strength
ATHLETES Janja Garnbret Domen Škofic
CREDITS Writer: Matt Majendie Videographer: Kunstkollektiv
tallest chimney
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THE CLIMB OF THEIR LIVES
The chimney at Trbovlje Power Station soars 360m into the sky above Slovenia. Often piercing the low level cloud, it stands as the highest chimney in Europe and for Domen Škofic and Janja Garnbret, it’s been the ultimate homeland climbing goal. The idea to climb it was born in 2015 and five years on the dream becomes a reality. On October 9, 2020 with barely half the chimney visible due to fog, they begin to scale it for the first time. Four days later on October 13, fully rested and with the route fresh in their minds, they’ll return and enjoy a successful free climb, sending every pitch on the route.
Domen Škofic
Climber Portraits
Janja Garnbret
Domen’s best friend at primary school encouraged him to try climbing for the first time at the age of six. He was already a strong athlete, relishing skiing in particular, but, inspired by the feats of the American Chris Sharma, he scrapped it all to focus on his new passion. A climbing prodigy, Domen ascended his first 9a route aged 15, one of the youngest climbers to achieve that feat, and won the Lead Climbing overall World Cup title in 2016.
At the age of 21, Janja is the leading climber in her field. A world-beater since 2016, she’s the current world champion and World Cup winner in the combined class. Climbing had been due to make its Olympic debut in 2020, with Janja favourite for gold medal in the combined event. Despite the year’s delay, she’ll still be the climber to beat in Tokyo.
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Janja and Domen are two of the best climbers in the world – but neither has ever tackled anything of this magnitude. As they stand with their gear at the bottom of the chimney, above them lies a climbing route made of 13 pitches, all consisting of various types of hold marked in different colours, and each one bringing a new challenge. Little do they know that their limits will be pushed like never before.
The start:
The long route
At 360m, this is the longest artificial climbing route in the world. Janja and Domen are used to climbing on artificial walls, where they focus on single pitches up to 20 or 30m high. These two elite climbers had to start from scratch to learn to use the rope differently.
THE START
AT 0M
Domen
Grip
Energy
Fear
100%
Janja
15%
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Just two pitches in, Janja is already struggling. New to multi-pitch climbing, she needs to come to terms with the concept of the jumps. She falls four times in just one pitch, but it’s exactly as route-setters Simon Margon and Katja Vidmar have planned, putting challenging jumps in early on the course to get the pair accustomed to them. It brings with it the inevitable fear of falling with only a rope to break that fall. For Janja, it’s as much a mental as a physical battle. On the first attempt, they decide that if they fall, they won’t repeat the pitch, but carry on up the chimney. Their minds are already preparing for what lies ahead later in the week.
Quote
“I didn’t know what would happen if I fell. You’re jumping on a chimney and you don’t know what to expect. But actually the fall is comfortable. It’s good to fall.” - Janja
PITCH: RED FLIN-STONES
AT 35M
80%
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As is always the case in multi-pitch climbing, Janja and Domen are responsible for their own safety on the route, belaying each other as they move up. There is no one else to do that for them – they need absolute confidence in their ability to secure each other before they start.
Safety first
50%
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The second-hardest pitch of the entire climb, named Blue Lenses, is graded 8b. Janja defies its difficult nature to cruise through it at her very first attempt. For her, relaxation is the key, paving the way for her to trust her instinct and intuition. For Domen, it turns out to be the first stumbling block. His foot slips and, already exhausted, he realises how far there is to climb – the fog has cleared and the summit is a distant point. As Janja watches her partner struggle, she looks up and the sheer scale of the task still to come dawns on her. She’s tired, her feet hurt, her fingertips are crumbling and the muscles in her body are cramping up – but they carry on.
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“I knew I was really tired, I looked up and realised I’d already failed one and we weren’t even in the middle of the chimney, so there was a long way to go.” - Domen
PITCH: BLUE LENSES
AT 122M
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Holes and holds
The route setting team had to drill 4,000 to 5,000 holes to fix approximately two tonnes of holds on the chimney, creating around 50 new shapes just for this project and cleaning some of the chimney material as they went.
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For another 130m up, the energy-sapping pitches pass without any major setbacks – that is, until they reach the pink pitch. For Domen, it proves to be a favourite, notably its first jump. “I thought, ‘Oh shit this is not going to work,’ but I got it first time,” he says. Janja, meanwhile, is feeling both the weight of the climb and the heavy backpack she’s carrying with their gear. As they both look at their watches with 129m still to go and the toughest section yet to conquer, there’s the reality that the top might not be reachable before the light fades.
Leap of faith
“The pink pitch really was the hardest for me. I was climbing with all the weight and it was the pitch where I was really close to falling. The last move was a jump and I came up tired with the gear. It was hard for me to jump… I barely did it.” - Janja
PITCH: PINK DISHES
AT 231M
40%
The jump in the opening half of this pink pitch requires a leap into the unknown, with both climbers having to produce a dynamic move to maintain their hold on the chimney.
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“I knew the crimps of the section were her style, but I was still really impressed. There were no jumps, just really small holds and static movements. It was the second pitch I fell as I struggled for grip. But even when I sometimes feel a little frustrated, it’s still a challenge.” - Domen
From the very start, Domen and Janja have known that the black turtles are lying in wait. On paper, it’s the toughest pitch of the climb, graded 8b+, but it’s also the last major hurdle of their ascent. As exhaustion sets in, Domen falls for the second time. Meanwhile, Janja masters it. The small holds suit her style and her smaller hands. It also completes a nice quirk of the climb that any pitch Domen fails, Janja completes and vice versa. Its completion brings a celebration almost as big as the summit, with Janja knowing even as the light fails on day one, “we’d top the whole thing”. This is the best possible preparation for the second attempt four days later, which was dramatic in itself.
PITCH: BLACK TURTLES
AT 300M
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Body and mind
In climbing, and in particular on a crimpy pitch like this, with very small holds, it’s all about navigating between physical effort and mental focus, using a mix of strength, power, climbing technic and tactical patience.
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Exhausted, relieved, elated and dehydrated, they finally reach the top after more than 11 hours on the chimney. Janja had earlier predicted six hours of climbing, instead she makes her final moves in darkness after nearly double that time. At the top, they celebrate the occasion for 20 minutes, the pair “overflowing with emotions” as Janja describes it. There was also, as Domen puts it, the realisation that “oh shit, we have to go down!” Four days later, the duo would be back on top of the world once again, having successfully free climbed the entire route, almost four hours faster. The climb is done, their challenge complete. As for what’s next, Janja jokes, “maybe the biggest chimney in the world!”
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“At the top, it was all the emotions, for sure. When we came up there we were tired, relieved, but super-happy that pulled it off. Halfway up we felt really tired, that’s going to be a huge challenge to make it through. We made it and just in time.” - Domen
Despite being shattered immediately afterwards, they return four days later to the foot of the chimney to tackle it once more. Carrying less heavy equipment this time, they both complete every pitch without falling, reaching the top in 7h32min.
The second summit
The Summit
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