Luisa Deubzer rĂ©alise Speed intĂ©grale 9a â Luisa Deubzer climbs Speed intĂ©grale 9a (+ interview & video)
La trĂšs discrĂšte mais nĂ©anmoins redoutable allemande Luisa Deubzer (akaâLuluâ) vient de rĂ©aliser âSpeed intĂ©graleâ Ă Voralpsee en Suisse. La seconde ascension de la voie dĂ©jĂ cette annĂ©e, quelques jours aprĂšs Mel Janse Van Rensburg, talenteux franco-Sudafricain de 20 ans. Luisa est la seconde grimpeuse Ă gravir la voie 4 ans aprĂšs Barbara Zangerl, une entrĂ©e dans le neuviĂšme degrĂ© aussi iconique quâesthĂ©tique ! Depuis le dĂ©but de lâannĂ©e Luisa est en forme : elle avait rĂ©alisĂ© la voie trad âPrinzip Hoffnungâ 10/10+ (8b+) en mars, et ensuite deux 8c dans la rĂ©gion âassez vite pour ses standardsâ. On ne peut que croire quâils Ă©taient annonciateurs dâune arrivĂ©e Ă maturitĂ© pour cocher une voie de ce niveau. La suite plus en dĂ©tails dans cette interview et la vidĂ©o de la fin de lâessai gagnant.
â Tu es trĂšs discrĂšte, peux-tu nous en dire plus sur qui tu es, ce que tu fais dans la vie ?
Jâai 28 ans, je grimpe depuis presque 20 ans, jâai fait des compĂ©titions dans ma jeunesse, et ma passion pour lâescalade est, Ă ma grande surprise, toujours en train de grandir chaque annĂ©e. Au cours de la derniĂšre annĂ©e, jâai fait de lâescalade une prioritĂ©, travaillant Ă temps partiel dans une salle dâescalade en tant quâinstructeur et ouvreur afin dâavoir davantage de temps. RĂ©cemment, jâai aussi commencĂ© Ă travailler pour une fondation qui promeut la durabilitĂ© et la sĂ©curitĂ© en montagne.
â Je sais que tu es trĂšs investie dans lâenvironnement, comment cela se traduit-il dans ta vie de tous les jours et dans ta vie de grimpeuse ?
Bonne question⊠Dâabord et avant tout, ça se traduit par plein de complications dans les dĂ©cisions de la vie de tous les jours. Dans lâensemble, jâessaie de rĂ©duire mon impact, mais il y a beaucoup de place pour faire plus, et mes efforts vont et viennent. Les deux choses qui ont le plus reflĂ©tĂ© mes valeurs au fil du temps sont dâĂȘtre vĂ©gĂ©talienne depuis 7 ans maintenant et ne pas avoir pris lâavion au cours des 6 derniĂšres annĂ©es.
Celles-ci donnent lâimpression de ne pas exiger beaucoup de moi alors quâelles ont un impact important sur mon empreinte personnelle. Je pense quâil est important de commencer lĂ oĂč cela vous semble le plus facile personnellement et Ă partir de lĂ , dĂ©veloppez ses efforts. Il est facile de se laisser dĂ©courager si vous ne pouvez pas le faire parfaitement et que vous finissez par le faire nâimporte comment.
Je peux encore beaucoup mâamĂ©liorer quand il sâagit dâaller en falaise Ă la maison. Jâessaie de rĂ©flĂ©chir si jâai rĂ©ellement besoin de la voiture ou si câest facilement faisable en train (quand jâai travaillĂ© âPrinzip Hoffnungâ par exemple, câĂ©tait facile de prendre le train, et comme jây allais seule la plupart du temps câĂ©tait souvent une non-prise de tĂȘte). Mais maintenant, surtout Ă la phase finale de mon projet dans âSpeedâ, jâallais beaucoup en voiture, parfois mĂȘme seule, tĂŽt le matin, ce qui est, Ă tous Ă©gards, un sacrĂ© trajet pour une excursion dâune journĂ©e.
