Beat Kammerlander and Hotel Supramonte

On 15-16 May the Austrian Beat Kammerlander redpointed Hotel Supramonte at the Gole di Gorropu, Sardinia

June 2001

Beat Kammerlander has climbed Hotel Supramonte. The eclectic Austrian climber returned to the Gole di Gorropu for a second time after his first four days resulted in a redpointed of the first four pitches and a near miss on the famous crux fifth pitch. Time ran out, as did his skin and the weather turned bad, so he took a short break and travelled home, intent on trying the route once again.

A month later he returned for the second round together with Martin Murr, but conditions had changed dramatically: 25Â°C and the route bathed in sun, boiling until late into the day. Forced to make a virtue of necessity, he started late, at 15.30 and redpointed the first four pitches. But as they wasn’t enough time to proceed to the Hotel they abseiled off, ready to start the next day an hour earlier. 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and then the fifth…this time clean. And then, after the well-earned bivouac in the Hotel, he finished the route off the next day.

We asked Beat to compare his famous multi-pitches in the RÃ¤tikon with Larcher and Vigian’s routei, and he replied that they are very similar. The first pitch of ‘Silbergeier’, for instance, is just as overhanging as Hotel and although ‘Unendliche Geschichte’ has some harder single moves, on the whole it is just as hard. He stated though to have found Hotel Supramonte highly demanding physically. And what about the psychological aspect? “Personally” he replied “it didn’t affect me…”
Beat was keen to congratulate the first ascentionists Rolando Larcher and Roberto Vigiani for their Sardinian big wall. His final comment speaks for itself: “Hotel Supramonte is one of the most beautiful routes I’ve ever climbed!”