverschneidung, V

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Area: Papstein & Gohrisch   Peak: Papst

Rock quality: 4 Pro: 3 Line: 3 Scenery: 3 Weather: 4 Total: 3.4  (Ratings explained)

The first detonation startled us. I do not remember if we heard the next one before or after seeing the man with the rifle blocking the path. He had seen us, too late to go back. We cautiously approached and relaxed as we learned he was just a hunter. With a heavy accent we barely understood he told us it was dangerous to continue because we were crossing hunting ground. To which he casually added: “no, no, we don’t shoot directly at you. But a bullet could rebound and take out your eye.” Even with my poor understanding of Sächsisch I could clearly get the meaning of that last part. “At least I’m wearing bright colored clothes”, said my friend. Unfortunately, with my choice of clothes I could not share his joy: dark pants and dark brown pullover. In fact, I would be lucky if I was not mistaken for the boar! Yet, having mustered the courage to get out of bed on a very cold Sunday we were not willing to wait several hours before the hunters finished. So spurred by the adrenaline kick, we sprinted up the steep slopes first to a field, then a town and did not really stop until we dropped the bags at the base of the Papst.

Several months ago I had my eyes set on the Südverschneidung. This is a very short route perfect for practicing dihedral climbing techniques. Both its grade and the very generous protection make it ideal for beginners and quick warm-ups. And it is in the southern sunny side! However, very soon I learned the true meaning of the sunny icon in the guidebook. True, the rock was dry but also completely exposed to the wind. This is a great advantage during summer, but in our current condition it meant we would need to continue moving to avoid feeling chilly. Maybe it was the howling wind, but I found the first couple of stemming moves were the hardest. Luckily, there were perfect knot-placements almost every meter. After the hole and the small overhag to the left, the grips got bigger and the perfect hand jams considerably accelerated my climbing. Again, throughout I found plenty of medium to big-sized knot placements. The last section was a simple and comfortable chimney without protection but with much needed shelter from the strong wind. At the top, two huge sanduhrs told me I had found the belay station. Luckily, being so close to the chimney I could still crouch  to guard off the wind while belaying. My partner followed quickly and promptly expressed his satisfaction with the route. I assured him that more woud quickly follow and, without wasting any more time, started the fast descent downclimbing the easy chimneys on the north.

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