Elbsandsteingebirge Saxony of the former “East Germany” had the first bolt chopping wars. Early climber consensus degreed a maximum of three rings per route, but in 1936 Willy Hantzschel used 5 to climb the Schrammtorwacher Norwand. Harry Rost pulled them out, but a three ring ascent wasn’t made until 1951. Rings were later re-added to establish a scary but doable route. This compromise led to routes with more than 6 rings.

The Elb river flows through a huge area of sandstone towers and cliffs starting about 30 miles east of Dresden and extending through the Czech republic to Aldersbach near Poland. http://db-sandsteinklettern.gipfelbuch.de/gebiet.php?gebietid=1.
Arriving in Rathen 40 kilometers east of Dresden one crosses the Elb river on a ferry with hundreds of tourists. He then trots past old work stimulus projects from the early Nazi period. Dogs are allowed, and yours is likely to find a pile of fresh human feces to roll in. Leave him at the base of a tower for tourists to pet. The tower Lange Isreal is only a few minutes away. The regular route is two rings, 35 meters 5.11 fingers to hands to fist to 5.11 OW to a 10 square foot summit. The summit is 20 ft distant to an airy walkway between hotels and towers. One goes from OW purgatory to picture snapping tourists’ hell.During my six years in Germany friends often asked me to climb at the Elb. I'd refused thinking all the rules were evidence of a liberty free commie zone. Two years ago I found out this was false; the Elb is a climbing museum with the local attitude "my great-granddad climbed that 5.11 chalk less, shoeless, with primitive gear, risking maiming and fatal falls, and his youngest daughter strapped to his back on a swaddling board, your experience should be similar. By the way, we are very funny people." Here are some Elb facts. A full list of rules is at this site http://www.bergsteigerbund.de/klettern_saechsische_kletterregeln.html#43);
1. Elbsandsteingebirge is a nature park. Rock climbing allows people to reach the top of towers that would be otherwise inaccessible. Therefore, only towers may have established climbing routes. A cliff (massif) whose top can be approached by scrambling may not have climbing. A committee decides what is a “massif” and what is a tower.
2. Inconsistently, towers may have multiple ringed routes.
3. Towers must be 10 meters tall on their shortest side. Climbers are fined when they remove soil to enlarge towers.4. Bolts have a large ring because Saxon locals were climbing hard before the invention of carabineers. The leader climbed to a ring, hung on his arm, untied, threaded his rope through the ring, and continued climbing. 5. Karabinerhaken is the original form of the word and is German for “hook for a carbine”
6. Ring sizes vary from about 3 inches to 6 inches. The “bolt” is a nine inch tapering spike that is driven into a downward pointing hole lined with lead foil. Bits and pieces of foil are amongst debris at the base of towers. Spikes and rings receive regular loving care.
7. Many routes have an Unterstuzung grade. Unterstuzung is a human pyramid used as aid to climb a tower; in the case of the Schrammtorwacher a four person pyramid was assembled about 50 ft up. 8. Unconventional “protection” such as a sling slung 40 ft up a nearby tree is occasionally used.
9. Most “towers” are a complex of multiple towers with very deep chimneys between them. Only one rap anchor is allowed. The easiest way between towers is to jump.
10. Jumps are graded 1-4. At 55 I can barely do a 1. Climbers occasionally walk away from 4s.
11. No metal protection may be used except carabineers. Germans say the rock is too soft--it varies in hardness from hard Indian creek varnish, to very poor Zion crumble. Protection between rings is made by pounding a knotted sling into a constriction with a stick, by tying cords through holes, or by slinging horns. I think a nut or cam would be less destructive than the knots we forced in. However, “great granddad needed to hold on for 5 minutes to force a knot into that 5.11 crack--you will too!” It is difficult to trust this knot pro. However, later in my trip we drove to France and placed good knots in soft sandstone near bolts. Even small knots held falls. (Everything you want to know about knot strengths http://www.joergbrutscher.homepage.t-online.de/knotene.htm)[photoid=384690]
12. Loosely tied figure eight knots are the best, overhand knots second best. When weighted, they roll up and expand. With force from a fall the rope stretches and the knot shrinks. To be safe my buddy Andi said the knot must be placed above a constriction ¾ the size of the flat knot. Furthermore, pulling on the free end of the knot farthest in will bury it deeper.
13. Hard routes often have fixed knots. People treat them like we might treat a fixed piton or nut.
14. Every tower has a "Gipfel Buch" (summit register). Of course, a regulation covers how one may record his ascent in the book, and if you are not an ugly fool, you will put your name, date and route, in that order.15. The first 100 ascents of a route get a number. We climbed an ugly tower by way of the standard super ugly overhanging flared 5.11 chimney with ground-fall potential and got #66. The tower had an original DDR guide with some interesting scribbles clearly but subtlety stating climbers’ hatred of the old Communist state.16. Chalk is prohibited. Climbing with shoes is allowed, but barefoot is traditional. Hard soled shoes are forbidden. The cracks are rough, but people will laugh at tape gloves. Top roping is strongly discouraged.

