Historic Ascents, Unfinished Projects & the Stories Behind the Climbing
A Week That Will Be Remembered
Some weeks are defined by a single ascent. This one has several stories worth remembering. From the second ascent of DNA 9c and the first onsight of Greenspit to a new 33-pitch line on the Eiger, the past seven days have delivered across very different disciplines.
Meanwhile, hard projects continue to test patience, the competition circuit moves toward Salt Lake City, and autumn is beginning to shape what climbers can still get done before winter.
A Second 9c, an Onsight That Had Never Happened, and 33 Pitches on the Eiger
Jakob Schubert completes the second ascent of DNA 9c in Verdon, adding another route at the grade to his record after B.I.G.. Connor Herson becomes the first climber to onsight Greenspit 8b+ in Valle dell'Orco, while Jana Švecová adds a V14 in Val Daone after making progress on Terranova V16.
In the Alps, Fay Manners and Roger Schäli establish Solar Eclipse, a new 33-pitch route on the Eiger North Face that took 18 days of work, including 13 days living on the wall. The fifth story takes a different direction: Matthew Robert Clark receives a Carnegie Medal after free soloing a chimney to rescue a stranded hang glider pilot on Vancouver Island.
Jakob Schubert Makes the First Repeat of DNA (9c)
Schubert climbed DNA at La Ramirole on 10 October while livestreaming his attempts, the first time a 9c has been repeated. After B.I.G. in Flatanger it is his second route at the grade.
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Connor Herson Makes the First Onsight of Greenspit
Fighting a cold, Connor Herson tied in at the Valle dell'Orco festival and onsighted Greenspit, the famous 8b+ roof crack, on his first try. Nobody had done that before.
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Jana Švecová Climbs a V14 in Val Daone
Jana Švecová adds a V14 in Val Daone, Italy, after a productive session on Adam Ondra's V16 Terranova in the same valley.
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A New 33-Pitch Route on the Eiger North Face
Fay Manners and Roger Schäli opened Solar Eclipse through previously unclimbed terrain on the Eiger, spending 18 days on the project and 13 of them living on the wall.
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A Free Solo That Saved a Life Earns a Carnegie Medal
In February, 24-year-old Matthew Clark free soloed a 15-metre chimney on Vancouver Island to reach a 75-year-old hang glider pilot who had crashed into a cliff. He has now received a Carnegie Medal.
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A Friend Says Gym Grades Don't Travel
This week I started collecting how bouldering gyms translate their own colours and levels into Font grades. Only what a gym publishes itself or hangs on its wall goes in. Within hours, photos of boards came in from Kranj and Zagreb, and the list now holds eight gyms in five countries.
The most useful reply was a disagreement. A friend thinks comparing gym grades with Font makes little sense, even when the gyms do it themselves. His example is a level 8 that is really one big dyno, after which people believe they have climbed 7b. A long dyno is a 6 for a tall climber and barely possible for a short one, and gyms set for the average body. He only compares himself on the Kilter Board now, where thousands of people have climbed and rated the same problem.
He has a point. But a conversion is still the only way I know to compare my own climbing across gyms, and I have no interest in showing off with numbers. My real yardstick is a rock in Langenstein in the Harz. Every visit there tells me whether I have got better, because the rock does not change.
So read a gym grade as that gym's promise, not as your grade. And if your gym has a board like this, reply with a photo: Gym Grades in Font
Twenty Pitches, an E11 and a Season That Barely Seems Real
Silvan Schüpbach and Janluca Kostner complete the first free ascent of Untergang der Titanen 8a on the Gross Wellhorn, with 600 metres of consistently difficult climbing spread across 20 pitches.
In Scotland, Buster Martin sends Rhapsody E11, while Matthew Mendess finishes his first full season on Peak Limestone with Trance 8C, five 8B+ problems and another eleven at 8B.
Elsewhere, Will Bosi continues his attempts on Silence 9c, and Leo Cea's recent ascent of No Pain No Gain 9a+ at just 13 raises an interesting question about the youngest climbers to reach the grade.
Will Bosi Livestreams His First Redpoint on Silence
On the same day Schubert sent DNA, Will Bosi streamed his first redpoint go on Silence (9c) in Flatanger. He fell early, so the route still has only one ascent.
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Is 13-Year-Old Leo Cea the Youngest to Climb 9a+?
Leo Cea climbed his first 9a+ in September at 13. Climbing talked to him and his father and checks the claim against the existing records.
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First Free Ascent of Untergang der Titanen on the Gross Wellhorn
Silvan Schüpbach and Janluca Kostner freed the 600 metre line on the north face of the Gross Wellhorn, 20 pitches up to 8a that stay hard the whole way.
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Buster Martin Sends Rhapsody (E11)
Buster Martin makes the ninth ascent of Rhapsody in Scotland, the world's first E11. The video shows his top-out with a long runout above the last gear, and a big fall from an earlier attempt.
