Frankenjura

Frankenjura is an upland region in Franconia, Bavaria, and a cornerstone of German sport climbing history. The area is prominently connected in this catalog to the story of evolving standards in hard sport climbing and to the origin of the rotpunkt concept that reframed how ascents are valued. Climbers visit Frankenjura for its dense concentration of routes and the cultural lineage that stretches from early redpoint pioneers to today’s project-focused athletes.

The film in this collection, Rotpunkt, follows Alex Megos as he confronts routes that challenge his usual speed and efficiency. Rather than a geography lesson, the film uses Frankenjura (and later Siurana) to examine the psychology of projecting: how a climber known for fast ascents adapts when a route refuses to yield quickly. Viewers will see sequence problem-solving on sustained sport lines, examples of how top climbers manage failure and persistence, and interviews that situate individual ascents within a broader climbing tradition. The film also traces the historical thread of Kurt Albert’s rotpunkt—how marking a route and committing to redpointing changed attitudes toward onsight versus projected ascents—so it acts both as portrait and as a reflection on climbing values.

For someone interested in the intersection of history, technique, and the modern project ethic, Rotpunkt uses Frankenjura as a backdrop to show what elite-level persistence looks like, and what it means to keep searching for a route that matters beyond a single hard send.