En tout cas, je pense que câest toujours un Ă©quilibre dĂ©licat entre motiver les gens Ă changer leurs habitudes de vie et de trop se concentrer uniquement sur les actions individuelles. Pour rĂ©aliser rĂ©ellement une transition, nous devons aborder des changements systĂ©miques au niveau politique. Les actions individuelles sont importantes pour montrer notre engagement et forger de nouveaux rĂ©cits, mais nous ne pouvons pas rĂ©soudre cette crise uniquement en changeant notre consommation individuelle en termes de comportement. Quand bien mĂȘme cela ne nous rassurerait en termes de responsabilitĂ© individuelle, nous avons besoin de changement aux deux niveaux.

â Fais-tu seulement de la falaise ou tâintĂ©resses-tu aussi aux autres facettes de notre activitĂ© ?
Jâaime me faire botter les fesses et Ă©largir ma zone de confort, câest pourquoi jâaime le cĂŽtĂ© variĂ© de lâescalade dans le sens large du terme. Jâai pas mal Ă©largi mes compĂ©tences dans les autres formes dâescalade au cours des derniĂšres annĂ©es en tant que membre de lâactuel âGroupe des jeunes alpinistesâ entiĂšrement fĂ©minin de lâAlpine Club (mĂȘme si je suis toujours nulle dans diffĂ©rentes formes dâalpinisme). Selon la saison, la mĂ©tĂ©o et motivation, jâai des pĂ©riodes oĂč je fais plus de glace et de mixte, je fais des grandes voies ou une montagne ici et lĂ . En fin de compte, cependant, mes points forts rĂ©sident dans lâescalade sportive.
Le lendemain de la rĂ©ussite de âSpeedâ, je suis partie sur une grande-voie de difficultĂ© modĂ©rĂ©e, pour la premiĂšre fois cette saison sur du granite, et jâai littĂ©ralement dĂ» passer en artif les 5 derniers mĂštres dâune longueur en 6c +, parce que jâĂ©tais complĂštement Ă©puisĂ©e et ne pouvais plus faire un seul mouvement. Jâadore les jours comme celui-ci, ils tâinvitent Ă rester humble et Ă garder la passion car ils sont stimulants et amusants, avec une vision diffĂ©rente de lâescalade sportive.
â Quâest ce qui tâa amenĂ© Ă essayer cette voie, as-tu dĂ» tâentraĂźner spĂ©cifiquement pour y arriver ?
Peux- tu nous en dire plus, sur comment ça sâest passĂ© et ce que tu as dĂ» mettre en place pour y arriver ?
Je suis allĂ©e rĂ©guliĂšrement Ă Voralpsee ces derniĂšres annĂ©es car je nâhabite pas trĂšs loin. Jâai toujours su que sâil y avait un endroit oĂč je pouvais grimper fort, ce serait ici. Je pense quâil est juste de dire que le style me convient trĂšs bien et en plus je mây suis assez adaptĂ©e au fil des annĂ©es. âSpeed intĂ©graleâ mâa impressionnĂ©e dĂšs le dĂ©but, pour des raisons Ă©videntes : elle remonte la barre sur la partie la moins prisue du mur et quand je regardais des gens essayer, ça avait lâair incroyablement dur.
Il y a 3 ou 4 ans, jâavais dĂ©jĂ essayĂ© les mouvements de âSpeedâ ââââune journĂ©e et jâĂ©tais trĂšs surprise de pouvoir rĂ©aliser la plupart dâentre eux tout de suite, celĂ me semblait si loin de mon niveau Ă lâĂ©poque ! Depuis, câĂ©tait devenu un rĂȘve de gravir cette voie un jour, mais jâĂ©tais assez convaincue que jâĂ©tais encore loin de mon but ultime en escalade sportive.
