Roland Hemetzberger begeht Zarathustra (8c+/ clean)

In 1996, Harald Bielmeier, bolted this 40m crack line, which ends in fifteen feet of blank wall. Since then, this final crux remained unsolved and unclimbable. For Black Diamond athlete Roland Hemetzberger, that was all the reason and motivation to have a closer look at it.

Two years of work revealed the solution, but more than that: the realization that the route could be climbed in a cleaner style. On the fixed rope, Hemetzberger removed the bolts and replaced them with birdpeaks, stoppers, camalots and pitons: trad gear used during his Alpine climbing.