Swedish climber Matilda Söderlund has climbed her first 9a, The Elder Statesman in the Frankenjura, Germany. The route is a direct finish to The Last Rites which were both first climbed by Markus Bock in 2011.
Söderlund is no stranger to hard sport climbing having previously redpointed 8c+, flashed 8b+ and onsighted 8b. At the end of 2018, she marked her return to top form by climbing Pure Imagination (8c+) after a prolonged period of studying business and economics.
The Elder Statesman is a stereotypical Frankenjura route: powerful and crimpy – a style that particularly suits Söderlund. It was here in 2012 where she flashed Friends like you, an 8b+ with a similar style. Despite her affinity with the style of climbing, she has been hard at work training for this trip for several months. In the end, the route took her two extra days of effort after climbing The Last Rites.
In September, Söderlund has a successful trip to the Frankenjura where she climbed Markus Bock's Klondike (8c) and Solitary Man (8c), both short and bouldery.
Comments
She climbed those routes in April.
Here is the video....she seems to make it look easy
https://youtu.be/Pxsnvo_xD8Q
nice vid :-)
Really enjoyed that. Going to show my daughter it as inspiration to get outside. Brilliant reaction to achieving her goal.