Cette annĂ©e, câĂ©tait la premiĂšre fois que je voulais lâessayer sĂ©rieusement Ă nouveau. Je savais dâavance que je devais mây prĂ©parer cet hiver, je venais de commencer Ă bosser Ă la salle dâescalade et je me suis concoctĂ©e un plan dâentraĂźnement de fou avec lâespoir dâamener mon escalade Ă un nouveau niveau.
Mais je me suis blessĂ©e Ă un doigt et Ă lâĂ©paule avant mĂȘme de pouvoir vraiment commencer mon entraĂźnement⊠Tous mes projets se sont Ă©vaporĂ©s⊠JâĂ©tais convaincue que maintenant la chose que jâattendais tant, projeter âSpeedâ, Ă©tait devenu totalement irrĂ©aliste.
Au cours de lâhiver, jâai donc changĂ© dâorientation et je suis devenue trĂšs motivĂ©e pour la glace et le mixte. Quand la saison sâest clĂŽturĂ©e mon doigt allait mieux mais câĂ©tait pas encore parfait ; je pouvais quand mĂȘme en faire plus et jâai Ă©tĂ© motivĂ©e par âPrinzip Hoffnungâ, qui sâest avĂ©rĂ© non-traumatisant pour mes doigts et mon Ă©paule : le projet parfait, nâexigeant pas un physique fou, mais Ă©tant assez exigeant en termes de mouvement, dâengagement au-dessus du point et de technique de coinceurs.
Quand jâai recommencĂ© Ă essayer âSpeed intĂ©graleâ fin avril/dĂ©but mai, mes deux Ă©paules Ă©taient enflammĂ©es car jâavais trop bourrinĂ© dans les dĂ©vers et mon doigt me causait encore des douleurs sur certaines prises, mais je je me sentais incroyablement bien dans mon escalade grĂące Ă deux mois presque exclusivement en falaise. Ă ma grande surprise, au fil des sĂ©ances de travail, mes douleurs aux Ă©paules se sont estompĂ©es, tandis quâavec le doigt je devais encore faire attention : pas surprenant, la voie assez sollicitante pour les phalanges nâest pas propice Ă la cicatrisation du doigt, et finalement, mon majeur, dâun autre cĂŽtĂ©, a commencĂ© Ă me faire mal aussi⊠Mais en voyant un kinĂ© (merci Ă Kathrin Dettling pour son incroyable soutien et Ă Klaus Isele pour avoir dĂ©veloppĂ© le traitement qui vraiment aidĂ© mes doigts !) jâai pu continuer de gĂ©rer et empĂȘcher lâinflammation de se propager et devenir trop handicapante. Pourtant, câĂ©tait une inquiĂ©tude majeure car je devenais plus solide dans la voie et je me posais sans cesse la question de peut-ĂȘtre arrĂȘter si mes douleurs dans les doigts sâaggravaient encore.
Ă mon grand Ă©tonnement, je continuais de progresser lors du travail de la voie. Je faisais des progrĂšs lents mais rĂ©guliers de semaine en semaine. Je suis passĂ©e du travail dĂ©gaine par dĂ©gaine en me battant Ă des enchaĂźnements de sections jusquâen haut. Finalement, la section bloc avant la 3Ăšme dĂ©gaine est devenue moins faible en pourcentage de rĂ©ussite et aprĂšs quelques sĂ©ances supplĂ©mentaires, je me suis retrouvĂ©e soudainement au dernier crux de la premiĂšre partie et je suis tombĂ©e.
Les tempĂ©ratures devenaient vraiment trĂšs chaudes et je commençais Ă me demander si je nâavais pas ratĂ© le coche. Puis le lendemain jây suis allĂ©e, comme ça, sans zipper des pieds ou tĂątonner, jâai de nouveau passĂ© la partie dure du bas, jâai fait le le mouvement oĂč jâĂ©tais tombĂ©e la veille dâune maniĂšre assez solide, et, aprĂšs avoir recakĂ© et mâĂȘtre refaite comme jamais, jâai rĂ©ussi Ă rester compacte dans lâextension et je me suis retrouvĂ©e au relais.
