Spain’s Edu MarÃn recently repeated WoGü, considered by many to be one of the most difficult multi-pitch climbs (8c, 250m) in the world. The route is located in Rätikon, Switzerland and was originally established by Beat Kammerlander in 1997, in honour of Wolfgang Güllich (WoGü), who died in a car accident. However, Kammerlander did not free the entire route and it wasn’t until 2008 when it was completed by Adam Ondra.
The route is long, exhausting, and includes six pitches at 8a, 8b+, 8b+, 8b+, 8a+, 7c+. As you can see in the video, climbing Rätikon proposes technical difficulties along with poor weather conditions so Edu had to correctly choose the right moment to make the climb. Also, an ascent between 9:00 am and 17:00 pm was simply out of the question due to heat on the red-hot limestone.
He spent several weeks working the route and unlocking all the single pitches. He attempted freeing the line two other times before finally succeeding on the third. Despite falling twice, he reached the top at 21:30, climbing the last pitch with a headlamp. It took him a total of four and a half hours to send Wogü.
Video courtesy of Mammut
