Punks In The Gym by Mayan Smith-Gobat

31st October, 2012

This has been read 14,705 times

Mayan Smith-Gobat on Punks in the gym, 8b+, Arapiles, Australia © Rich Crowder — Mayan Smith-Gobat on Punks in the gym, 8b+, Arapiles, Australia
© Rich Crowder

Mayan Smith-Gobat from New Zealand has repeated Wolfgang Güllich's 1985 test-piece Punks In The Gym, 8b+, in the Arapiles, Australia.

At the time of the first ascent this was probably the most difficult route in the world. This was the first female ascent.

Mayan told adidas: When I first tried Punks in the Gym, nearly 2 years ago, I thought that it was a climb that I would never be able to achieve because of its long reaches... . To avoid the powerful shoulder presses I came up with a new sequence. This made the moves possible for me, but changed the route into an unrelenting crimp-fest! Since then I have invested a huge amount of time and effort into climbing this route - it feels incredible to have finally achieved this goal and lifelong dream of mine!