Opening Zaghouan's biggest alpine route: The Green Mile

It has been a while ago (June 2014), but nevertheless quite a milestone in my personal climbing "career" as well as a milestone in the development of climbing in the limestone crags of Zaghouan. The opening of a new alpine route called "The Green Mile". Together with Michael Pfau it needed several sessions of exploring, putting in bolts at crux positions and some clearing. We have had help with developing the route from Mourad Attia, the head of the local climbing club Escalade Attitude. 5 pitches takes you from the bottom of the massif (503m) to the top (680m) of the plateau on the northwest side of the massif. The route name The Green Mile has been chosen for it's many trees and shrub along the route, the length and keeping in line with naming all the big new routes after movie titles.

Taking on the start of the route

Despite the green character of the route, we have managed to find a pretty clean line on solid limestone, with an occasional fight with some shrub (especially at the start of the second pitch). While developing the route (first from bottom up and the last two pitches from top down), we mistook a connection with between the third and fourth pitch. Two ledges, some 80 metres from one another looked so alike that we accidentally bolted a line that did not connect. That's why a via ferrata between the two fourth pitches is planned.

Minna Dederer topping out the 4th pitch on the inauguration of the route

Although crux sections (usually F5B and harder) and sections with no possibilities for trad placements are bolted it's vital that anyone trying this routes should have a full rack of traditional climbing equipment and the experience to use it. For more information about the route you can drop me an email: jan@37north.info.

Michael preparing the abseil down from the top of The Green Mile

New route: Gone with the wind

It is just incredible how a small mountain area harbours so much rock climbing potential. The area is roughly 10 by 5 kilometres, but has many, many yet unclimbed walls and buttresses. Only one canyon in this limestone range has been developed with sports routes. And even here it's only a fraction of the possibilities.

We baptised the buttress on the right Gone with the wind (it was a very windy day!)

While looking for routes on the wall Kaf al Blida (western part), me and my climbing mate Michael Pfau recognised a great line on a yet unclimbed buttress that leads to the top of the wall we were initially after. As this was my very first time climbing and leading a trad route and this was a virgin route I skipped the initial 4 metres (the first possible placement was a bit too high for comfort...). After that Micha and I zipped up a lot faster with no major difficulties. Stoked to have opened my first route! See below for the photo of the route in detail plus gradings and guide for placements.