Příklepový strop 8b+

Příklepový strop is a five pitch sport line that climbs the underside of the arch at the bottom of the Macocha abyss, a 138 meter sinkhole in the Moravian Karst in the Czech Republic. The rock is cold, humid, and steeply overhanging cave limestone, protected on much of its length by decades old bolts left from its original aid ascent. Its two hardest pitches are both rated 8b+, making it the longest and most difficult multi pitch line in the country, with a grade that reflects sustained, technical climbing in an unusual underground setting rather than a single hard crux.

History

The line follows an old aid route, first climbed by hand drilling and hooking (its name translates roughly to "hammer drill roof"), which sat unrepeated as a free climb for decades. Access is restricted to a five day window each December, when the site opens for a rare permitted period and climbers work at night on the original, aging protection. Adam Ondra freed the route in early December 2022, attempting it ground up: he fell on his onsight attempt of the first 8b+ pitch and redpointed it second go, then redpointed the second 8b+ pitch and the 8a+ third pitch, each also on his second attempt, before finishing more easily up a 7a and a 6c to the rim of the abyss.

On film

First Free Climb of Underground Big Wall in Macocha (2023), made by Adam Ondra, documents the ascent from the inside. It follows Ondra into the abyss during the narrow access window, showing the cold and awkward conditions of climbing on old hardware beneath the arch, and the pitch by pitch process of linking the two 8b+ sections and the 8a+ pitch above them to complete the first free ascent of the wall.