Single-handedly conquering Riegersburg

For a very long time, Riegersburg in East Styria, Austria, was considered the ‘strongest fortress of Christianity.’ Not once was the defensive fortification conquered. Legions of Turks and Hungarians found the walls almost literally tough to crack. But not David Lama.

In April 2009, exceptional talent David Lama made the ‘unscaleable’ scaleable. However, the Austrian was armed not with a sword and armor but a waist belt, rope and carabiner – and of course the necessary amount of strength, technique and courage.

In the middle of the rolling hill landscape of East Styria, Austria, a distinctive, grey peak protrudes from the normally very green natural environment: Riegersburg Castle. About 850 years ago it was erected not far from Graz on a basalt rock massif 200 meters tall. It majestically crowned the volcanic cone as an impregnable stronghold for centuries, protecting the surrounding inhabitants from attacks by the Turks and Hungarians. The most important bastion of the Ostwall (Eastern Rampart) has never been conquered and was thus referred to as the ‘strongest fortresses of Christianity.’ And there, exactly where thousands of soldiers were pulverized against the walls, one single man dispelled the myth of the ‘unscaleable’: David Lama.

As part of the opening of the outdoor climbing park, the Austrian in his capacity of two-time European Champion, two-time youth World Champion and multiple World Cup winner, scaled the 70 meter-high west side on April 26. In front of 600 amazed spectators he didn’t stop in front of the fortress but also overcame the defense walls and castle gate. The day before, David won the Austrian Championships in Graz; shortly afterwards he was also able to add yet another climb, the first ascent of the fortress wall, to his belt. ‘It was a great feeling for me. The wall here is totally exposed and challenging. The view of the fortress on the climb is as impressive as the one over the green hills of East Styria,’ Lama said. David, who has just turned 18, has himself graded the route as a 7b climb, but for him the value lies elsewhere. ‘The natural infrastructure in this area is very limited. This makes it even more pleasing that such breath-taking backdrops are being made available to the sport of climbing.’