Legendary Characters: Ben Ditto and Katie Lambert in Bavaria
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On a February morning in 2016, Katie Lambert rummaged through the contents of a box of old climbing media from the ’90s. It had belonged to her husband, Ben Ditto. She came across an image of Heinz Zak climbing a beautiful line of alpine limestone titled, Locker vom Hocker. Her interest was piqued and when she discovered it was established by legends Kurt Albert and Wolfgang Gullich, and the first German grade VIII in the Wetterstein (limestone Alps) of Austria, she knew they had to climb it. Several months later, inspired by a photograph, and with tickets in hand Ditto and Lambert ventured into Bavaria to seek an adventure.