Back at home in Düsseldorf there was one thing left to prove. His pride hurt by teasing that he’d never pull the harness out of the wardrobe again, Henric decided to use it: get into climbing and so be able to call Johanna a liar. That’s how a harness bought for snowboarding started something that echoed in Johannas life like an avalanche: half a year after the miserable holiday in the French Alps she did a climbing course in a local gym. She laughs at the memory that belaying was still taught on a HMS carabiner there…
Time went on and Johanna’s passion didn’t wither. While her relationship with Henric came to an end, the relationship with climbing kept growing. It so happened that her friends opened a big climbing gym. They convinced Johanna to do an instructor qualification with the DAV (German Alpine Club) so that she could join the gym’s team. She soon headed to Wuppertal for the first part of the course. It lasted 7 days and was led by Andi, who left a lasting impression on her and somehow didn’t want to get out of her mind once the course was over. The second lot of workshops took place in the Fränkische Schweiz by a different set of instructors, in beautiful spring weather. It was time well-spent, especially that she had Andi come over one evening. With the whole course group they watched the Güllich documentary Jung stirbt, wen die Götter lieben (this TV doc was never published in English; the title translates literally to “He Dies Young Whom Gods Love”).
Johanna stayed in touch with Andi - and with Franken. She may not have known it yet but she was bound to eventually land here for good - it only took a bit over a year from there. The following summer, she spent three months living and climbing with Andi in Franken. She came over with her cat and the cat never left; Johanna only returned to Düsseldorf to pack the 7 items of her belongings. She left Rheinland for good, ready to call Franken home from then on. She has indeed found her home in the forests and valleys here. She says she would never change it; “at least not for anything less than southern France! ;)”. Her newly found love for the Frankenjura hasn't dimmed her sentiment to holidays in France: just south of Paris with pads or in the southern part of the country with a rope. One Provence holiday they left Franken as a two but came back as a three: Ayla the Dachshund joined the fam. She proceeded to become Franken's chief stone roller with the nose push technique and an overall adorable little Madame.  To Johanna, Franken is synonymous with climbing history (funny she ended up being a 50RP Climber, right?). She enjoys the little encounters with history through days at the crags and through Andi’s stories he sometimes shares at breakfast - a perk of living with a climbing legend. Her favourite walls include Fuchsloch, Plankenstein, Ankatalwand (at least when not overcrowded), Hammertaler Wand. “There are sooo many nice crags! But also many that aren’t cool.” She loves a good classic, with many still on her to do list - but also some of Franken’s finest lines already in the bag.  Dachlwand is a suntrap of a crag round the corner from home so she and Andi would often end up there for a session, simply because it was easy and convenient. She found herself on Goldenes Dach (her 50RP route) a couple of times.. She wasn’t psyched to actually do the route at first; she got on it to do some tries in the sun (it was still a fairly new grade to her). Then the motivation arrived and she started to memorise sequences and give redpoint tries. One spring day Johanna found herself at Dachlwand again. She tied in, got on the wall and soon Goldenes Dach was in the bag, leaving memories of sun hitting the wall.
Her relationship with Sautanz started with tagging along. She’d join Andi at the Obere Gößweinsteiner Wände because that’s where he likes to train; often on Sautanz itself. He’d put the rope up and Johanna could try to get used to the “bloody pockets”. It took her a while but she eventually learned all the moves. A few successful top rope attempts later, the time came for a lead try: that’s when it turned out the rather spacey bolting is a challenge in itself. Johanna’s solution? Get the moves more dialled in. She did and soon enough she could do all the sequences in such a controlled manner that she could simply avoid falls altogether. That’s when she redpointed the line. Redline was her first 9 (UIAA) and she made very quick work out of it. She actually didn’t feel she was at this level grade-wise but having watched someone on the route, she knew the style simply suited her. It sure did.
Daywalker could have been her first 8a - if it hadn’t been downgraded; apparently by Johanna herself. On the day she sent the route, Sebastian the guidebook author was at the crag as well. Having watched her ascent he asked if Johanna thought the line really was an 8a. She replied she didn’t know since it’s not a grade she’d climbed before. Since then, it appears in guidebooks as 7c+. It doesn’t really bother her, though. “The route is so nice and varied that the grade really doesn’t matter! Thanks, Joshi!” There’s a route that wasn’t a particularly big deal as such but it carries a nice memory: Fisherman’s friend. She was climbing with Heiko on the day. She figured out the moves and decided to go for a send. While climbing, she discovered she’d forgotten her sequence entirely and completely. Luckily, Heiko hadn’t - and instructed her from the ground through her entire route, securing the send.
Franken is her Shire: “plenty of green, few people. There are so many spots where the forest, meadows and rivers have something magical about them.” Johanna likes sharing these places and moments with the dachshund lady Ayla, who makes her appreciate the more that they live far from large concentration of concrete. “Today, many years later, I can say that the harness I laughed so much about was one of the best things that could have happened to me”, Johanna recalls the winter holiday spent in ski stations, on painkillers. Thank you, Johanna, for being a part of 50RP - and for the dog walks!
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
