Lara Neumeier has made the third female ascent of Beat Kammerlander's 6 pitch, 240 metre 8b+ route Silbergeier, in Rätikon Switzerland.

Offering technical face climbing on small edges and even smaller footholds, Silbergeier has become a testpiece of hard and sustained alpine climbing, with pitches of 8b, 7c+, 8a+, 7a+, 8b+, and 7c/8a. 

Since Kammerlander made the first ascent in 1993 - and returned to make the first in-a-day ascent in 1994 - the route has seen ascents from Adam Ondra (aged just fourteen!), Nalle Hukkataival, and Robbie Phillips, as well as Nina Caprez, and Babsi Zangerl, who made the route's first and second female ascents in 2011 and 2013 respectively.

Speaking earlier in the week, Neumeier said:

'I first tried Silbergeier in early May. Over 3.5 days, I slowly worked my way through the route; figuring out sequences, getting used to the technical & slabby style, and dealing with thin, painful skin. I managed to link the first four pitches but never sent the crux and barely looked at the final pitch'.

'Then came three weeks of bad & unstable weather. I used the time to rest, grow some skin, and get ready — mentally and physically — for a possible send'.

'When I finally went back, I thought: maybe. But the day before, everything pointed in the opposite direction. I had just gotten my period, received a painful car repair bill, and got a call from friends who'd just broken a key hold in the crux pitch. Then — just a few kilometres before the parking — my car broke down again. Honestly, I wasn't sure I'd even make it to the wall. But somehow, I did. The day started slow. I felt tired, not quite there. The first pitch felt hard — full-on pump — but I got through. And then, something shifted. I started moving with focus and precision. When I reached the crux pitch, I reworked the sequence — and even tough a crucial hold broke on the day before my beta still worked. I waited for shade. Took a deep breath. And sent'.

'One last pitch remained. Tricky and bouldery moves. I took some time to figure it out, gave it everything I had — and topped out!! Silbergeier — what a route. Sharp, technical, and absolutely beautiful. Some days remind you it's not about perfect conditions or perfect timing — it's about showing up anyway, and giving it everything you've got'.

With Silbergeier completed, Neumeier now sets her sights on climbing the other two-thirds of the Alpine Trilogy, End of Silence, 8b+, in Berchtedgaden, Germany, and Des Kaisers neue Kleider, 8b+, in Wilden Kaiser, Austria. Babsi Zangerl is the only woman to have climbed all three routes before.

You can watch a video of Nina Caprez and Cedric Lachat on Silbergeier below: