The Hardest of The Alps

Rock Climbing:
Hardest of The Alps

Athletes in the Expedition:
Eneko Pou- Rock Climber
Iker Pou – Rock Climber

Date:
Summer 2010

Products Tested:
The Verto Jacket
The Verto Pack
The Half Dome Jacket
The Prophet Pack
The Hedgehog

Video by:
STORY.Teller COLLECTIVE

In the summer of 2010, Iker and Eneko Pou decided to visit legends. Travelling the Alps in their camper van, they met the godfathers that changed climbing forever.

Walking on the footsteps of Manolo, Alex Huber and Beat Kammerlander, they repeated some of the most iconic routes in the history of big-wall climbing: itineraries that show the way to the new generations.

The North Face® followed the Pou brothers during their roadtrip across the Alps and listened to their story. Here is a taste of their thoughts and emotions.

Cheeky-looking Iker with his narrow deep-set eyes and his famous glasses; Eneko’s instead are vivacious and his glasses round. They transmit energy. Iker is spring loaded and cannot stay still anywhere for a minute. He has a vitality which he must follow around in case it escapes him. He lives happily with this situation but has to be continuously on form to keep up with it. Eneko has a boyish face and lives from day to day planning the future calmly while Iker rushes headlong into the future. Iker is one of the greatest sport climbers of all time; Eneko is a master alpinist who has passed on his passion for big walls to his brother. After the Huber brothers, the ‘terrible’ Pou brothers arrived, noisy and full of ideas. The great Hubers are silent while achieving but excellent at communicating. Instead these two are Spanish and therefore tend to be noticed even in a car park under the rock faces. The most beautiful limestone towers in Europe, Wenden, are 800 metres higher up. They have come to repeat Zahir, the most difficult route on that large limestone fortress named Sustenpass; and so we go for a drink together.

It is very hot, says Iker.

He is happy, he got back after dark. The most difficult pitch is graded 8c, but an essential hold is wet. Some time earlier, he had repeated Manolo’s Solo per vecchi guerrieri.

It is difficult amongst climbers to make comparisons, forgive us. This is a bit easier, says Iker. 8c, Manolo’s is a very difficult 8c. To send it, we used an easier move than Mago did. He laughs.

Left->Right: Manolo, Eneko, Iker

Do you learn from other people? I ask him. From their routes?

Oh yes, it is like looking at a painting, says Iker. Take Van Gogh, Picasso…you recognize their style. It is the same for routes. Panorama could only be Alex Huber’s, while Solo per vecchi guerrieri has to be Manolo’s. And Zahir…named after someone who is no longer with us, you can see that too. What is similar, even identical, is the motivation. To open, from the ground up, on such difficulties…you can tell they have all given their best, and consequently have created both technical and mental masterpieces.

They could have opened the routes from above and they would nevertheless have been amazing routes, since the rock and the walls are extraordinary, but they wanted to test themselves, sometimes taking a lot of risks, and here they are, some of the most beautiful routes in the world.

What did you expect? From the routes and the people that you went on to meet?

We had similar expectations, we already knew Beat Kammerlander, he is …oh, a youngster, do you get me? Fantastic, so friendly, young inside, he will be forever young. Manolo…well, Manolo is a climbing fanatic, mystical. My goodness, does he love climbing, and he totally manages to transmit this. He is unique. What class, amazing.

Left->Right: Eneko, Iker, Kammerlander

Alex, Alex Huber…he is very simple, similar to Beat. It was very important for us to meet them, not only to repeat their creations. We knew we were doing something in the public eye, something important which would have feed-back and we wanted the young and very young climbers to get to know these legends, thesespe Masters. More often than not youngsters don’t really know who these people are. There was no Youtube in those days. But climbing exists thanks to them, and multi-pitch climbing was pursued exclusively by them, free climbing on big walls. 30 years ago Manolo achieved incredible things. So did Beat with his routes in Ratikon…they were years ahead of everyone. And still to this day they are first rate. We felt the need to make them known.

Left -> Right: Huber, Eneko, Iker

Do you think you have repeated the most difficult routes in the Alps?

Oh no, we know that now there are many. In Ratikon, for example, we could have tried Wogu (first and only repetition, Adam Ondra, ed. note) but we would have needed more time. And the summer season didn’t have great weather.Fabio, you told us we could have gone to Wenden in May and that you and Matteo had been there in winter too. Do you know what we did there on 20 May? We went ski touring!!

We laugh, I get told off by Eneko. It is September now and too hot!

We chose some symbolic routes.

You are famous now, aren’t you? Even outside climbing circles.

Yes, quite famous. In Spain obviously a lot more. Like all jobs, ours keeps us busy too, we have rules to follow … languages to learn, articles to write, presentations to make. But it is a wonderful job. We are lucky. We have become professionals; when we started off we were kids who loved climbing and alpinism, and that was it. We never thought we would become famous, let alone professionals. Never.

You still have other projects, don’t you?

Of course we do. Opening routes is amazing, even more satisfying than repeating routes. It’s your baby, you understand? Of course problems will be encountered. It is not easy to find a difficult route on a great wall and at the same time put up an 8c+/9a traditionally,as we did on Orbayu 8c+/9a, 510m Naranjo de Bulnes.

What a route! I have to congratulate you personally.

Yes, that was our most intense route, we took risks, and sometimes fell 25 meters. As well as the most difficult pitch, there is another one, which is 8a+, very serious! Both these pitches had been climbed aid and graded A3, therefore the protection was obviously very old, there were a few bolts, but for the most part we had to trust wooden wedges, copperheads, small friends and nuts.

Is it possible you two never have problems with each other now and then? You are together for months on end, do you never argue? You are brothers…
They laugh. My question is almost rhetorical. You just cannot imagine them arguing. They are the most cheerful youngsters I have ever come across.

Usually we never argue…our motivation is what unites us. We are complementary. I (says Iker) am very impulsive, I want to go straight away and climb. He is more of a planner, a thinker. He also has more experience using skis and the mountain environment.
Sometimes he makes me slow down.

When we were on Fitz Roy (it is Eneko speaking) he threw himself onto a rock face which was roughly 7b. I shouted at him that there was no way we were on the right route, we were on the supercanaleta!! But he had seen that rock and threw himself at it! He is a fanatical rock climber!!
Iker: he has good ideas, you see? And in a team you need good ideas.

Can I ask you an obvious question?

They laugh. Of course.

After Wenden, Ratikon and Drei Zinnen? Alpine objectives?

Well you know…Marmolada’s south face. Do you know if there are any routes…to free? Difficult, not too many bolts, and psychological…?