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Michaela Kiersch Suggests Upgrade to 5.15a for Old Route
Michaela Kiersch has made the first female ascent of Dolby Surround 5.15a in Austria’s Zillertal Valley. She described Dolby Surround as one of the most beautiful routes she had ever attempted, aptly named for the ambient waterfall flowing beneath it. The climb follows striped granite and gneiss through a steep 45-degree overhang, framed by a backdrop of the Alps.
Originally bolted in 1998, the route had seen fewer than 10 ascents over nearly three decades, with Kilian Fischhuber completing the first ascent in 2008. Initially graded 5.14c/14d, Dolby Surround changed after a crucial hold broke, adding an even more difficult sequence immediately after the original crux. After discussions with other climbers who had attempted the line, and drawing heavily from her own experience, Kiersch felt it now goes at 5.15a, though she acknowledged that future ascents would ultimately determine the consensus.
She jokingly added that she hoped the route would see a few more ascents in the next decade, calling out Will Bosi as a potential next contender. For Kiersch, the ascent represented her longest project to date: two months, one additional day, and 20 sessions before finally clipping the chains.
Kiersch was the first woman to climb V15 and 5.15a. In September 2025, she made history with her first ascent of Mad Lib 5.14d in Lone Rock Point, Vermont – this was the hardest sport route to ever be established by a woman in North America. Two days later, she made the FFA of Livin’ Astroglide 5.14c in Rumney, New Hampshire. In November 2024, she climbed Dreamtime V15 in Cresciano, Switzerland. Before Dolby Surround, her 5.15a sends included La Rambla in 2023 and Víctima Perfecta in 2024.
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