Whether on the roof of a waste treatment center or on Europe's tallest chimney, here are artificial climbing walls that rival each other in originality.
While the Climbing World Cup starts this weekend in Moscow with a bouldering and speed event, the Mawen brothers will defend the French colors on the circuit this season. The Private Sport Shop ambassadors will have a busy schedule until the last stage of the year, scheduled in China at the end of September. While waiting to find them on the most difficult climbs, we propose you below a small tour of the most improbable climbing walls of the planet.
360 metres up Europe's highest chimney
Last year, Red Bull unveiled a film (see below) of Janja Garnbret and Domen Skofic's climb up the chimney of the Trbovlje power plant in Slovenia. Not only did the two climbers reach the top, but they also installed the holds necessary to complete this artificial route, which is now considered the longest in the world. In total, nearly two tons of holds on 13 pitches ranging from 7B to 8B+ were installed on this huge chimney. The height is 360 meters and Janja Garnbret and Domen Skofic took 12 hours to reach the top on their first attempt, then 7 hours and 32 minutes on a second successful attempt without falling once.
Climbing session on a waste treatment center
Copenhagenill is an original structure located in Denmark. In the heart of the Danish capital, this waste treatment center also has the particularity of having an urban ski station on its roof as well as a climbing wall 85 meters high on its sides. Under the spatulas and climbers, no less than 440,000 tons of waste are sorted each year. In addition to climbing, it is also possible to ski on a 500-meter long synthetic slope offering three levels of difficulty: a 180-meter black slope, a 150-meter green slope and a 55-meter blue slope.
Vertiginous climbing on a dam
Created in 1963, the Luzzone dam in Switzerland has found a second use that could well inspire others. Because it is on this huge concrete structure that a manufacturer of climbing holds had the idea several years ago to create a long route of 165 meters. However, you need to have a good technical level to reach the top on the only route on the dam. On the program, five pitches 5b, 5c, 6a, 6b, 6b.
Magic climbing on Excalibur
Bjoeks in the Netherlands is home to a strange piece of architecture rising into the sky. This giant French fry is in fact a 37-metre-high climbing tower with an 11-metre overhang. Called Excalibur, it offers routes for all levels, and some particularly difficult pitches with its top offset from its base. To withstand the strong winds that can blow across this part of the Netherlands, less than 20 km from the coast, the structure is suspended from foundations weighing over 500 tonnes.