Bügeleisen 8b+ is a beautiful 45° overhanging wall in Maltatal, Austria. When Klem Loskot did the first ascent in 2001 it was one of the hardest problems in the world and it’s still up there. It has had a few ascents and three have been captured on video so it’s possible to compare the sequences and styles of each of the ascents.

Klem Loskot

Klem uses a little momentum on nearly every move, usually just a dip of the shoulders and hips before the hands move. The send starts at 4:55.

Nalle Hukkataival

Nalle, who battled bad conditions, is a little more static and controlled and seems to be very focused on his footwork, really pressing his feet and engaging his core. Send starts at 1:11.

Rok Klancnik

Rok, the most recent ascentist, is very smooth, he gets a heel hook/cam on the double gaston move that neither of the others used. Send starts at 1.18.

From the ground to the jug Klem took a mere 38 seconds, Nalle 54 seconds (he lost about 5 seconds resetting his feet which slipped just before he went for the finishing jug) and Rok 43 seconds.

Of the three climbers I think it’s fair to say that Nalle has done the most hard problems and he looked the strongest on this problem. The other two looked closer to their limit and I don’t think it’s a coincidence that they both climbed the problem significantly faster, they didn’t have the reserves to hang around. Nalle also spent significantly less time working the problem then the others so probably could of refined his beta further if he had needed.