June 2011 I arrived in Germany for a month of Elb climbing but learned that my friend could only climb three days because he was immersed in a legal battle with his girlfriend over visitation rights to their child.
"Don't worry Steve, Andi has been asking everyone to climb at the Elb, and he is a master with knots".I knew Andi Eisenhower. He once cleaned and bolted a line, and then offered me first try at an onsight. Besides, he climbed 5.13-D, and had visited what friends call "German advance base camp Yosemite"-- my place in Petaluma and we did Astroman together.
During my first three days with Achim at the Elb I learned a bit about the climbing. Most importantly, in accepting to climb the Elb, one accepts the rules, and the rules enhance the experience more than frustrate the climber. Second, nearly all climbs have R or X sections at or near grade. Be solid! The climbing is really good; one ascends cracks and faces to very small summits. Finally, I thought knots were psychological pro-false!After the trip Achim drove straight to Andi's. Understanding climbers well, Andi’s wife regarded me hesitantly, while his daughters were curious about the American who invaded their home.
“Do you like star wars one asked” “Yes”
Andi immediately pulled down 12 separate Elb guide books totaling about 10000 pages and began leafing. The area has thousands of routes.
"Steve look here at the Violeta Verschniedung (dihedral). And here is the Kleine Isreal. However, he returned to one climb several times. Talwand am Schweiger (brother in law)
“Look at this line Steve--200 ft straight to the top on an overhanging wall. Starts 5.11 fingers a bit under vertical--easy to knot and with a ring 80 ft up. Beyond this is a 5.11 fist roof. One can’t protect it and most people turn around. After this more fists to a second ring, and then OW and chimney to the top. First free climbed 1952" Only later I learned that one of the "one of the people turning around" was Henry Barber in the 70s. He came back two years later for the redpoint, and the story has a prominent place in Bernd Arnold’s biography.
Andi’s wife’s suspicions were confirmed and within 2 hours we on the 10 hour drive back to the Elb, me sleeping on the van's floor. Next day, we started with a 1930 5.11 originally done with unterstuzung assembled 100 ft. up. Andi led the first 5.10 pitch in style, and then backed off the crux--it started to rain.
"Steve, the moves are really hard, and if you fall you'll swing 40 ft into that corner". I went up and indeed, there were thin 5.11 moves out of the corner to what looked like a crux20 ft out. I too bailed, but spied a hidden ring 15 ft. out of the corner. I moved the pro point, and risked a very long but clean fall. After that success I felt great. We did a few more 10s; I chose to solo with a rope--in my opinion the knots were bullsh#t.[photoid=384697] However, I watched Andi place them diligently. On the third day, Andi subtly returned to the line.
"Steve, it is 6 PM, but it will be light until 11. Why don't we take a peek at the Schweiger Talwand. It is close by; we don't need to climb it".
Melanie, a gorgeous and strong climber from Andi's home crag in Nordreinwestphalen met us earlier in the day. She was mad at Andi because she’d asked him to make a trip to the Elb and he was climbing with me. Andi whispered that his wife would be furious if he spent a week climbing with Melanie. Locals were photographing Melanie for their annual Elb Climbing Calendar because they wanted pictures of outside talent climbing their routes. When they heard we were going to check out the Talwand one asked to photograph; he gave Andi a red shirt. By the time we reached the Schweiger, our little troop had 10 people with the photographer scurrying up a gully into position.
Andi hopped on the Talwand, and deftly placed a variety of knots for a good onsight to the first ring at 80 ft. He tried the fist roof, and decided to bail. He used the red shirt to clean his hands.
"Why don't you have a look at the roof. It might suit you Steve"
I climbed the finger crack clumsily, and heard a mutter "poor foot work"- the source a Klugscheisser Saxon, literally a wisdom shitter== know it all- who had bragged about his ascents, but acknowledged backing off this thing. I looked down, Melanie smiled.
I climbed out to the roof’s lip and then back thinking, “my fists fit but do I really want to do 5.11 X?” I heard another mutter "oh, he won’t do it".The ring is in the back of the roof; a fall turning the lip would probably send a climber to the hospital. Above, a fall would end in a litter or bag, the ring was 50 ft away, and a fist crack is not knot-able. Within a few minutes I’d pulled the lip through to the wide hands above. As with many old hard climbs on the Elb, this one had a suspiciously shaped thank god hold (foot hold) where I could re-group before death fall territory. I climbed through to the second ring and hooked up redundant draws. I'd forgotten the red shirt.
The photographer was in a gulley directly across from me. Contemplating the next 40 ft of overhanging fists to OW made me sick.
"Hey bildmacher, how is the next stretch?""For you, no worries. My photographs are sh#t with your blue shirt!! Besides, people have fallen from the fist to OW crux 15 meters above you and walked away."
There was no pro from this point.
After the intial 40 ft struggle, there was another 40 ft of widening chimney with a tense moment climbing out. However, there was another thank god hold, and soon I was belaying Andi and everyone else out the roof. Only Andi made it.
Back at the base, Melanie informed us the photographer rented a matrazen lager (mattress space) for about 6$ and there was extra room. We tried following the photographer and Melanie, but the photographer was pissed that we used his shirt as a hanky, and used his BMW to lose our VW van. However, we called Melanie and she directed us. She made us a meatless, fatless supper, and we got hot showers. Next morning, we left our Euros in a box, thinking an early departure prudent.Next day, Andi showed me the Barber story. Soon after that, I visited Huddy's -the Czech knot master’s store- and saw his famous quote: "Sometimes you are a hero, sometimes you're in the hospital".

I tried to sell this story. Now, I am recovering from a repaired hernia. Well enough to sit, but not to climb. I hope this is enjoyable.