Climbing
Kilian Fischhuber and Jakob Kronberger go big with their Jumplines project
Climbing pro Kilian Fischhuber and rising star of the sport Jakob Kronberger set out some new routes in their native Austria that can only be done by incorporating a big jump.
Spend any length of time in any climbing gym around the world and you’ll notice a hardcore group of climbers or boulderers who are committed to the sheer magnificence and theatrical wow factor of the dyno.
The dyno, short for dynamic, is one of climbing’s most venerated move types. A dyno move typically consists of a short, sharp leap towards the next handholds, powered by the leg muscles and often helped by the arms. The climber seemingly defies gravity as they sail (or flail) upwards or sideways across the wall or boulder problem.
Jumplines crew selfie
© Kilian Fischhuber
With grunts, howls and screams, these jumping beasts dedicate hours to their chosen dynamic projects, calculating the same move over and over again, then recalculating for gravity, grip strength and accuracy.
For Kilian Fischhuber and Jakob Kronberger, these moves became an obsession, but with one key difference: they wanted to find and climb these moves outdoors, on natural rock, in their native Austria.
“I started thinking, what kind of project could I do in the region,” says Fischhuber. “I started gathering ideas and thought about hard routes when you are forced to jump, where you must get off the wall with all hands and feet. No workaround.”
These jumping moves are commonplace in indoor climbing halls. You either find them already in rotation, placed by ambitious route setters, or you make them yourself. But what Fischhuber and Kronberger wanted was natural jumping lines in outdoor settings.
Kilian Fischhuber in action
© The Network
“I started my research about routes in Austria with that jumping aspect,” says Fischhuber. "I was on the phone so much, asking around. I started looking for those routes and found out that there are some in Salzburg, and the rock is suitable because it’s a fairly closed rock, and if there is grip, it’s a good one.
“I had the connection to Jakob Kronberger, a big talent who did 9a as a 14-year-old. Amazing. I knew him from another Red Bull project. So, I asked him if he was keen on doing such a project on film.”
Kronberger answered with a yes, and the result is Jumplines.
“I managed to convince him,” says Fischhuber, “and told him that he already knew Hannes, our camera guy. And Jakob is a great jumper, tall. So, we said, let’s do that, let’s film it.”
Getting tooled up for another ascent
© Elias Holzknecht/Red Bull Content Pool
While the name of the project had yet to crystalise in their heads, they knew they wanted to focus on jumping, and it had to stay local, and suffice it to say they delivered the goods.
“Many people have done those routes. First ascents were a long time ago, before Jakob was born, old spots,” says Fischhuber. “But it’s something really cool. Everyone climbing that route thinks, ‘What a cool route. I want to do it.’ That was the idea.”
Watch the video now to witness a tour de force in real rock jumping prowess.