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Matthew Mendess and His First Season on Peak Limestone
Four years into climbing, Matthew Mendess spent his first full season on Peak Limestone and came away with Trance 8C, five 8B+ problems, eleven at 8B and ten at 8A+.
View post →Salt Lake City Is Next, but Results Are Only Part of the Story
After the World Climbing Series stop in Wujiang, attention turns to Salt Lake City, where the next event is about to get underway.
Sebastian Lucke speaks openly about medal pressure and why an athlete's self-worth cannot depend entirely on results, a conversation worth having as competition climbing continues to grow.
Meanwhile, Brazil's Para Climbing scene offers a glimpse of its next generation, with 15-year-old João becoming the youngest athlete at a national competition and already reaching the podium.
Wujiang: What the Athletes Said
Lead wins for Annie Sanders and Neo Suzuki, a speed win for Aleksandra Kalucka after a year away, and the voices of Janja Garnbret, Alberto Ginés López and others after the finals.
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The World Climbing Series Moves On to Salt Lake City
The next stop of the World Climbing Series is a bouldering event in Salt Lake City this week, and tickets are still available.
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Sebastian Lucke on Medal Pressure
For World Mental Health Day, the German speed climber talks about the pressure to win medals and why an athlete's self-worth has to rest on more than results.
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A 15-Year-Old Reaches His First Para Climbing Podium
At a national para climbing competition in Brazil, 15-year-old João was the youngest athlete in the field, climbed through his nerves and finished on the podium.
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Start with our guides
Plain English explainers on gear, grades and skills, so every edition makes sense from the first read.
All guides →The Details That Matter Long After You've Bought Your Gear
EDELRID looks at hardware lifespan and why carabiners and belay devices cannot simply be judged by their age, while Petzl revisits the small decisions involved in placing and clipping quickdraws.
UKClimbing tests the La Sportiva Skwama Lite as a more comfortable option for intermediate climbing, and Tomoa Narasaki introduces WISE CHALK CHUNKY, the brand's first new product in almost three years. Four different subjects, but all concerned with how equipment actually performs once it leaves the shop.
How Long Can You Use a Carabiner?
EDELRID explains that hardware like carabiners and belay devices has no fixed expiry date. What counts is the condition: wear, corrosion, sharp edges or deformation mean it is time to retire it.
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Petzl on Placing and Clipping Quickdraws
Clipping looks simple, but there are small decisions in it, from which way the quickdraw faces to how you clip the rope. Petzl breaks down good habits for sport climbing.
View post →Review: La Sportiva Skwama Lite
UKClimbing tests the Skwama Lite, a version of the Skwama built around comfort for mid-grade climbing.
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Tomoa Narasaki Launches a Chunky Chalk
WISE CHALK, the brand Narasaki produces, brings out CHUNKY, a lump chalk you crumble to your own fineness. It is the first new product in about three years, with orders opening on 1 November.
View post →The Projects That Test More Than Strength
Jonathan Siegrist has spent over a month on his project at 5G, falling at the same crux for roughly 20 attempts while colder weather threatens to close another window.
Alex Honnold revisits the preparation behind his free solo of Sendero Luminoso, while Brooke Raboutou explores Mallorca's psicobloc tradition, which dates back to Miquel Riera in the late 1970s.
Elsewhere, a historic rescue on Mount Robson's Emperor Face, the Indigenous stories behind places such as Payahuunadü and Mato Tipila, and the potential impact of El Niño on winter climbing conditions offer different perspectives on the places we climb.
Jonathan Siegrist on a Year of Coming Up Short
Over a month into his project at 5G, Siegrist has fallen at the same crux for about 20 tries while the weather turns cold. He calls it his hardest year, with three big projects already missed.
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Alex Honnold High on Sendero Luminoso
The filmmaker who shot Honnold's free solo of Sendero Luminoso shares a clip from one of its many 5.12 pitches. His film How to Solo a Big Wall goes into the preparation.
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Brooke Raboutou and the Roots of Psicobloc in Mallorca
Deep water soloing on Mallorca goes back to the late 1970s, when Miquel Riera began climbing the cliffs without a rope. Brooke Raboutou gets a taste of the island's tradition.
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What a Strong El Niño Means for Winter Climbing
A strengthening El Niño could change winter conditions in places like Joshua Tree, Hueco Tanks and Patagonia. Climbing looks at where it might help and where it might hurt.
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The Native Stories Behind North America's Climbing Areas
Many iconic climbing areas had names and stories long before climbers arrived, from Payahuunadü, now known as Bishop, to Mato Tipila, the formation called Devils Tower.
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A Historic Rescue From Mount Robson's Emperor Face
Rescuers brought climbers down from about 3,260 metres on the Emperor Face after a failed attempt during the night. It is the first rescue of its kind on the face.
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Seb Bouin and the First Ascent of Le Chant des Muses (9b)
In April, Bouin made the first ascent of Le Chant des Muses at the Romeyer wall in the Drôme. A new Black Diamond film follows the project.
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