Germany climbing success

by SM.

Wed, 02 May 2007
Last weekend, reknowned climbers Daniele Fausti and Simon Marquis undertook a much-anticipated trip to the Harz Nature Park, south of Hannover in central Germany. Although initially planned for the last Saturday and Sunday of April 2007, a spontaneous decision by Daniele to skip work on the Friday allowed the pair to depart a day earlier than planned, taking advantage of the gloriously sunny weather for a longer 3-day trip to Germany.

Events on the Friday got off to an unlucky start, with roadworks and excessive traffic between Bad Oeynhausen and Hannover leading to delays and diversions. Due to the traffic problems, the pair took the circuitous country roads and headed first for a visit to Ith, a climbing area about 1.5 hours west of the Harz. Arriving late-afternoon, the decision was made to head over to the limestone blocks at Holzen, with a few easy to moderate routes climbed using a mix of traditional and sport techniques. After later setting up the tent, the twosome headed down to Eschershausen village for some of the local bratwurst and pommes, with a helping of local gossip thrown in for good measure.

Saturday morning saw the pair up and away early, driving to the Harz area to pick up maps and climbing topos. The afternoon was then spent up on the Oker valley sides, exploring and climbing the area's famous granite cliffs before heading to Goslar for camping and more bratwurst and pommes. On Sunday, the pair explored some of the larger granite cliffs along the Oker River, climbing some single pitches along with a few two-pitch routes. The most notable routes were in the beautiful 'Schlafender Löwe' (Sleeping Lion) sector - a river-side cliff a little over 30m high, with some nice exposed overhangs mixed with blocky faces containing pretty thin holds. They left the area mid-afternoon and headed back to Groningen for some drinking and live music in the hugely popular Queen's Day celebrations in Holland.