Schafberg - Ungläubiger Michael (6c)

What did the first ascentionists mean when they called Michael ungläubig? The date of the first ascent does not coincide with a holiday, so a religious connotation seems unlikely - in the sense of two young climbers skipping church in favor of a day out. So was it disbelief about their achievement? Or was it up-front doubt which they eventually resolved by climbing the route? And who was or is Michael?? With so many questions calling for answers we decided to look for hints where everything happened pretty much 36 years ago when Wilfried Aman & Michael Schallert established the route Ungläubiger Michael at the Schafberg face near Wildhaus in 1986. In short: we did not find answers, but at the same time we left with no doubts about the quality of this route! Thanks Marco for a great day!

Sun != clear sky, at least locally, and sometimes to the climber's disadvantage...

Summary
Just as the guide book says: Sustained slab climbing in best rock. Well protected since its renovation in 2018, however the bolting in the crux pitch is somewhat unfortunate*, and quite obligatory.

*We would suggest to lower the 2nd bolt by ca. 40cm so that it can be clipped while still standing in the big pocket. Otherwise, you need to stand up & clip on the slab delicately - and if messed up, would probably result in an intimate meeting with your belayer. Moreover, it would be beneficial to move the 4th bolt to the right such that it can be clipped also when passing it on the right. Otherwise, the placements on the crux pitch seemed consistent, merely a bit spaced for the difficulty (relative to the other pitches).
Additional remark about L3: The last few bolts are very much to the right of the logical line which is somewhat shared with XL. At least they can be clipped with some effort.

L1 6b+
This pitch feels more like face climbing with a toch of slab, in the sense that you always feel a bit unsecure. While there is no definite crux, a rock-over move somewhere half-way might feel hard, if you skipped leg day ;) The ants a the belay can be annoying!

L2 6b
The only pitch to loosen up the calves a bit, as it negotiates a big roof before the ledge. Now would be the time to let your boulder buddy with the big guns go first. But don't promise them there won't be any slab, as indeed a few moves after the roof could be classified as such.

The bouldery roof in L2 (6b).

L3 6b+
Juggy overture on blades, but the main course is all but juggy. My first thoughts when I entered this dauntingly feature-less face were: "Did I go off-route?? This doesn't look like 6b+!". Maybe it was here, where Michael had his moment of disbelief as well! But remain faithful, smear well, and shift precisely, and you shalt make upwards progress :D

Marco moving through the compact face in L3 (6b+).

L4 6b+
Another pitch carved out the perfect Schafberg limestone! The line zig-zags through some shallow buldges and corners, which could make rope drag an issue. The intermediate belay is more comfortable than the eventual belay, and it might be safer given that the 2nd clip of the next pitch is a bit delicate. Only disadvantage: the crux pitch will be even longer.

Marco waiting at the belay after L4 (6b+).

L5 6c(++)
A worthy crux pitch, and potenial showstopper! It's recommendable not to bee too ungläubig (doubtful) about your capabilities, because this pitch is not easily aided. Maybe consider the 6b variant (Gläubiger Michael).
Two crux sections stand out after negotiating an awkward 2nd clip. First, gaining the 4th bolt turns out very delicate. Should I go left or right? In the end, I went right which seemed more secure - but at the cost of skipping the mentioned 4th bolt, resulting in a massive run-out. Marco however, tried much further left, and found a passage there.
The second crux section turns up the difficulty by even another notch: A pretty blank section separates you from a shallow water groove on the far right. As a secure passage on the slopy features seemed too risky, I turned to an unconventional (?) solution: jam the feet in a far-low pocket (lowering a bit) to shift over to the groove (awkward foot-switch in the pocket). I should note though, Marco tackled the blank section directly, and successfully! The groove itself gets better towards the top, but is pretty tricky to start with, as it is a quite deficient in positive features.

The end of the shallow water groove in L5 (6c).

L6 6b+
Wonderful, consistent slab climbing, pure flow! Seemed considerably easier than the 6c before.

Looking back at the flowy L6 (6b+)

Abseil
4 quick manouevers, see also the guidebook for details.

Can you believe it? Weather-screenshot on the morning before our ascent. It's dry everywhere except in Wildhaus - wtf? Indeed it had rained (very) locally, and the ground was wet, but the face had actually dried up by the time we got there (ca. 10am).