CâĂ©tait vraiment spĂ©cial, et il mâa fallu du temps pour comprendre que tout sâĂ©tait bien passĂ© !
Les blessures lancinantes mâont empĂȘchĂ© de faire un entraĂźnement spĂ©cifique pour la voie tel que je lâavais envisagĂ© et mâont forcĂ©e Ă me reposer beaucoup plus que je ne lâaurais fait autrement. Mais dâun autre cĂŽtĂ©, cela pouvait correspondre exactement Ă ce dont jâavais besoin pour devenir plus forte : davantage de repos. Et puisque faire du gainage Ă©tait fondamentalement le seul entraĂźnement que je pouvais faire rĂ©guliĂšrement, jâen ai fait beaucoup et je suis absolument sĂ»re que cela mâa fait beaucoup progresser. MĂȘme si lâentraĂźnement nâĂ©tait pas ce que jâavais prĂ©vu, ce nâest pas comme si jâavais fait âSpeed intĂ©graleâ ââdepuis mon canapĂ©, bien sĂ»r. Jâai beaucoup grimpĂ© en falaise ces derniers mois car je ne travaillais pas Ă plein temps. De plus, je pense que cela a aidĂ© principalement Ă me libĂ©rer mentalement pour penser escalade et diminuer beaucoup dâautres stress. Jâai passĂ© aussi pas mal de temps Ă faire de la visualisation quand je ne grimpais, il sâagissait de surmonter mes apprĂ©hensinos face Ă cette voie qui mâintimidait et aussi attĂ©nuer certaines limites autour de mes capacitĂ©s.
â Tu es la deuxiĂšme femme a faire cette voie, pas piquĂ©e des hannetons, accordes-tu de lâimportance au premiĂšres fĂ©minines ou, penses tu que câest dĂ©passĂ© ?
Mhm, je ne suis pas sĂ»re dâavoir une opinion tranchĂ©e lĂ -dessus (ce qui est plutĂŽt rare pour moi). Je pense que dans de nombreux cas, cela reflĂšte encore les progrĂšs rĂ©alisĂ©s par lâescalade fĂ©minine. Dans ce cas, relater les premiĂšres fĂ©minines a du sens Ă mon avis, du moins tant quâil y a une diffĂ©rence gĂ©nĂ©rale de cotation entre les filles et les garçons en escalade.
Il y a beaucoup de premiĂšres fĂ©minines qui mâinspirent, donc je suppose que tu peux dire que je les estime, mĂȘme si cela nâest Ă©videmment pas la mĂȘme chose quâune premiĂšre ascension. Mais en tout cas, cela ne sâapplique pas vraiment aux secondes.
â Je sais que tu aimes voyager. OĂč aimerais-tu aller prochainement pour pouvoir grimper et comment y intĂ©grerais-tu la question climatique ?
Je ne dirais pas que jâaime particuliĂšrement voyager. Jâaime ce qui va avec, dormir dans la voiture/tente, ĂȘtre dehors toute la journĂ©e, pouvoir grimper tous les jours. Mais je nâai pas besoin de voyager dans des endroits lointains pour cela, cette notion de voyage me suffit. Ces derniĂšres annĂ©es, jâai sĂ©journĂ© principalement dans les Alpes, car câest prĂšs et il y a encore tellement dâendroits oĂč je veux aller (retourner). Mais la prochaine grande chose Ă venir lâannĂ©e prochaine est lâexpĂ©dition que nous prĂ©voyons avec le Groupe de jeunes alpinistes. On sâest longtemps demandĂ©s oĂč aller, surtout Ă cause de lâimpact de lâavion. En fin de compte, il semble que nous nous soyons mis dâaccord sur le Groenland, car mĂȘme si vous voyagez un bon moment, les Ă©missions sont la moitiĂ© de celles pour aller au Pakistan. Et vous avez la possibilitĂ© de faire potentiellement un grande partie du voyage sans voler, alors on verraâŠ
â Quâest-ce qui, pour toi, fait que tu as passĂ© une bonne journĂ©e en falaise/Ă lâextĂ©rieur ?
