Barbara Zangerl and Jacopo Larcher have made back-to-back free ascents of WoGü (8c / ~5.14b), one of the Alps’ most iconic hard multipitches, in Switzerland’s Rätikon. Larcher led every pitch on 22 August 2026; Zangerl did the same the next day — the first female free ascent of the line. They climbed in their usual partnership style: one person leads the whole route while the other belays, then they swap roles on another day, so both get every pitch on lead.

WoGü sits on the Kirchlispitzen and spans roughly 270 metres in nine pitches. Beat Kammerlander equipped it ground-up in 1997 — a visionary effort that was years ahead of its time. He never freed the full line himself. The first free ascent came eleven years later from a then 15-year-old Adam Ondra, still one of the most talked-about teenage multipitch performances in climbing history. Since then the route has seen only a handful of free repeats, among them Edu Marín (2016), Roland Hemetzberger (2017), Cédric Lachat (2020) and Louna Ladevant (2023). Difficulty, sharp limestone and serious runouts keep the list short.

After freeing Déjà (8c+) nearby, Zangerl and Larcher still had gear at the base and felt at home in Rätikon rock. WoGü had been a long-standing dream: too much history, too many stacked hard pitches, too much respect to rush. They spent weeks learning the pitches in evening sessions — often finishing by headlamp after hot afternoons — and found the main challenge was not any single boulder so much as linking the whole day without burning skin or making a careless mistake.

The climbing mixes long technical pitches with short, insecure walls and the famous Badewanne (bathtub) pitch. Holds can be razor-sharp; some bolts leave you thinking carefully about the fall. On paper WoGü is “easier” than Déjà, but Larcher describes it as more sustained and packed with hard bouldery sections — classic Kammerlander adventure rather than modern sport packing.

Both sent on their first proper redpoint days of the full route. Larcher fought through wet rock early and needed extra goes on a short technical 8b+ and the Badewanne before finishing in damp conditions up high. Zangerl started early to beat the sun, climbed a soaking slab warm-up, then linked the hard pitches first go — including the insecure short wall she feared most. Standing on top two days in a row felt, in their words, almost unreal.

On climbing.place: WoGü (Kirchlispitzen, Rätikon).

Sources: Gripped (28 Sep 2026), Instagram posts by Zangerl & Larcher, historical ascents via climbing media. Cover: Jonathan Faeth / Timeline Production via Gripped.