UKC

Dear UKC Hivemind

After watching an insta clip of Alain Robert soloing an 8b way back in 1991, I was idly wondering what the hardest confirmed solo grade is? Dave Mac soloed an 8c somewhere didn't he?

Has anyone ever done a 9a?

Did a quick search here but couldn't find a definitive answer...

Phil

Edit - thinking about hardest technical grade here (i.e. short sport/trad routes) rather than long/impressive/high stamina fests. 

Yep, Dave Mac soloed Darwin Dixit which was 8c at the time and I think (?) downgraded to 8b+ since.

I don't know of any harder solos but I expect 8c-8c+ will have been soloed before, will watch the thread with interest! 

Google says 8c, any advances?

https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/691328-hardest-route-cli...

I believe this has been downgraded to 8b after a few repeats. [1]

Jorge Diaz-Rullo has soloed an 8c called La Pequeña Mowgli in Siurana which as far as Im aware is generally considered 8c. I believe it's relatively short so maybe not in the same ball park as other solos. [2]

Depending on how you're counting solos some of the bishop highball stuff may be worth considering. For example, Daniel Wood's gave his bishop FA The Process 8C+ and described it as 8B in to 8B in to 7C+, which if you do some very dodgy grades maths works out somewhere around 9a or 9b.

Alex Huber usually comes up in these conversations too. He soloed an 8b+ called Kommunist in 2004. [3]

It's not as hard in absolute terms of some of the other ascents mentioned, but Beat Kammelander's ascent of Mordillo 8a+ at Voralpse always struck me as pretty wild. "90 moves without a rest" so the legend goes, not a good place to get pumped. [4]

[1] https://www.8a.nu/crags/sportclimbing/italy/pizarra/sectors/pizarra/routes/...

[2] https://climbing-history.org/climb/1826/la-peque%C3%B1a-mowgli

[3] https://climbing-history.org/climb/1113/kommunist

[4] https://climbing-history.org/climb/1243/mordillo

Revelations (8b)

Revelations was soloed back in 1985. It’s worth a read:

https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/antoine_le_menestrels_diary_so...]

As for tech grades it's going to be around British 7a, but it's going to be a lot more meaningful to talk in terms of sport grades, hence the replies above.

I believe Darwin Dixit and Revelations both have the crux relatively close to the ground with (much) easier climbing above. The grade alone probably does not say it all.

I think you it would be hard to argue that the the hardest solo is anything other than Alex Honnold on El Cap.

I think it's hard to compare big multipirch solos with shorter single pitch solos. I'm pretty sure Alex Huber wouldn't have soloed free rider, and I'm pretty sure Honnold wouldn't solo Kommunist, so which is harder? 

Also worthy of consideration on the big multipitch solos is Hansjorg Auer's solo of The Fish on the Marmolada. Super techy 7b+ crux in the middle of a massive mountain face, and with minimal practice.

Basically there are some extremely impressive single pitch soloes, and some completely mind boggling big route soloes, of which Honnold's is one of the most out there, but by no means alone in that respect.

Worth bearing in mind that the route has changed a bit over the years due to holds getting worse. I forget the exact timeline, but I think it was generally considered 8a+ when Antoine le Menstrel soloed. Still an incredibly impressive ascent mind.

Follow Robert on f* ***k, the pictures of his barefoot solos in the verdon are incredible

As said, gradewise 8c seems to be the hardest. But the other got downgraded (Darwin Dixit) and it seems that the other is also hard near the start.

Huberts solo is a tad different, in the sense it is hard and insecure pretty much from start to finish. And those routes don’t get climbed much (because they are nails).

it should also be noted that Huber climbed these when he climbed his hardest FA, which he graded only 8c IIRC… And if I’n not messing my memory too much, Ondra repeated that line (weisse rose?) only a few years ago, staring it should be upgraded.

Forget the grade - just consider that when Anthoine soloed Revelations, it was generally regarded as the hardest sport climb in the country!

I remember being aghast when I was told…

Neil

Fair point, but the answer is surely Free Rider. How long do you think it would take Honnold to get comfortable enough on Kommunist to solo it vs how long it would take Huber to solo free rider?

How about The Axe (E4 6a) on Cloggy? Soloed by Jimmy Jewell. Not a route you would like to fall off unroped. Not the hardest ever solo but it is pretty far out there 

This. As you say the position of the crux and what follows is important but also the nature of the climbing. There are hard routes with positive climbing that would be relatively straightforward solos. Then there are the sketchy ones that you could pop off which make much more impressive solos even if the grade is lower.

I've often wondered about the 'death routes', the really serious ones where the gear is pretty much illusory and to fall is to die. On the face of it, it would be easier to solo but the psychological effect of a few bits of rubbish pro must be the deciding factor in having a go.

Didn’t Ian Parnell solo Bugsy (E6 6a) and Big Black at Northcott in Cornwall? Not amazingly hard, but I’ve top roped Bugsy and it’s amazingly snappy!