Une journĂ©e en falaise peut ĂȘtre agrĂ©able de bien des façons. Certains jours, câest parce que lâescalade donne une impression incroyable, vous avez fait des progrĂšs inattendus, le rocher est stellaire, lâendroit est spĂ©cial ou la vue est belle. Dâautres journĂ©es, vous avez fait beaucoup de blagues avec votre partenaire dâescalade ou avez eu une bonne conversation.
Parfois, il neige, le temps est maussade, câĂ©tait un peu tendu toute la journĂ©e, mais Ă la fin tu ressors avec un super feeling. AprĂšs, concrĂ©tiser aide toujours Ă passer une bonne journĂ©e !
â Tu es toujours super motivĂ©e et positive, dâoĂč vient cette motivation ?
Je ne pense pas que tout un chacun reste Ă©ternellement toujours motivĂ© et positif. Du moins personnellement je ne le suis certainement pas. je pense que nous voyons souvent les gens sous leur meilleur jour et on a tendance Ă oublier quâon passe parfois par des moments plus compliquĂ©s⊠Cet automne par exemple jâĂ©tais assez dĂ©primĂ©e et pas positive du tout quand je me suis blessĂ©e. Mais en gĂ©nĂ©ral, quand ça va bien, câest vrai que la motivation nâest pas un problĂšme. Jâavais comme habitude de me rĂ©server une pĂ©riode avec moins de grimpe Ă la fin de chacune de mes annĂ©es dâĂ©tudes et je pense que ce temps libre mâa beaucoup aidĂ© Ă comprendre la valeur que lâescalade avait pour moi. Depuis, quand je nâai pas Ă©tĂ© blessĂ©e, tout ce que je voulais faire, câĂ©tait grimper. De plus, je pense que cela maintient vraiment mon enthousiasme pour lâescalade, afin de pouvoir jongler avec dâautres disciplines comme la glace/lâalpin tout au long de lâannĂ©e. Lorsque je ne fais que de lâescalade sportive que pendant une longue pĂ©riode, mes attentes augmentent gĂ©nĂ©ralement et le risque de frustration et donc de faible motivation est plus Ă©levĂ©.

â Tu nâes pas sur les rĂ©seaux sociaux et ça nâa pas lâair de te poser beaucoup de soucis.
Quelle influence cela a pour toi et comment cela tâinfluence ou pas ?
En fait, jâai quand mĂȘme Facebook et Twitter si cela compte toujours comme un rĂ©seau social !
Instagram, jâai arrĂȘtĂ© de consommer et de publier il y a un moment quand jâai remarquĂ© que ça me faisait me comparer Ă dâautres et me rendait anxieuse de rater un truc.
Jâai trouvĂ© que beaucoup de gens que je respecte sont trĂšs discrets sur ce quâils font, ils ne sont pas sur les rĂ©seaux sociaux et semblent faire les choses principalement pour eux-mĂȘmes. Câest pourquoi jâai commencĂ© Ă me demander pourquoi je publiais un certain contenu, et mĂȘme sâil y avait aussi dâautres raisons, il mâa semblĂ© que câĂ©tait de lâauto-promotion et que cela nâavait pas grand intĂ©rĂȘt. Mais câest bien sĂ»r quelque chose de trĂšs personnel et qui peut ĂȘtre diffĂ©rent pour dâautres personnes.
