Verlorenes Land at Sächsische Schweiz, Elbsandstein, Germany

Watch 25-year-old Insa Vogel redpointing Verlorenes Land (Xa/RPXb or 5.12c/5.13a without resting on the bolts) at the ultra-traditional Elbsandstein sandstone tower mecca east of Dresden, Germany, where the bolts/rings, if any, are often very far apart. The technicalVerlorenes Land has 3 bolts and two slings in 80 feet of climbing. To help preserve the soft sandstone here the standard rack consists of knots that are wedged like nuts and slung through threads in the various cracks and formations. Elbsandstein is truly the "tradest" of traditional areas with the most strict climbing ethic of anywhere in the world. Aside from the sparse bolts no metal protection is allowed, there is no climbing on the walls, only the towers (which there are luckily over a thousand of), and chalk is totally prohibited.