Having done Lieben - with modern gear and boots, and found it one of the most impressive routes I have done, I vote it the hardest australian onsight. Go do it in sandshoes and tell me I'm wrong.
I remember my partner, Brendan Emmerson, doing the first pitch direct - about 17, dodgy rock at times and pretty much fu%k all gear for 40m. I followed him up, with growing respect for what he'd done, got to the belay and said 'good lead' more than I had ever meant it before, and he said 'Not as good as the one you're about to do'. I looked up the shallow groove and was very worried. Fortunately he was wrong - it was tricky, but there was gear.
Seriously, I'm keen to see some pastpointing. I wouldn't have gotten into climbing in the 60's or early 70's. I would have thought, this is fun but it is too scary. Lieben in sandshoes, with gear of the day, would be fu8ing hardcore. It is still, given the cont ext, the most impressive route I have ever done. |