â Qui te motive . As-tu des exemples chez les grimpeurs/grimpeuses qui tâinspirent ou te poussent Ă faire des voies dures ou ce nâest quâune question de ligne qui tâinspire ?
Câest un peu clichĂ©, mais je dirais mes partenaires de grimpe. Ils grimpent fort et ont toujours un tempĂ©rament agrĂ©able, une attitude dĂ©contractĂ©e en falaise. Aussi, jâai grimpĂ© plus avec des gens plus forts que moi toute lâannĂ©e derniĂšre et cela a probablement amĂ©liorĂ© mon Ă©tat dâesprit quand jâessaie des voies dures, car cela redistribue ta perception des standards de ce qui est vraiment dur. Du coup, des voies que je pensais trop dures pour moi dans ma tĂȘte depuis des annĂ©es mâinspirent aujourdâhui.
Photo de couverture : DAV â Silvan Metz

Very discreet but nevertheless fearsome German Luisa Deubze aka âLulu'â has just done her first 9a, 2nd women 4 years after Barbara Zangerl, to climb âSpeed intĂ©graleâ in Voralpsee, Switzerland. Itâs the second ascent this year of the route after talented French-South African Mel Janse Van Rensburg (20 years old). âSpeed intĂ©graleâ is also an iconic but also aesthetic route as an entry into the ninth degree. Since the beginning of the year Lulu sent the trad route âPrinzip Hoffnungâ 10/10+ (8b+) in March, and then two 8câs in the area climbed ârather fast for her standardsâ she said. We can only believe that they were a sign of maturity to achieve a route of this standard. More details in this interview and the video of the upper part of the route during the send.
â You are very discreet, can you tell us more about who you are, what you do in life?
Iâm 28, Iâve been climbing for almost 20 years, doing comps in my youth, and my passion for
climbing is, to my own surprise, still growing every year. In the last year I have made climbing more of a priority, working part time in a climbing gym as instructor and setter in order to have more time. Recently now, I additionally started to work for a foundation that promotes sustainability and safety in the mountains.
â I know that you are very invested in the environment, how does that translate into your everyday life and your climbing life?
Good question⊠First and foremost, it translates in the form of a lot of mindfucks about everyday life
decisions. Overall, I am trying to lessen my impact, yet there is a lot of room to do more, and my
efforts always ebb and flow.
The two things that have reflected my values the most consistently over time are being vegan for 7
years now and not taking the plane in the last 6 years.
These feel like they donât demand a lot off me while they have a big impact on my personal footprint.
I think it is important to start where it feels the easiest for you personally and from there expand
your efforts. It is easy to let oneself be discouraged if you canât do it perfectly and end up not do
anything.
I still can improve a lot when it comes to getting to the crag at home. I do try to think of whether I
need the car or whether it is easily feasible by train (when I projected âPrinzip Hoffnungâ for example,
it was easy to take the train, and as a I was going there alone most of the time it often was a no
brainer). But now especially at the later phase of my projecting in Speed, I went a lot by car,
sometimes even alone, to be there early in the morning which is by any standards quite a drive for a
day trip.
In any case, I think it is always a tricky balance between motivating people to change the habits in
their life and to focus too much on individual actions only. To actually achieve a transition, we need
systemic changes on a political level. Individual actions are important to show commitment and to
forge new narratives, but we canât solve this crisis only by changing our individual consumer
behaviour. Nevertheless, this does not let us off the hook in terms of individual responsibility, we
need change on both levels.

â Do you only do sportclimbing or are you also interested in other aspects of our activity?
I like getting my ass kicked and expanding my comfort zone, thatâs why I really enjoy that climbing in
the wider sense is so varied. I have broadened my skills in the other forms of climbing quite a bit over
the last years as a member of the current all-female âYoung Alpinist Groupâ of the German Alpine
Club (although I still suck at these various forms of Alpinism). Depending on the season, weather and
motivation, I have periods where I ice and mixed climb more, do multipitches or a mountain here and
there. At the end of the day, however, my strengths do lie in sport climbing.
