UKC

Presumably taking inspiration from legendary climber Fred Dibnah, top competition climbers Janja Garnbret and Domen Škofic take on an unlikely challenge in this video; climbing the tallest artificial multi-pitch route in the world on Europe's highest chimney at Slovenia's Trbovlje Power Station.

Could definitely have been climbed on gear.

Could have saved a lot of money and effort and just climbed an actual multi-pitch route.

I'm sure there is plenty knocking about in Slovenia.

The lengths Red Bull will go to ey..

Obviously artifical and commercial, but a nice film and good to see the satisfaction they seem to have got from pushing themselves into something more intimidating and challenging than many competition climbers do.

This is pretty much exactly what I thought of this. It is a credit to the makers that they didn't go overboard with the "worlds hardest" and "world's first" and "Constant danger" and so on like many other films are wont to. It's also nice that the climbers don't seem to be hamming it up, they look genuinely terrified on the first try (as I'm darn sure I would if my first multi-pitch was 350m high and completely exposed on every side!).

It was quite funny to see such incredibly strong and talented climbers learning multi-pitch rope management like beginners, such a strange juxtaposition (pretty sure Janja actually gets shortroped for first dyno, it does look rather like it).

Heehee, could be the future as so many people who've come into climbing on plastic want to have a go outside. All those cooling towers available as power stations get switched off!

Very impressive looking route but not really sure how it came about. I mean it took 2 months of route setting and after just one ascent they took it all down. And they had to put two tons of holds up there. The whole idea seems totally crazy and how much did it cost? Were the setters paid for their work? If so who paid them and why? Who paid for the holds? Why wasn't the route left up for longer? There are many other capable climbers, even in Slovenia, so you think they might leave it up for at least 6 months or so just to make all the work worthwhile.

So lots of unanswered questions about this impressive but rather odd project.

I just feel so disappointed they've decided to do this artificially, I love seeing pros promote their local area or even just good climbing areas. Makes people actually want to visit, instead.... just another red bull advert.... great.... 
 

I'm not sure that your 'even' is entirely appropriate here! Doesn't Slovenia have a higher percentage of climbers relative to its population size - including many very good ones - than just about anywhere else? I vaguely recall a statistic, which I'm trying to track down, that something ridiculous like one in four Slovenes is some sort of mountain-goer, climber, alpinist, whatever. I suspect that it's the very 'mainstream' status of climbing in that country that allowed this exercise to take place on such a structure; I'm a bit pessimistic about such a thing happening here. Although I suppose there was that comp, or whatever, on the side of that block in Manchester a few years ago - which I have to admit to being quite surprised about.

'But there is the art, and there is the manner. We understand that companies want publicity. It makes sense that a climbing holds company would lick its lips at the prospect of setting a little gem on a 360m high chimney. That’s hard to turn down, agreed. That being said, what are we talking about exactly: two tons of holds, two years of preparation, two months of active work (cherry-pickers, drills and so on) to ultimately provide 19 hours of climbing for two climbers and two climbers only. Yes, Janja and Domen are amazing royalties of competition climbing, but all this for just two climbers and two days of climbing?'

https://fanatic-climbing.com/360-ascent-la-publicite-red-bull-qui-nous-dera...

I think the author of that article has got it bob-on. 

think so too.

Too harsh on Redbull for this particular spectacle. I enjoyed it. Sure they could have spent their money sorting rusty bolts in Slovenia or any number of even more worthy causes.

Until you've sold all your possessions to raise funds for charitably causes you're on pretty shaky ground telling other people what they should spend their money on.

Cobblers!

Red Bull made a calculated decision to do something in the public domain in the hope they would sell more caffeinated piss in a can. They didn't just go quietly about their own business for their own enjoyment. It was a commercial decision that would fail or thrive entirely on the percentage of views that were translated into sales.

It's entirely right that people should be able to say how such decisions have impacted them, including negative responses. At the very least their marketing and PR department will want to know.

Why, you think Red Bull sold all their possessions for the video?

If you've read the article you know Fanatic enjoyed the video too, once all else is forgotten. 

I thought it was hilarious that no one told them that it is much quicker and easier to haul the bag than forcing the second to climb with a rucksack.

Well I expect it was quicker with the second carrying the sack but it might have made sense to haul on some of the harder pitches. The scene with Janja failing on a big dyno with the sack on seemed rather mental...

Crazy, pointless,  wasted effort.   Climbing in a nutshell.

I don’t see any difference to the Danny MacAskill videos.  Sponsored athlete takes part in sponsor driven activity to bring global awareness to product.  She isn’t stood there shaking a can of RedBull telling the viewers to drink.  She is giving a glimpse of climbing, possibly to many who don’t climb whilst keeping her sponsors happy.  Have a look at the list of sports and sponsorship RedBull are involved in and this is just a drop in the ocean to them.

In these negative times I say bravo.  It was fun to watch, what else matters

Appreciate the vision and the effort put in by everyone, and enjoyed the film. Shame it had to be taken down.

Ah ah yep, so true! Oscar Wilde would be proud.

I don't.

"Red Bull could have taken the opportunity of this project, for instance, to try and draw more people into an area of climbing that is often kept under the radar: multi-pitch climbing, and to offer pedagogical content to young audiences in order to help grow a ‘multi-pitch culture’. "

Seems like bullshit, both in fact and in aspiration.

Slovenia is climbing mad. Any mountain sport is hugely popular over there.

Bizarre comments - it's commercial advertising, Red Bull can afford to pay for it and obviously think it's worth their investment. It's an artificial route on (presumably) private property so they're not taking advantage of nature, public space etc..  As a result the climbers, route setters, rope access teams, hold manufacturers etc. get to make some money and there is free film issued that you can watch (or not).  As to leaving it up I suspect the liability risks would make this not an option and no one is interested in watching multiple teams trying it so sensible judgement call. 

Emley Moor tower is 330 metres tall and concrete. Anyone want a go? 

No chance the owners would agree. I very much doubt professional structural engineeers would give such a project their blessing. One would have to rely on the redundancy in the structure - which is likely to be quite sufficient. Anyway the previous Emley Moor Tower fell down in 1969 (due to icing?). 

Anyone else having issues with the video not loading, well existing? I've got a black rectangle that looks like my tv, which also isn't working!

I watched it on my firestick last night via the red Bull channel without issues.

Good video and nice to see that they are mere mortals who get scared.

Shame it's so hard as I'd love to have a go.

Sometimes structural engineers are suprisingly casual, I made some anchors for an installation inside a power station cooling tower and the engineer just asked "why not?"

If anyone else law has had trouble with the UKC link to the video, here's another.

youtube.com/watch?v=bpDymGNQy_I&