UKC

Miles Gibson making the first ascent of Dangermouse, a new E9 at Wimberry.

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=49555

In reply to UKC News:

looks insane!


anyone know what tune in the vid?

In reply to Morgan Woods:

Something by Santana - 1970s stuff.


Chris

In reply to Chris Craggs:

ta chris...wondering why it sounded familiar.

In reply to Morgan Woods:

I have it somewhere if you want the track name.

Wild looking route btw!

Chris

In reply to Morgan Woods: I think it's Oye Como Va. Good to see Miles is still rockin.

In reply to Al Evans: in an ageing pornstar sort of way...

In reply to UKC News:

Can you explain to me again how it was flmed?

Enty

In reply to Enty:

Probably better off getting Ben to do that, but...

My understanding is that they set up two static cameras, one at the top and one at the bottom. Ben then belayed Miles on the crucial part of the route. When he was too high for it to matter, Ben ran around to the top to get the final (wobbly) footage, and brief interview.

Alan

In reply to Alan James - UKC:

That's what I thought. Awesome stuff though - not even bothered about a roll down the hillside!!

Enty

In reply to Enty: in my WCS world, as soon as I got taken off belay the ropes would tangle around a twig blade of grass and jam up so I couldn't move upwards anymore.

Luckily Miles isn't like me, awesome affort.

In reply to UKC News: Wow. Nice one Miles. I was scared watching despite knowing he would win!

I once spent a great afternoon bouldering at Wimberry with Miles after we both just happened to turn up there at the same time. He encouraged me up a few problems that I didn't think I'd be able to do. Despite the slightly dubious 70s prog rock hair/goatee combo, he seemed a really great guy and really encouraging to a punter of moderate ability such as myself.

In reply to UKC News: Proper terrifying!

Next time my partner's looking at a ground fall I might just take him off belay and go for a sandwich...."sorry mate, I'm not doing much for you anyway here....you're on your own now...."

In reply to Alan James - UKC:


Looks like the top fixed camera fell down half way & Ben went & retrieved it - hence the wibble wobble effects & the lower down footage as Miles climbed higher...

Si

In reply to UKC News:
that song was truly terrible and very off-putting.
what i dont understand about this type of climb, the guy wouldn't have tried it if he thought there was a possibility he would fall off, enough top rope practice would make him quite sure, and the belayer is doing naff all, he knows it as he has just seen the guy un-clip and run to the top of the crag... so why the ropes at all?
he has the self confidence, the commitment and technique to solo it. he has to be in that solo mind set otherwise he wouldn't have tried it on the lead. so the ropes must just be a hinderance!?
i understand that having some gear in, no matter how useless (as his obviously was for all but the first 3 moves) will give the leader confidence. but if he started out with the mindset of 'i am going to solo this route so falling is not an option', would he maybe have freed himself of the ropes, the faff etc?!
i am honestly curious, not trying to troll, as i know hundreds of the old codgers on here seem to think everyone is doing all the time.
also, what was that bit of in-situ gear at the top.... cheating rope? just incase he pussed out at the last moment?

In reply to Candice Gallab: i'm no sure, i think it must be that reducing the risk taken (by even a very small amount) he considers worth doing.
I assume that the sling and krab hanging down were what he was toproping it from.

In reply to UKC News:

Good effort Miles; must be doubly satisfying to achieve it on such a strong line.

In reply to Candice Gallab: Well, gear is better than no gear and I think with headpointing, if you feel that the most fall-offable moves are within range of your gear, it's definitley worth roping up. Whilst it's an inherrently dangerous game, I don't think many climbers out there try to make it any more so than it needs to be.

The gear at the top is likley the anchor that was used to top-rope practice the climb, often the anchor and even the rope are left in-situ (but out of the way of the climb obviously!) for headpoints, firstly because generally a toprope practice preceeds the lead and it's easy just to leave it there and secondly (not that I've ever heard of it being done on a headpoint) it means that it would be considerably easier to throw the climber a rope in the event of him not being able to finish the route. I don't think any of that classes as cheating.

In reply to Candice Gallab:


A matter of taste but I enjoyed the incongruity of the music: sunny, exotic, carefree... the antithesis of the climbing!



The hardest move was low on the route and protected by the gear. So the gear was very much worth having. Still pretty hard and committing above mind...



Top rope set-up. As the climbing here is 5a I'm guessing it would be unlikely that Miles would pussy out at this point...


What a line. He looks chuffed to bits at the top, as well he should.

In reply to Candice Gallab:

Clearly because they mean at least some of the route is protected. That's exactly what I took from Miles' comments at the end about not really wanting to catch the pebble. Clearly he could still fall off from there with some safety, but once he moved up past it falling was no longer an option.

I don't actually know, but it could well be that the hardest bits of climbing are protected.

In reply to UKC News:
Just out of interest, did Ben H onsight Order of the Pheonix?
Cheers for another good video.

In reply to Candice Gallab:

That song, "Oye como va", is one of the all-time classic mambo latin songs, originally from the 60s and covered countless billions of times (including by Santana).

While of course we all have our own tastes, I just thought you'd like to know that your comment was a little bit like a latin american bad-mouthing the Beatles' "Yesterday" or something!

On thread, good effort Miles, and nice to hear that Ben Heason is still climbing at a high standard too.