The day after sending Speed I went on a moderate multipitch, for the first time that season on granit,
and I literally had to aid up the entire last 5 meters of the the initial 6c+ pitch, because I was
completely spent and couldnât do a single move anymore. I love days like this, they make it easy to
stay humble and keep the fire because they are challenging and fun in a very different way than sport
climbing.
â What led you to try this route, did you have to train specifically to achieve it?
Can you tell us more about how it happened and what you had to put in place to achieve it?
I have been to Voralp regularly over the last years because I live not too far away. I always knew that
if there was one place I can climb hard, it is here. I think it is fair to say that the style fits me very well
for some reason and in addition I have gotten quite adapted to it over the years.
Speed impressed me right from the beginning, for obvious reasons: it follows the white streak
through the blankest section of the wall and when I saw people on it, it looked incredibly hard.
3 or 4 years ago I had already tried the moves on Speed once and was very surprised that I could do
most of them right away since that was so far off my level back then. Since then, it had basically been
a lifetime dream of mine to climb this route someday, but I was pretty convinced this was far away,
my ultimate goal in sport climbing.
This year then was the first time I actually tried it again. I knew beforehand that that was the thing I
wanted to prepare myself for this winter, I had just started at the climbing gym and had big plans for
a crazy training regimen with the hopes of getting my climbing to a new level.
But I injured a finger and my shoulder even before I could really start with my plan. All my plans
evaporated. I was convinced that now the thing I had been looking forward so much, projecting
speed, had become totally unrealistic.
Over the winter I shifted focus therefore, and got very motivated for ice and mixed. When the season
was over my finger was still far from perfect, but I could do more again and got sucked into Prinzip
Hoffnung, which turned out to be very good for my fingers and shoulder and was the perfect project,
not demanding a crazy physique, but being quite demanding in terms of movement, the required
head space and gear beta.
When I started trying Speed end of April/beginning of May now both of my shoulders were inflamed
from too much steep climbing and my finger was still causing me trouble on some holds, but my
climbing felt amazing thanks to two months of almost exclusively climbing on rock.
To my surprise throughout the projecting process the shoulders became better, while with the finger
it remained a balance act: less surprising, the route was not conductive to healing the finger, and
eventually my middle finger on the other hand started hurting as well, but by seeing a Physio (Shout-
out to Kathrin Dettling for her amazing support and Klaus Isele for developing the treatment that really helped my fingers!) I was able to keep it manageable and prevent the inflammation from
spiraling out of control. Still, it was a major worry as I was getting more solid and solid on the route
that I might have to stop if my fingers got even worse.
To my amazement the projecting itself progressed quite well. I was making slow but steady progress
from week to week. From being maxed out climbing from draw to draw, soon I was making good
links to the top. Eventually the boulder section before the third draw became less low percentage
and after a few more sessions I found myself suddenly at the last crux of the first pitch and fell.
Temperatures were now actually getting really hot and I was starting to wonder whether I had
missed my shot. Then the next day I went, just like this, without further slipping of the feet or
fumbling I got through the hard bottom part again, did the move I had previously fallen on quite
solidly and, after shaking forever, managed to keep it together in the extension and found myself at
the anchor.
That was really special, and it took a while to understand that everything had actually worked out.
The nagging injuries prevented me from doing specific training for the route as I had envisioned it
and forced me to rest a lot more than I otherwise would have. But on the flip side that might have
been exactly what I needed to get stronger: more rest. And since doing core was basically the only
workout I could do regularly, I did a lot of it and I am absolutely sure this made me progress heaps.
Even though the training wasnât what I had planned, itâs not like I did Speed off the couch, of course.
