UKC

Matt Bush has soloed some very difficult sport routes in the Montagu area of South Africa.

In the following video we see Matt soloing Switchbitch (31/8a+), The Activist (30/8a), Cool Like That (29/7c+) and Simply Irresistible (26/7b).

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=67037

In reply to UKC News:

Bloody impressive!

I have to say though, how soul-less is the SA grading system. "Psyched, just climbed my first 26!!"

Also, would you not remove the draws? As if it's not hard and scary enough without having to brush clips out if your face. What a lunatic.

In reply to UKC News:

Crazy. The amount of different margins for error I allow when soloing (reversible moves, able to hang there to be rescued, saving enough energy in case I don't make a move first go...) all seem small-to-nil on these routes.

Terrifying. But then, maybe when you climb 6 grades harder it just feels easy...?

In reply to UKC News:

Impressive stuff, I was more scared watching these that I am soloing easy stuff!

In reply to Daniel Heath:

Really impressive but i only made it to about 1 1/2 mins before turnign off due to the really annoying editing. I don't think i saw even one move completed as they kept cutting halfway through a dyno etc.

The beginning was even more annoying. What was going on there ? Was it the same route shown on 2 halves of the screen at slightly different times for no good reason ?

Amazing standard of soloing though. Thinking about your comment Dan it'd be like me soloing 6b/6b+. I reckon i could, but i wouldn't want to ;0)

In reply to UKC News:

Scary climbing. Idiotic unwatchable editing.

In reply to UKC News: And to think I was scared soloing a vs

In reply to Daniel Heath:


I don't think anything at Montagu feels that easy! I do miss that fantastic rock though...

In reply to UKC News:

Scary shit

In reply to UKC News: Cool like that. I climbed with this guy quite a lot in montague about 5 years ago. Nice, interesting person. He was highballing some of the hard, short routes then so it's interesting to see how much further he's pushed it. To give some context to those unfamiliar with (or doubting) the ZA grades, the harder solos in that vid are easily equivalent to soloing grit style bold E8's and 9's. Particularly terrifying too I'd imagine on that slick montague rock...
Having got inspired by mags and photos, I remember he was quite enthusiastic about visiting the uk grit back then. It could be good if he came over; I reckon he'd do pretty well if he could manage the cold, especially now he's gone mental.

In reply to UKC News:

Very impresive climbing and great looking rock - that 'Activist' route looked really long too.

In reply to UKC News: That's not soloing, It's a Highball! He had the psychological support of the groundsheet!

In reply to UKC News: Thats mad!! Fair play some massive ballz involved in that! and the Dyno on the 7b+, crazy stuff.

In reply to UKC News: Wowwwwwww! Incredibly impressive courage, I don't know how he does it. I guess I'm just too much like one of those 'what if?' guys. What if a hold breaks? What if my foot slips? What if I make a mistake? I imagine none of these thoughts even enter his head. Which is exactly how you need to be to solo such hard routes. Its the perfect mindset, until that one time...

I really liked this.
The production was good, the music worked well, and the climbing was impressive.

The level of precision was great, not just in the big dynos but all those blind deadpoints to slopers too.


>I have to say though, how soul-less is the SA grading system. "Psyched, just climbed my first 26!!"

Perhaps the SA grading system is simple enough to avoid the psychological issues UK climbers have with breaking into 7a or 8a, or the big jumps in difficulty between VS and HVS, or any of the E grades. A simple system doesn't draw attention to itself and could allow the focus to be on the climbs. Goodness knows how many awesome 6c+s I've missed out on because there was a 7a next to it!

In reply to UKC News: Was he climbing above a river? As spotted a river in one of the shots so maybe more like DWS once he got a way from the start and out over the water.
Still amazing although he is probably well wired!

In reply to Lone Rider:

The river is not very deep most of the time, although as been known to flood.

Incredible stuff...

I 100% agree with this Dan!

As for the vid, crazy standard of soloing! Scary stuff.

In reply to UKC News:

That looks a very lonely crash mat. Incredible.

In reply to Jus:

I think jumping into the river would be worse than trying to land on the path! It's shallow and full of rocks.

In reply to UKC News:

Blimey!

I need to go and lie down for a bit.