Sandbalm - Lichtmeer (6b)

Having climbed the six pitches of Bijou in the morning, our plan for the afternoon was Lichtmeer, which offers another six pitches between 5b-6b. Another party had engaged earlier (the only other party on that day), but they had a comfortable head-start, so that we did not need to worry about being in each other's way (or so we thought). Similar to Bijou, the base of Lichtmeer is marked with a little silver plate. Due to a large block, the snow had retreated faster at this point of the base, so that we could directly embark on the first pitch. Still, a considerable amount of dirt covered the first few meters, but nothing that a bit of cleaning could not solve.

Enter the world of old school slabs...Lichtmeer (6b) at Sandbalm.

L1 5b

The saving flake seems so close, but that distance (the very first meters from the ground) are a legitimate entry test. The face is super slabby, and clipping the first bolt is everything but comfortable. I wonder how you would place that bolt on lead, when mere clipping is already involved...But once you have levitated to the flake, the rest of the pitch climbs in a breeze, just don't overlook the belay on a comfortable ledge, as the two bolts are not connected.

First pitch (5b), marked by the small silver plate. After a stout friction start, the line follows the long flake to the right.

L2 5b

If you have not yet adjusted your inner grading scheme already, the second pitch takes care of that. In total it hosts three boulder problems, which, if your soles are not glued to the rock, will feel extremely harsh. My soles don't possess that kind of power (or belief), so I had to resort to more brachial methods, and basically jump to the next acceptable hold. While this technique is very efficient, if it works, it certainly is a one way-ticket, if it doesn't...Another aspect which became apparent during this pitch was the suboptimal placement of bolts. Often you would clip at waist/chest height, so that at the time you would launch into the crux the bolt was at calf/knee height...moreover, some bolts seemed way out of the logical line, making it very hard to clip them. The placement of the last bolt is particularly funny, because the last proper (already run-out) stance is close, but instead of clipping from this stable position, you need to cover another slabby section to clip from a pretty exposed position. At least, you can mitigate the run-out with a sling around one of the nearby bushes.

Looking back at weird bolt placement in pitch 2 (5b). The bush sling is about the height of the last stable stance...

L3 6b

If 5b seemed harsh, how hard would 6b turn out? Before we could find out, we received a visit from the other, now descending party. As the abseiling woman aimed at our (small, uncomfortable) hanging belay, we politely pointed out that there was another belay station just a few meters away (first belay of Bijou). To our surprise, the "lady" refused, "reasoning" that the other belay was unreliable, as it was just a single Muniring, i.e. a single, but massive glue-in bolt with a big ring. Not even our assertions that we had just safely descended from that very ring could persuade her, and she stubbornly clipped into "our" anchor. Apparently, she had noticed my Austrian accent, and asked whether I climbed a lot in Switzerland. Not quite sure what I should make of that question, I felt my temperature rising, but what should you do? Well, I decided to make some space, but that was pretty difficult on a slab with three people in your way...so I aided my way to the first clip to make sure I would not drop on anybody's head. Being angry, I did not much enjoy this pitch, but somehow the sensation of anger had pushed away much of the usual hesitancy. So I made quick progress during the first half, which was pretty steep, but also "well" structured with quartz-knobs. Nevertheless, caution was due, as the friction of these quartz knobs is more that of glass than that of sandpaper...The upper section is more moderate, but sustains a long sequence of rock-over moves in an ocean of shallow knobs. Here my momentum stalled a bit, also in face of some subtle moves between the bolts...funnily enough, I thought that no move in this 6b pitch was much harder than the boulders in the previous 5b pitch. However, overall, the 6b pitch was certainly much more sustained, constantly requiring you to move from one precarious position into another.

Sustained knob smearing in the second half of pitch 3 (6b).

L4 6a+

We had already learned that grades are relative, so we did not expect too much from the deduction of half a grade. In fact, I found this pitch at least, if not harder than the previous 6b. On several occasions, I had to extend my belief in friction quite a bit, and commit my entire weight to ridiculous smears - no handedly...To my own surprise, all rock-overs stuck, but I would certainly not have taken bets on it. While the path of least resistance takes a bit of zig-zag, some bolts have been placed exaggeratedly out of line, causing quite some rope drag, if you don't take appropriate measures such as extending slings, or half-rope technique. In any case, the satisfaction of sticking a seemingly impossible friction move is just overwhelming! This stuff is dope!

The (seemingly) impossible slabs in pitch 4 (6a+), spiced up by some zig-zag bolt placements.

L5 5c

Now it had to become easier, didn't it!? Well...no. :D I don't quite remember all the traumatic details of this pitch ;) just the fact that it was here that I got the closest to slipping off today. Okay, at some points you could theoretically take a detour through the grass to the left hand side, but that couldn't possibly be the intention!? So I took, the honest (stupid?) path through the bare-knuckled slab, and shed some heavy drops of sweat...also because again some bolts had been placed in rather uncomfortable positions. In this light, the very last bolt before the belay, although it makes sense, seems a bit like mockery, as there are no more hard moves to protect. On a different note, the belay has a base of amazing crystals!

The rating of pitch 5 (5c) might be accurate if you take a detour through the grass, otherwise beware of the slabs!

L6 5c+

For a change the start actually features some tangible holds, but the slab follows as surely as night follows day X) Even though rated higher than the previous pitch, the climbing felt slightly less desperate, if it wasn't for the run-outs pushing my comfort zone...having run it out to the last "comfortable" stance, you don't get to clip, but instead need to go the extra-mile (literally, a meter can feel like a mile here...). Anyway, all good things come to an end, in this case the final belay, which is shared with Bijou, and a route to the right (Verlorenes Paradies).

Final pitch (5c+) with a "juggy" start leading into the unavoidable slab ;)

Lichtmeer...quite a character-building experience! Sustained slabs is the name of the game, and keeping your cool is trump. Just as in Bijou, the rock is perfect, but even at the same maximal rating (6b) the overall demand is clearly higher. On one hand, it is just more difficult, and on the other hand it is a common pattern to be in a run-out situation, and scratch your head over the placement of bolts. While their number is about sufficient, they are sometimes placed too low before cruxes, or barely (barely!) within reach (being 185cm!), or worse, just not clip-able from the last stable position, or just way out of the logical line. I guess some of it can be attributed to the climbing mastery of the first-ascensionists, who seemed to be able to place bolts at any arbitrary point of this route - assuming it was done ground-up (...?). So in comparison, we experienced more joy in Bijou, as its line and protection appeared more logical to us, but Lichtmeer was just as beautiful, and certainly very rewarding :)

PS: We rappelled again over Bijou as it seemed less risky to drop our ropes into the water stream, and surprise - the ominous Muniring did not blow!

Unreliable?