UKC

On Monday the 23rd of June, James McHaffie made British climbing history by climbing 100 extreme routes in the English Lake District, solo and in just 19 hours.

Here we have the FULL ROUTE LIST as well as James' thoughts on the day.

"...I got quite high and then suddenly realised I was in the red zone, with nothing in the tank, and I had about 5 seconds to do something, you know. That was the only close call really..."

Read more at http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=69004

In reply to UKC News:

"James- is widely regarded as Britiain's top all round rock climber."

Why say something as unneccesary and trite as this on what is otherwise such a great celebration thread following an absolutely major acheivement. What happened to understatement of genius, like with the man himself?

In reply to UKC News:

Well done to James, a staggering achievement. Just reading the routes list made my arms wilt.

Awesome stuff, really great challenge, and superb write-up on the blog.

Really impressed.

Jack

In reply to Jack Geldard - UKC Chief Editor:

Yeah, outstanding days climbing. Stirling effort old chap!

I did over 50 solos at Burbage North couple of weeks back Jack. When's this hitting the news page? lol

Holly hell! Central Buttress alone was a full day out for me. Though I can't understand why he would have hiked a long way into Scafell for only one route and while he was at Shepherds, he missed out The Bludgeon. Odd.

In reply to Jayson Keable:


from the blog
"CB was the biggest route on the list and in its own way the most intimidating. The 1st ascent of this in 1914 was visionary with the kit they had. Leaving Sansoms shoulders to grovel up the crack before bringing Holland up was some feat which dad would speak of in his lectures in the Moot Hall in Keswick. Mabel Barkers and Menloves efforts were incredible also.

It was the centenary of the 1st ascent this year and I’d read a great deal about the 1st World War and what was ‘involved’. Herford died in it in 1916 at the age of 25. His essay ‘The Doctrine of Descent’ is a brilliant piece of writing concerning mountain climbing.

Starting on CB felt like paying respects and the story and tragedy related to the climb was like fuel."

Amazing effort from James and a lovely understated bit of writing to go with it.

In reply to UKC News:

Amazing achievement. Funnily enough I was climbing on Scafell on Sunday and saw their tent as I walked down and thought they're in for a great day tomorrow, just because of the great weather and having Scafell to themselves, I had no idea who they were and just how truly Great a day it was going to be!
Incidentally, was the guy soloing Botteril's Slab that evening connected with them?

In reply to UKC News:

Thanks for the list and great achievement, from someone who remembers Big Ron's effort all those years ago. First there was 100 routes on Stanage, then 100 Extremes at Stanage. Now 100 extremes in the Lakes. So who is up for 100 extreme routes in Wales, and Scotland could be tricky with much bigger distances/heights to cover!

In reply to UKC News:

Magnificent. That's all to be said about a brilliant athlete at the very top of his game. The read alne made me feel knackered - I recall doing about 6 of those routes - over 2-3 years, with suitable rests, training periods and mental conditioning...Total admiration.

In reply to Offwidth:


Why say something as unnecessary etc...

What a shame that your rather testy post was the first response on what should have been a v positive thread.

I'm staggered by James' achievement having done just a few of those routes, and not in one day! Superb achievement and a lovely write up on his blog (do read it).

Jon

In reply to UKC News:

What a fantastic achievement - it makes Big Ron's ground breaking 100 extremes look like a walk in the park. Caff faced bigger routes, loose rock, moss and many miles of rough ground between crags to complete this. In my opinion it is the most amazing feat ever acomplished in English climbing.
Nice one Caff.

In reply to Paul Phillips - UKC and UKH:


Speaking of Stirling, isn't Caff sponsored by Sterling ropes any more? I thought he was but they weren't listed. Still, I thought he was sponsored by Red CHili, not Boreal so maybe I'm very out of date.

In reply to Sean Kelly:



Ron's 100 Extremes in a day was on the Eastern Grit edges, not just at Stanage, but even so, not as much yomping about as Caff!

In reply to Jayson Keable:


I think he got it bang on. CB simply has to be there, especially considering its anniversary.

In reply to UKC News:

Well after being brought up climbing in Borrowdale its not really surprising that climbing in the rest of the world is a piece of cake to this young lad. His dad would have expected nothing less.....A very good day on the crags...Cumbria Rules

In reply to Phizzers:

That's right, what an awesome achievement!
It's got me psyched for sure

In reply to UKC News:

A remarkable achievement by a very modest guy.

Talking of modest guys I may stand to be corrected but I believe John Arran climbed 100 Extreme's on 1 crag in a day. I assume on Stanage.

In reply to Phizzers:

They're both absolutely brilliant achievements, what Big Ron missed in moss and loose rock, he made up for with E5s and down climbing E4s, definitely not a 'walk in the park'.
Well done Caff.

In reply to UKC News:

The beauty of this outing is that it's something us average climbers can begin to relate to, unlike El Cap mega routes, or 9as. Most of us know what the lower E grades feel like. We may even have soloed the odd one or two, but when you see how the list just goes on and on (and on and on and on) it is truely humbling. Nice one Caff.

In reply to Skyfall:

Nonsense, they are two completely different things. James' achievements are not dulled by journalistic hyperbole, nor critics of it and maybe more to the point this isn't the news thread that announced it, its just the UKC feature launch.

In reply to Derek Ryden:

One of the great things about the small world of climbing is you can meet the high performers, discuss things with them and even rib them mildly. They may be in a different league to most of us in performance terms but they are usually pretty modest and face the same sort of issues we do when they climb.

In reply to Derek Ryden:

A great thing about challenges such as this is they're not set in stone - you can pretty much make it up / customise it for your own needs. So while something like this would be impossible for most, it might inspire some to do their own easier links-ups.

In reply to UKC News:

Was talking to a friend about this last night. If you assume an average length of 100 feet per route (its probably more than that though), then that makes at least 10,000 feet of climbing which is more than 3 Noses of EL Cap stacked on top of each other. Just climbing that much V Diff would be tiring enough and that's before you take into account all the running about between crags. Amazing.

In reply to pec:
Sorry to be pedantic but the Nose must be more than 3333 feet in total as its 2900 vertical height.

In reply to UKC News:

Seeing the list really brings it home, doesn't it?

Interesting reference to 'stashing ropes'. What are the 'rules' exactly - are abseil descents in?

jcm

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:

>

Yes, as I understand it, he did this on quite a few crags.

In reply to johncoxmysteriously:


As I understand it, the line is drawn with abseil ascents.

In reply to Offwidth:

Yes, but I think 100 feet is a conservative estimate of the average length and many of the routes will wind about a bit as well so 3 Noses is a reasonable ball park estimate of the amount of climbing involved.

In reply to pec:

Add them up if you want. The length climbed in my view is pretty much irrelevant as impressive as it may be the overall acheivement is amazing so its sort of lost in the noise.