Solo Climbing @Plattenwald

Since my wife went to Romania the past weeks, I was alone in Switzerland. I knew a few people which could come with me rock climbing, but our scheules didn't match. Therefore, I decided to go alone at Plattenwald, and try solo some routes.

First, I went on Tuesday, 12th July, with a clear route in mind - Yellow Cake 7a+. I read on the internet that some hold broke in the crux, and that now the route is harder. Some say it is significantly hard, and the grade should be 7b/7c, I heard even someone talking about 8a, but some say it is still 7a+. I have tried almost all evening the route, soloing on a fixed rope, and I could not find a succesfull beta for the crux. I didn't climb too many hard routes (I only have some 7a's and some 7a+'s) so it's hard for me to tell something about the grade, but I think it feels harder than the previous 7a+ that I have made (Ohne dich and Jumpy).

 

Saturday, I had the same problem, of finding a climbing partner, which I could not solve, so I decided to go again alone at Plattenwald, to try some other routes. I started with Gatto Rosso (6b) which I could't onsight ropo solo - I felt at the top of the route.

Then, I have moved to something more challenging. I have found an interresting 7c - Michelangela. I placed a fixed top rope (using the clipstick) and started trying the moves. I stayed almost the whole day trying to figure out how to do the first moves of the route, but finally I managed to find a beta.

After a week, I came back with V., who belayed me, and I managed to find a beta for some more moves. I think I should be able to do this route after some more tried. The upper part does not seem as hard as the first part.

 

Updates on Michelangela (07.08.2022): Today I have tried Michelangela again, and I have managed to do it top-rope two times. However, in the upper part I used the right part of the crack, which I think is a bit of cheating. However, after the top-rope attempts, I have tried the upper part again, this time without using the rightside of the crack, and I managed to find a beta (I was missing a foothold). Probably the next time I will go there, I will start trying redpoint attempts. (Hopefully Tuesday...)