Jacopo Larcher also repeats Magic Line
- Thursday 14th November 2024
Just days after his partner Babsi Zangerl made the sixth ascent of Magic Line, Jacopo clips the chains too!
On Monday of this week Jacopo Larcher made the seventh ascent – and the third ascent within the space of a month - of the Ron Kauk classic testpiece Magic Line (5.14c/F8c+). Larcher has been in Yosemite for the last three weeks splitting his time between working Magic Line, belaying Babsi during her own attempts on the route and climbing some of the valley’s other classic single and multi-pitch lines. As with other recent repeats, Larcher practiced the route on a top rope before making his successfully ascent during which he also placed his gear as he climbed.
Larcher’s shared his thoughts via a press release praising the quality of climbing but explaining how hard he found it:
‘What an iconic, Magic Line! Besides the famous photograph of Ron Kauk’s FA back in the day, I first got a glimpse of it when Hazel Findlay climbed it and I took some photos of her. I was amazed and intimidated at the same time by the line, but unfortunately over the years I never took the chance or the time to go and try it myself. The opportunity eventually arrived, when last year Babsi came back home very enthusiastic after having tried it and was motivated for closing the circle this year. It wasn’t difficult to talk me into joining!
‘I must admit, that at first I underestimated the complexity of the route and during my first days trying it, I felt completely lost. It’s not the kind of the route that you can just power through if you’re strong enough. Everyone has to find his or her own beta to solve the intricate sequences and climb flawlessly in order to stay on those almost non-existent footholds. It seems like everyone climbs the crux differently.
‘You need to find the perfect balance between pushing, pulling, being confident enough, but not too much. You can feel great on it and fall at any moment, and the other way around. It’s definitely a hard one for the mind. You really have to focus only on the moment, without overthinking. When I finally figured out the crux and began to feel better on it, I naively thought I would stand a high chance of climbing the route, if I were to get through the crux on lead. I quickly realized I was wrong.
‘Placing the tiny gear definitely adds some extra complexity and, even when I started to pass the crux on almost every lead try, I kept on falling off somewhere else, twice from the very last move. The last days have been a rollercoaster.
‘I have to admit that I felt unfounded pressure, both from myself and the outside, and I coped badly with it, not being my best self. It took some effort to shake off this pressure, but once more, the key to success was to simply enjoying the process and feeling lucky to share it with good people and be able to climb on such a gem! Now, I’m almost sad that it’s over. This line and the process to climb it have taught me a lot and it means a lot to me.’