I would say that Honnold doing Kommunist is perhaps sligthly more propable than Huber doing Freerider.

that being said, the probability of either happening… is slim to none.

Hansjörg Auer on The Fish

A related question is "What is the hardest route that anyone has died on?".

Have there been any deaths on 'chop' routes?

I know E4 has seen at least one fatality.

I often think about the "most impressive solo". 

Here's a few of my favourites:

Honnold - El Cap
Hansjörg Auer - The Fish
Croft - Astroman
Dave Thomas - Lord

E

Yep.

Marc-Andre-Leclerc: Central Buttress, SCNL (and so much else)

Andy Parkin: Lots in the Alps and Patagonia

Charlie Fowler: Harlin Route

Stevie Haston: Walker in winter.

There must be loads of alpine solos (Berhault for one) that are gobsmacking in terms of length and commitment as well as difficulty. 

Absolutely, all completely hypothetical as I don’t think either of them have any intention of doing these.

To be honest I doubt anyone in the word has any realistic intentions to solo Free Rider?

Wow and crazy! These 2 videos in these links made my hands sweat, particularly that last film of Kammelander on Mordillo. 

The Fly in Rumney is 14c/d, so 8c+?. Super short sport route that gets soloed above pads. Still has a lead grade, not a V grade.

What about Julian Lines on Hold Fast, Hold True.

This is out there in 1989.

https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/berry_head_-_the_old_redoubt-409/t...

As devil's advocate, Possibly worth a mention, just to broaden the spectrum, of Grant Gardener on Reticent Wall? Fairly unlikely that either Honnold or Huber are queuing up for this one...

Reticent Wall (A5)

I think it's been done at least three times...and I'd expect the "hardest" to be unrepeated yet?

I remember that getting reported and thinking "wow".  Apparently he took a sling to clip the belay at end of P1 of Caveman, but found it was too short, so couldn't get a rest and just had to press on. Wild.

What about Phil Davidson's solo of Right Wall on the poster.

Rumour has it that after completing the crux, he called over to the photographer, enquiring if he had enough shots, or whether he would like another take, in which case he would reverse the crux and do it again, but more slowly!

Legend!

I believe the solo for photos was after the original solo, still impressive of course.

Hardest on-sight solo would be an interesting one to know the answer to. London Wall a known example (Honnold), and would have thought there must/would be other routes of similar stature done in this style? Not that I can name any.

Probably 'the solo with the highest technical grade' was what you were after?

Buhl on Nanga Parbat....?

Believe Shane Only has onsight soloed E7 in Cornwall, unsure of exact route though.

Think that might have been a new route as well?

Guess - rather than hardest/highest grade - I meant 'most impressive', i.e. quite a few/lot of E7s (+the odd E8) which don't have any gear/are by their nature solos will have been done in this style, but big/well-protected E5s and E6s maybe less so? 

Be interesting to know what Julian Lines has done. 

All listed in his book. It's mind boggling.

Ah, yeah. I've always been slightly unnerved - a bit scared, even - by the prospect of reading that one. Might have to give it a go. 

Moffatt's solo day on the Cromlech, which included Right Wall and several solo descents of Ivy Sepulchre IIRC, remains impressive to me, but in UK terms at least I also suspect the true answer is something by J Lines

Sounds like a lot of these were actual solos as well. Driving to the crag alone, climbing alone!

I have vague recollections of him onsight soloing something very hard indeed in Ireland.. anyone recall?

Edit: a quick Google suggests The Complete Scream E8 6b

Whilst mega impressive, for what it's worth AH's solo of The Complete Scream in 2016 wasn't onsight. Me & my pal were on the E2 to the right when he ab'd it. He pulled off some loose holds (including a big hollow flake) and I think hung about practising some moves but, most memorably, when he was level with my pal who was having a bit of a hard time on the first pitch of our route, glanced over and remarked drily, "That'd be 5.8 in Yosemite!" 

My nomination would go to Auer on the Marmolada, maybe 15 years ago.

Thanks for the clarification!

In a hypothetical universe where I was a 9a climber (like honnold and mcleod) I feel like I'd rather have a go at a 7c+ multipitch rather than an 8c short single pitch.  If you can climb 8c+ 9a you should be feeling pretty comfortable on 7c+.  My max redpoint is 8a+ and I think if I had a gun to my head i would much much rather  solo a massive 7a rather than solo a short 7c+, it would be dropping the same number of grade as what these soloists have.

I have sympathy with his view. A couple of months after doing Left Wall (E2 5c) OK I found Braille Book (5.8) really hard going.

Mark Leach on Sean's Roof in 1995 (I think) F8b+

Alfredo Webber Panem et Circenses F8c

Depends entirely on style. Secure but physical short and very hard thing with a low crux. Or long thing with easier but insecure moves high up. I know what I'd choose.