YOUNG ALPINIST GROUP
Supported by William Newsom
Czechia, June 2025
From the 14th - 22nd June, the YAG travelled to Czech to participate in a cultural and climbing exchange with the Czech team. Having heard little about the climbing in Czech, besides the bouldery limestone caves in Brno, we were taken on a tour of two destinations popular amongst the Czech climbing scene - Elbe in the free state of Saxony, Germany; and Adršpach in Czech. What characterises these areas are the famous sandstone towers that grace the areas with a tremendous natural beauty and a strong ethic to preserve the integrity of the soft sandstone rock and, with it the history and style since the inception of climbing in these areas despite modern advancements in gear. Here, metal protection is forbidden. The security of cams, nuts and pitons are forgone and instead homemade knots out of slings and old rope are used with a little wooden stick to poke and bury the knots (and anxieties) securely within the recesses of the cracks to prevent them from pulling.
Having heard of the infamous sandstone climbing and knot ethics, I chose, for the most part, ignorance in my preparation for the trip. Instead I was regaled YouTube videos by Will and his flabbergasted expression of what he had learned of the runout climbing, tower jumping and acro-pyramid building shenanigans the local climbers get up to. He had even been told the week earlier that little tombstones were placed in memorium at the bottom of routes. I certainly knew we were in for a uniquely colloquial experience when in the email chain our host Standa Mitáč showed us a photo of our accommodation for part of the week - a bivi cave under a boulder (hilarious!)
On the day of our arrival Standa kindly met us at the airport, arriving in a very professional looking vehicle with very professional decals, to take us to Elbe where we would be climbing for the next three days. A 1.5hr drive later we found ourselves following Standa through the forest on our way to our bivi spot catching a glimpse of our first tower looking in the summer nights shadows impressing upon us a sense of stature and presence that would only be felt more greatly in the week to come. Very kindly the Czech had in a mammoth effort portered up all the supplies we would require for the many of us!
The day dawned the 15th June, and the stirrings of eager climbers slowly arose the entire group. It is an understatement to say that the Czechs were psyched. The passion and adoration for this style of climbing was evident amongst them as we chatted over breakfast and they proudly showed off their racks of knots, explaining the differences between the deployment of an flattened eight or a loosely tied overhand. As we listened to their impassioned speeches it quickly became apparent that the mechanics of the knots in the event of a fall were largely untested and that they were tied by rope that was so furry and old that they would immediately fail a PPE inspection. Nonetheless, all our hosts were craftsmen still here after many a climb and we had subscribed to going full send on culture norms, entrusting our lives to the uplifting nature of incredulity against the ill effects of gravity.
Barely a few mouthfuls into breakfast Anča, the team’s rocket, made herself known and was ready to climb. Her enthusiasm was unstoppable and her wishlist big, so, volunteering myself, we got straight to it and found ourselves under our route less than 100m away from our camp. The immense stature of these climbs cannot be overstated, nor can the fact that chalk was also forbidden in the humid summer’s heat of June. Feeling my palms sweat, the first bolt 20m up and the single bolt belay did little to assuage the clearly serious nature of the route with little outside of a monolithic crack to use.
You may be surprised to hear that there are bolts given the forbidden use of metal protection. Well, in the ethics of the first ascensionists, ring bolts were allowed to be placed on lead if the climbing became too serious or a crux unprotectable by knots. Bolting top down was strictly out of ethics, however, in later developments a short guide pin was permissible to be placed to barely provide a less clenching experience whilst placing a bolt. Do not presume too quickly that this was a kindness toward the climbers, as this soon became a competition amongst themselves as they would reach as far as they could above the pin to place a bolt. One would often find themselves a stressful profanity’s length away from clipping with ease!
Anča moved with a grace and efficiency accustomed to the both crack climbing wizardry and sandstone textures, undeterred by the unconscionable length of runout above the single knot and quickly finding herself at the belay. As I followed with palms sweating through my gloves, I had to admire the courage it takes to climb in this style. Requiring a belief in one’s ability rather than faith in the protection, though in the security of crack climbing this in particular was a sub-genre of a sub-genre. We climbing three routes that day, and feeling entirely spent we returned to camp to reconvene with the group with everyone’s enthusiasm spilling over into dinner and tales of a new discovery for some and continued passion for the rest.
Waking up to a wet forecast on the 16th June, we opted for a more relaxed day sport climbing lower in the valley and a meal in town at a local favourite “VietThai”. Remarkably the sport climbing did not feel too dissimilar to the towers, with lines following all but cracks and the bolts feeling extremely spaced. Falling was still unfavourable but at least it was within the realm of possibility as we all enjoyed trying bit harder and getting more accustomed our limits on the sandstone. Whilst it was still pretty scary for us guests, it was incredible to see the prowess and technical ability of the Czechs unleashed. I had the enjoyment of climbing with Tomáš whose psyche was nothing short extraordinary, trying every line that had quickdraws rigged. As the evening drew and more lines were being put up than taken down, I had no idea how we were ever going retrieve all our gear. Enter Marin, hard techno lover and climber extraordinaire. There was not a jaw dropped as he onsighted line after line of people’s projects, cleaning up to provide everyone with the room to try hard. Strength and humility at its finest.
