UKC

Pembroke New Route for Neil Mawson - E10 (8b+)

© Ben Pritchard

On Sunday 21st September Neil Mawson made the first ascent of a new route in Pembroke at  Stack Rocks Area which he has named Choronzon (E10 7a). Its grade of E10 (8b+) makes it Pembroke’s hardest route yet.

“My aim when I went looking for this route in 2011 was to find a difficult challenge on traditional gear and I certainly got that!”

After repeating 'Muy Caliente!' (E10 6c) E9 6c (UKC News report) in 2011, Neil wanted to find a trad route in Pembroke which would test his sport climbing fitness. The line follows a 30 degree overhanging wall for 30 metres with good but spaced gear, only being dangerous in the easier territory.

Breaking the route down into sections, Neil recalls “a cruxy 7c+/8a that's bold up to a shake out and a cluster of gear. Then it's a 9 move Font 7B+ to some pumpy holds to place gear. A few more tricky moves lead to a no-hands rest in a small cave at just over 20 metres. After that it's around E4/5 to the top.”

Having tried the project on and off over the last few years, conditions and British summer weather finally aligned - enabling Neil to put ten days of solid work into the route this year alone.

Neil Mawson making the FA of Choronzon E10 (8b+)  © Ben Pritchard
Neil Mawson making the FA of Choronzon E10 (8b+)
© Ben Pritchard

Regarding the grade, Neil has stated that a British technical grade would not be an accurate representation of the difficulty of the route, opting instead to use the sport grade of 8b+. He claims that no individual move on the route is harder than British 6c, but that there are a lot of them. Neil explained:

“I've come to the conclusion over the last few years that the British technical grade doesn't really work on harder routes. It's different for each person as they all have different strengths, weaknesses, and heights. Also, very few routes get given 7a as British 7a is utterly desperate! It’s quite common to see two routes get the same 'E' grade and technical grade but totally different sport grades and it’s this part that tells you what to expect. I'd like to see a slight change in the grading system for harder routes by including a sport grade as well as the 'E' grade and maybe doing away with the Tech grade, or not?!”

Comparing Choronzon to previous 8b+ sport redpoints, Neil claims that the route is at least as hard if not harder than them, and is by far the hardest trad route he has ever done or tried. He added: “I think it’s E10, but only repeat ascents can confirm that.”

 

photo
Neil commenting on his ascent on Twitter

 

James McHaffie has posted a blog about Neil's ascent here.
 

 

Flimston Ridge, West Face, Pembroke, with Neil Mawson circled on Choronzon  © Nick Brown
Flimston Ridge, West Face, Pembroke, with Neil Mawson circled on Choronzon
© Nick Brown

 

 

Neil is sponsored by: Beal, La Sportiva, Marmot, NouriSH Me Now, Petzl and The Climbing Works


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23 Sep, 2014
Out of interest, when was Muy Caliente downgraded to E9?
23 Sep, 2014
Great effort. I like the break down of the route: “a cruxy 7c+/8a that's bold up to..... a 9 move Font 7B+ ..... After that it's around E4/5 to the top.”/i>
23 Sep, 2014
Well done Neil. A real break through for Pembroke climbing. Very inspiring
23 Sep, 2014
There's an interview with him somewhere where he thinks it's the same grade as meshuga so I guess he has had that opinion ever since doing it.
23 Sep, 2014
That may be so, but the news item links to another news item in which he is reported as having led Muy Caliente at E10.
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