Pepa Šindel climbs his first 9b, Clash of the Titans at Götterwandl in Austria

About a fortnight ago Pepa Šindel from the Czech Republic sent his first 9b, Clash of the Titans at Götterwandl in Austria. The route in question was established in 2017 by Alex Megos who, evidently too strong for his own good, suggested 9a+ at the time. Jakob Schubert made the first repeat in 2023 and suggested an upgrade to 9b. Sindel laid the foundation for his success by repeating two 9a+ and fifteen 9a, prior to investing 5 trips spread out over two seasons, and more than 50 falls on the last hard move.

Writing on his Instagram account, the 18-year-old stated "The first time I tried the route was last summer, when it was a candidate to become my first 9b. I couldn’t do most of the moves in the crux, but I knew I would come back. And I did — three more times that year. With every trip, I got closer to sending, but the last hard move from an undercling stopped me every single time.

Going into my final trip in November 2025, I already felt that something was wrong with my finger, but I ignored it and convinced myself that I just needed to train harder. That ended with multiple fatigue fractures that became displaced around the finger. It meant a two-and-a-half-month break from climbing.

This year, I really didn’t know what to expect. Could I recover before it got too hot? Could I get back into good enough shape for the route? Wouldn’t it be better to wait until autumn?

When the trip finally came, I felt in decent shape and already had two good attempts on my first day. Then, on my second day of climbing, I did it — on my second try of the day."

 

 

 

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