#15 Katha Franke

There was a time when camping under the stars in Franken wasn’t taboo and Katha Franke used it well. She and her friends would sometimes only emerge from the sleeping bags at the foot of a route as the first morning climbers arrived to try it. Normally there are enough rain-sheltered spots in Franken, but downpours happen. Before one such cloudburst, Katha and her friend found a box of red wine and a pile of Hustler magazines at a parking spot. Soon the rain got so heavy that they were forced to retreat to the car and look for somewhere dry. They took their find with them.

The search led them to an empty chapel, their only hope not to soak. If you’ve been to some of Franken’s smaller villages, you know places of worship can be tiny here; this one could barely fit their boulder mat bed. It had a roof, though, and that was the only requirement. They stayed for the night.

The morning came, and together with it - a procession, who soon found themselves standing in front of two people on a weird mattress with empty wine bottles and porn mags where they expected holy figures and some flowers. The procession weren’t overjoyed. Who would have thought!

Katha comes from Thüringen but her first climb happened in Berlin in 2002. She was visiting her brother, who belonged to a club and took her along to the gym. She can still remember the fear she felt at the dazzling height of 8 meters and how she wouldn’t sit in her harness; climbing down seemed like a much better way to get down.

Not long after that, a friend took her to a little wall in Erfurt. She had a lot of fun. Having just started her studies she tried to get to know some climbers and met Kay, who has since then become one of her very best friends. With roots in Saxony, Kay had a style etched on him: mostly trad protection, using also the famous knotted rope and slings. He took Katha along for some adventures. From then on all she wanted to do was climb.

She didn’t get to enjoy her new favourite pastime for very long. She had a bad car accident, which left her on crutches and with a year’s worth of rehab ahead. We all know no climber has ever survived this long without moving in the vertical and Katha was no exception. She couldn’t really do the approach, but that’s what friends are for - they helped her to the crag and she could carry on from there; she actually felt more mobile on the rock (using three working limbs) than on the ground (one functional limb plus awkward crutches).

Though she’d fallen head over heels for climbing, Katha had another passion and as she got her leg back she spent half a year in Brazil practising capoeira. Upon return to Germany she jumped straight back into climbing, which she could finally do with all arms and legs. It was almost two years since the time she first tried it in Berlin.

Kay was still her biggest influence and they continued climbing their way - mainly on porphyry in Thüringen and while on international holidays. Katha still laughs as she remembers one of their first climbing trips: to Finale Ligure. Her and Kay never understood why people would give them a funny look when seconding a 15 metre sport climb with top belay. When not seconding, neither of them would have ever come up with the idea to leave quickdraws in the route for the partner. They would strip the line and religiously place draws on lead, in the original Redpoint (or Saxon) style.

Back home, they were soon brought up to speed with modern climbing antics thanks to the two local big shots they met in Erfurt: Hannes and Dirk. They soon became a small tight-knit community cragging all over Europe on holidays and in Franken most weekends. They’d turn up in a little VW Polo with sleeping bags and make themselves at home in the forest.

For Katha, Franken did feel like home almost from the very beginning. Only about 2 hours away from Erfurt, she’d soon call it her climbing home and would come whenever there were two days free, which meant less and less time spent on rock in Thüringen. As the time went on, the balance between life in Erfurt and climbing in Franken kept shifting in favour of Bavaria.

She remembers nights at Mic and Brenzi’s with a bunch of other people, sleeping in a line in a narrow hall and great times in the very first RockStore (50RP Partner!), not just a shop but most of all, “a meeting point for the Frankenjura climbing community - and more”. Back then RockStore supported a team of climbers, which Katha belonged to.

Asked about her favourite Franken crag, she starts a list, unable to pick one. Kanzelfels, Weidlwanger Wand, Wachbergfelsen, Freistein, Albrecht-Dürer-Fels, Luisenwand, Rotenstein, Roter Fels, Ankatalwand, Gössis and Veldener Wand all have a place in Katha’s heart. And the list goes on!

She also has a relationship with many routes here. Enenen at Albrecht Dürer Fels first inspired her when she tried a neighbouring line. They came to the crag for her partner to try Enenen and while on belay, Katha thought to herself: “I want to do this one, too, when I ‘grow up’.” It took about 15 years for the stars to align for a try - or two brushing sessions first. Having cleaned it, she never returned for another two years but when she did, she climbed it quickly and it was a very meaningful moment for her. Through the memo she’d left in the summit book back when she did Weiße Hände, she also got to meet Caro Bocek (also a 50RP Climber), whom she now calls a friend. (Read Caro’s post here to find out how they met each other.)

Big Wall was Katha’s first 9- (UIAA) in Franken and she can still remember the feeling upon clipping the chains. It was around 2006 and the tall crag has left a lasting impression on her.

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

As much as she loves doing harder lines here, Katha enjoys the adventure climbs in the Frankenjura, which are often older routes. Among her favourites she mentions Heuler, Sarg, as well as the ultra classic Die Gelbe. The list of her favourite lines could continue almost endlessly, just as the crags one.

Team Motivation, her 50RP route, is also bound to a special memory. Katha tried it in 2019. She went to Luisenwand with two friends and figured out the moves. As she was preparing for a send go, it started pouring down. She was so psyched, though, that she wanted to try anyway. She got ready and her friend Verena commented that she’d give Katha 600 Euros if she can send it in the downpour. Even though she’d have never taken the money, the challenge added to Katha’s already high motivation. She started climbing and soon found herself acing the crux, high up on the route. She was through that and just about to grab the saviour jug that opens the last couple of easy moves when she noticed that she’d forgotten to clip the last quickdraw. Anyone who knows the route will appreciate the runout that it creates to the top (it’s already spacey with all draws clipped). Katha got scared and grabbed the quickdraw below her. As she got lowered, Verena said she’d already felt the 600 EUR poorer. Katha climbed Team Motivation on her next session, which made her the happier that she’d had such a great team with her.

Katha has lived in her van in Franken for almost 6 years now. Next to the obvious: thousands of crags at the doorstep, she loves the little valleys with plentiful rivers and streams, strolls and bike rides, dips in the ice cold Püttlach…

Climbing is for her more than the favourite physical activity. It keeps putting her in situations where she has to overcome different fears, which in turn makes her feel good in the movement and learn about self. Nice, complicated or unusual moves are a big source of motivation for Katha, as well as spooky routes and nails hard classics. She loves routes that have character and describes herself as a bit of a collector.

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