I did climb a lot on rock in the last months since I didnât work full time. Furthermore, I think it helped
majorly that this freed me a lot of mental space to think about climbing and removed a lot of other
stress. I also spent quite a bit of time with visualization and mediation when I wasnât climbing,
because so much was about overcoming the giant respect I had for this route and some limiting
beliefs around my capabilities.

â You are the second woman to do this route, do you value female firsts or do you think itâs outdated?Mhm, Iâm not sure I have a strong opinion on this (which is rather rare for me ). I do think that in
many cases it still reflects the progress female climbing is making. In this case they have their place in
my opinion, at least as long as there is a general difference in grade between the female and male
climbing population.
There are a lot of female firsts that inspire me, so I guess you could say I value them, even though it
is obviously not the same as an FA. But in any case, this doesnât really apply to female seconds .
â I know you like to travel. Where would you like to go in the near future to be able to climb and how do you integrate it the climate issue?
I wouldnât say I like traveling particularly. I like what comes with it, the sleeping in the car/tent, being
outside the whole day, being able to climb every day. But I donât need to travel to far away places for this, a notion traveling still has to me. The last years I have stayed mainly in the Alps, because it is
close and has still so many places I want to go (back) to.
But the next bigger thing that is coming up next year is the expedition we are planning with the
Young Alpinist Group. We pondered a long time where to go, especially because of the impact flying
has. In the end it looks like we agreed on Greenland, because even if you fly all the way, the
emissions are still half in comparison to Pakistan. And you do have the option to potentially do a
large part without flying, so letâs seeâŠ
â What, for you, makes a good day on a cliff/outside?
There are many ways in which a day at the crag can be good. Some days it is because climbing feels
amazing, you made unexpected progress, the rock is stellar, the place is special, or the view is good.
On other days you made a lot of jokes with your climbing partner or had a good conversation.
Sometimes, it is snowing, miserable weather, it was a bit tense the whole day, but at the end you
have a good feeling. Sending surely always helps.

â You are always super motivated and positive, where does this motivation come from?
I donât think anyone is always motivated and positive. At least I am certainly not. I think we just
often see people at their best and forget that that everybody struggles sometimes⊠This autumn for
example I was pretty down and not positive at all when I got injured.
But in general, when things are good, it is true that motivation is not an issue. I used to have a period
where I climbed a lot less after finishing school and I think this time off helped a lot to see the value
climbing had for me. Since then, when I wasnât injured, all I wanted to do was climb.
Also, I think it really keeps my excitement for climbing alive to be able to shift the focus to different
disciplines like ice/alpine/sport throughout the year. When I only sport climb for a longer period my
expectations usually grow, and the danger of frustration and hence low motivation is higher.
â You are not on social networks and it doesnât seem to be a big deal to you. What influence does it have on you and how does it influence you or it doesnât?
Actually, I do have Facebook and Twitter if that still counts as social media
Instagram, I stopped consuming and posting a while ago when I noticed it made me compare myself
a lot and caused constant FOMO.
I found that many of the people I respect are very low-key about what they do, they are not on social
media and seem to do things primarily for themselves. Thatâs why I started questioning why I was
actually posting what I was posting and even though there were other reasons as well, for me it came
down to self-presentation and didnât add any value. But that is of course something very personal and can be different for other people.
â Who motivates you, or do you have examples from other climbers that inspire you or push you to do hard routes or is it just a matter of the line that inspires you?
Itâs a bit clichĂ©, but I would say my rope partners. They try hard on the wall and still have a pleasant,
chilled attitude at the crag. Also, I have climbed more with people that are stronger than me in the
last year and that probably helped my attitude towards hard climbs, because it shifts your standard
of what is hard. In general, routes that years ago I had in my head as too hard inspire me.
Cover pic: DAV â Silvan Metz
Lâarticle Luisa Deubzer rĂ©alise Speed intĂ©grale 9a â Luisa Deubzer climbs Speed intĂ©grale 9a (+ interview & video) est apparu en premier sur Fanatic Climbing.