#13 Christoph Kölbel

“For me, Franken ist the nicest climbing and bouldering area in existence”, states confidently Christoph Kölbel. “It always holds some surprises ready and the possibilities here are endless.”

He is a native Franke, born in Lauf an der Pegnitz. Born here by chance, he stayed by choice - or rather moved closer to the Franconian crags and forests. Christoph loves having friends from all over visit him at home, to have them stay with his family and to show them the richness of the local crags, share his love for Franken with people that matter to him.

It’s curious that many locals get into climbing rather late compared to their peers from cities who tag along to Franken with older friends whenever they can and anxiously wait to be old enough to have a driving license themselves… Christoph isn’t an exception here. Until the age of 18 he was a skateboarder - a pastime that eventually lost with climbing but at the same time one he’s never given up on completely and still enjoys the board from time to time.

Eventually his friends took him along to a climbing gym. Shortly after this first taste his neighbour invited Christoph along for a rock climbing session, which was also his very first visit in the Franconian Switzerland itself. He hasn’t stopped climbing since; it’s been 20 years and counting. Franken remains his favourite area and home.

A little behind the scenes insight: the photos on the left are some early poster tests.
Click here to view the 50RP Posters.

Christoph’s favourite crags? He always enjoys a session at Weißenstein; he simply feels at home there. Another one of his preferred playgrounds is the famous Kühloch.

It's rather fitting that his 50RP route, Dampfhammer, is THE Weißenstein classic. It is a route that had intrigued Christoph from the beginning of his climbing journey. He felt a lot of respect for it. Even when he was quite familiar with the 8th grade (UIAA) from other routes, this one spat him off a good few times. People who quickly ticked off Dampfhammer without much effort really impressed him back then.

Finally he also conquered this bucket list line. “For me, Dampfhammer is certainly a milestone in the Franconian climbing and a benchmark 8. Thank you, Kurt!”

Another route that holds a lot of meaning for him is Metamorphose at Vergessene Welt. It was a personal milestone that required both physical and mental investment. Funnily enough, once he was through the learning and projecting phase, the ascent was rather spontaneous. He had taken a day off from the project, which he spent at another crag. When he came back, things just worked out and Metamorphose was in the bag.

In the recent years he’s discovered a passion for bouldering in Franken, though he’s never put his rope away. As much as a session with friends is always fun, he likes to put the crashpad on his back and disappear in the woods alone. It allows him to develop a deep connection with the rock, movement, with himself and with nature.

Christoph’s motivation for climbing has always come from the friendships as well as from his beloved wife, whom he shares the passion with.

He likes to share his passion for the Franconian Switzerland and its crags further, with a bigger group. He does it through his work as a climbing instructor for the well-known climbing school Frischluft, where he tries to bring people closer to his homeland and make them laugh with his Franconian charm.

Thank you, Christoph, for being a part of 50RP!