Our last full day in Elbe on the 17th was incredibly spirited. With a new partner Albert, we climbed a route that took a direct line that mostly avoided cracks but took us through some incredible features that I thought looked like crimp-sized huecos. As the group drew closer together in their route choices, we could share in the enjoyment of each other’s continued bafflement whilst facing sandstone cruxes. We opted to end the day on the same sandstone tower taking various routes up to the summit and upon the sister summit rigging a tyrolean to join the two, the impracticalities of which at first (and foremost) to serve the transportation of oneself to join in on the victorious hedonism of smoking a cigarette whilst facing the sunset. All gathered on the same top to enjoy the sublime moment, it was a perfect ending to our exploration of Elbe.
Reflecting on the character of the climbing in Elbe I found it highly reminiscent to the sophisticated features reminiscent of the southern sandstone. With its rounded features, smooth sculpted pockets, and chicken heads to contend with, one would have done well to have tackled the challenges at Tunbridge Wells or High Rocks before climbing on these towers. Though the Southern sandstone is much sandier, looser and softer it does not have the same exposure nor stature of the towers, with both equally lacking the assurance of solid footholds.
For our stay in Adršpach we were delighted to be staying in the newly renovated loft above the famous local climbers pub - Hostinec U Tošováka. Apparently reserved for visiting international climbers, perhaps they knew just how wearied our minds would be. Whilst Elbe was a new experience for most of us, both Brit and Czech alike, Adršpach was a place they had all visited and held with great affection. Having a fairly small footprint, the national park was characterised by the sheer density of towers amidst the forest. Elbe on the other hand had been quite a wild place with great distances between towers on a flat landscape. With Adršpach attracting a lot of tourism, there being walking routes through the towers, it did not detract from the beauty of the place to share it with others.
That first evening in Adršpach was truly special. With their love for the area effusive they inducted us in the offwidth climbing there, setting us up on top ropes on three short routes. Having never climbed cracks of this size before I found it to be like boxing, bouts of heaving effort followed by secure rests if you could fit your knee in. The following days were spent in a whirlwind romance climbing together, with the Czech team very kindly taking most leads to offer safe passage to the top of stunning vistas. Culminating in a group ascent of the tallest tower “Lovers” from a multiple different routes, and a human pyramid to the top of another.
Everyone in Adršpach certainly put on a good show for us. Presentations were given about our respective climbing practices, with Will doing his best to make Scottish Winter climbing as appealing as climbing in mid-summer. There was even a balkan dance band one evening, followed by a basement rave. But it was the crusty characters that return season after season to enjoy the area and its special ethics who populated the pub that brought me a smile.
The ethics climbing on Sandstone towers make it a truly special experience. With little in the way of protection the first ascensionists grappled with the identity of climbing. Allowing themselves the trial and tribulation of angst, conviction, endangerment, temerity; the climbing there possesses the full breadth of experience that has come to shape the zeitgeist of the style in this area that has remained unchanged since its inception. As one moves and breathes with each move further from the ground, higher above the last knot, there is a continual conversation with oneself of risk in the trade for the worth of experience. What is taken away in the immediate safety of the certainty of modern protection is replaced by the intimacy one learns of their own affinity and epiphanic quality of climbing. Where perhaps mid-crux I sometimes find the measure of a route to be binary (is it safe or not?), I found climbing there to be akin to a spiritual experience.
Perhaps it is through this nuance of decision process that our respective teams have been shaped in our play. As my climbing career has grown through the colloquial style of Scottish Winter climbing and British alpinism, a gritty and stoic mirth characterises the seriousness that exists in our hills in a dual axe wielding form of play. Navigating a minefield of objective hazards distilled to a single decision at each instance whether to proceed or retreat. With such spiritual manoeuvring and joyful athletic prancing on their sandstone towers, Czech expeditions have leaned more toward the difficulties of alpine bigwalling. A ground up siege that perhaps reflects a continual dialogue with difficulty and upward momentum until resources run dry.
The beauty of Elbe and Adršpach is not understated. Nor is the style for everyone. In a funny conversation with Will overlooking the sandstone kingdom we laughed at how our combined abilities just barely met the threshold of seriousness there. It is by far the most dangerous climbing I’ve ever done with the most immediate consequences. And even amongst ourselves our friend Tomáš had a slip that led to a sobering reminder of how serious a fall could be. That all being said if one leans into the style and ethics they will find a ladder of progression that will pay more in dividends from the experience and will offer something a little different than your average day at Pembroke.
With many thanks to the idiosyncratic and ineffable Standa Mitáč for being a terrific host and organising a truly unique cultural exchange, and also to his forest children (the Sokolici) for scrambling up towers providing safe passage. Thank you Hostinec U Tošováka for making our stay comfortable. A thank you to Tom for coordinating the meet, and our sponsors the BMC, Alpine Club, Mount Everest Foundation, Mountain Equipment, La Sportiva and Petzl for making these trips possible; the cultural exchanges are certainly the best thing to come out of the YAG. And much gratitude to Tendon who took the time to give a demo on rope care practices. Wishing you a speedy recovery Tomáš!
PS. Standa: ‘Regarding the list of the routes I just remember Tom's words: "Let's do it now before it's too late.” I'm afraid I can no longer manage to put it all together.’ - I guess we were all just having too much fun in the moment!