Ascents as trad by Stephen Winnacott

Wild

Very cool.

Pretty cruise until it’s not, then it’s thin AF - tips crack and minimal to no feet. Tips crack gets better higher up but still nails.

Crux is pulling from horizontal crack near/in cave up into the right diagonal crack. Can go direct up with left hand but it’s a big reachy power move. Otherwise move left and up into underclings and then traverse right into crack, where you need to swing rightwards to a layback position, move moves this way but lower % moves.

Blew it on the big direct crux move.

Lower section felt good, upper crux hand sequence botched, gotta remember to cross.

Pump factor is intense on this thing.

Holy smokes that 40m second pitch is mind blowing, it just keeps on going. Super fun twin parallel finger cracks lead rightwards to a short thin vertical finger crack, into an insane finger-locking good crack all the wall up a sustained left leaning dihedral. Take lots of small cams, and small/med wires, and a double rack up to BD2's, there's a couple of wider sections of crack up high before it fully thins out into the top crux before you have to run it up to the anchors. Happy to have sent this second shot, after having done it on second a couple of month prior.

Had to take a breather before the crux, just a bit too pumpy and sustained for a warm, esp ahead of a long day! Didn’t fancy pinging off the crux either, that wouldn’t be a good outcome! Second pitch much easier. That first pitch felt harder than some 11a’s, not kidding.

Man we got a full value experience on this. The first pitch with no warm up is a forearm ripper. Definitely didn’t set us up well for pitch two! Have to go back for the send!

Classic, tech slab open stem corner.

As good as it gets for the grade.

Just werkin it

Just werkin it

A bit stiff for a warm up but manageable

Epic route. Ended up doing 3 laps all up, as did Paul, linking it all bottom to top clean on the 3rd push. I pink point the 1 & 2 pitch after a lap working out the beta, then Paul got the red point and I followed it up clean on my 3rd lap, then continued on to onsight the final pitch, parched and glycogen depleted. Good solid day out.

Came back for redemption on this, got it, but not without a fight.

A #5 would be handy

Skipped P1 by walking to base of P2, onsighted P2, belayed Paul on his onsight of P3 crux pitch, then he lowered off and I flashed it on his gear, was either that or clean it on second but I'm stoked to get it clean even if the gear was pre-placed.

Was all set for the onsight until i ripped some pulleys in my right middle finger 4m from the top, damn mono pocket. I pulled back on and climbed open handed to the top, so gutted, especially after onsighting all the hard stuff.

Incredible route, has it all! So psyched to get this onsight! Was touch and go there for a bit, it somewhat redeemed my efforts on Wars of the Roses the day prior.

You'll always regret not giving it 100%, but you'll also never understand this when you're pumped out on the lip of a roof.

Just didn't have the finger, forearm and calf endurance.

Great warm up to E=mc2

Don't forget small cams like I did, it's super sketch without them.

Pro for the first few moves into the scoops is crap, but it makes for an interesting start.

I think I was either weak in the head or this was a scary climb, it was a bit run out but at the time I had bugger all climbing fitness.