Merry Christmas: Kruder & Ventajas up to 9a in Mišja peč

Merry Christmas to the entire climbing community! In the spirit of the season, Jernej Kruder received an incredible gift from Santa—a redpoint ascent of Martin Krpan (9a), the infamous “monster traverse” in Hladilnik, also known as The Freeze, situated on the right side of Mišja peč.

Jernej Kruder shared his reflections on the challenging route, expressing, “I would like to expose something here: I spent many tries on this one, because my endurance is pretty bad, but I chose not to use kneepads since I respect the first ascent. Using kneepads would help me rest just before the crux. This would make grading equal to Konec Mira (8c/c+). Kneepad would also make me rest after the crux, where I was mostly falling. This would make the route even easier. So people, if you decide to disrespect the first ascentionist with using kneepads, than at least be true with yourself by not calling it 9a!”

Adding to the festive climbing achievements, Spanish climber Alex Ventajas triumphantly secured the ascent of Sanjski par extension, another formidable 9a, located on the opposite side of Mišja peč. Reflecting on his success, Ventajas remarked ,” Last try, best try! After falling several times in the crux I decided to make a little change in my beta and it was exactly what I needed. Sometimes a small adjust can result in a big satisfaction! 1 try two years ago and 5 days this year.”

In other notable climbs, Jaka Šprah conquered Marioneta, an 8b+ with almost entirely chipped holds in the centre of Mišja peč. Meanwhile, Italian climber Andrea Pustetto undertook the challenge of Millenium (8b+), a majestic king line that spans an impressive length.

Strong guys!