Interview The Groove, E9 7b, repeated after 16 years
Sixteen years afters James Pearson's ascent, the original line has received its first repeat.
This week's Friday Night Video follows Robbie Phillips and Alex Moore as they attempt to climb Dave MacLeod's Longhope Direct (E10 7a). The huge sandstone cliff is about as close to big wall climbing as you can get in the UK and other than the exceptionally hard climbing, there is soft, loose rock, huge run outs, and of course, Fulmars to deal with. The route had only been repeated once by James McHaffie and Ben Bransby back in 2013.
Read our full report below:
Comments
That was so good to watch. The bit where the gear ripped was rather concerning. I thought this kit we use to keep us alive was rated to take such falls?
Excellent film. Enjoyed that a lot.
Awesome video, and for me really brought home what Ed Ward Drummond and Oliver Hill achieved with rubbish kit, no chance of rescue, no idea of where they were going, no retreat... has to have been one of/the most audacious ascents in the UK ever?
Superb, hugely enjoyable watch.
I'm surprised how often I see pros take repeated, large falls onto half nuts (or small nuts) with no inspection in between.
If you take a fall onto any of your gear, you should be inspecting it carefully, especially a large fall onto something that's not 12+ kn rated.