UKC

At the beginning of the year, James Pearson made the first ascent of his long-standing trad project, Bon Voyage, in Annot France. 

Read more

In reply to UKC News:

Interested to see the British technical grade James would propse.

Take some big balls, but I don't doubt that it is E12.

In reply to UKC News:

On the back of this, I can also recommend listening to him talking about this route on The Careless Talk podcast. The whole episode is one of the best I've heard in quite a while - very honest and introspective - but his comments on the route and his potential grading of it were very interesting. 

In reply to UKC News:

Quite the narrative arc! Kudos to James for putting a grade out there. 

I thought both this and the recent Steve Maclure article were excellent pices in how some quite negative aspects of climbing can be turned into positive ones (especially regarding obsessing over grades) and the processes you inevitably go through during a long climbing career.

In reply to UKC News:

I enjoyed reading that very much. Very brave of James both to send and pluck up the courage propose a grade so eloquently.

In reply to slawrence1001:

Given the technical grade is all but meaningless above 6b, I don't think this would tell us a lot.

In reply to spidermonkey09:

Fair point, I guess sport grade would be far more informative.

In reply to UKC News:

I feel like 9a+ R or whatever might be more useful these days, but perhaps would not court as much UK media attention!

In reply to UKC News:

I'm getting horrible déjà vu. Get Birkett down there to straighten things out. 

In reply to Dawes of Time:

I have two thoughts on that:

- your concern is misplaced

- the proposed grade is very probably correct

From the sounds of it, current generation top trad climbers (no disrespect intended to DB) have already commented on the grade.

In reply to UKC News:

Oh, here we go 

In reply to UKC News:

Excellent write up from James!

In reply to UKC News:

Yes, a very honest-sounding review of his own climbing history, warts and all.

I'm glad James found a happy place, with Caro and then family. Plenty of others may have been burned after such youthful naïveté, but it seems that he lives for climbing and not just for climbing success, so it's great that he's found a way to achieve both.

In reply to UKC News: one of the best articles on here for sone time , irrespective of topic . Wether Bon voyage is E12 or not matters nothing to me and is of little interest but much of the article outside of this is very interesting . I’m trying and largely failing to help my teenage children navigate a digital world of which I have little knowledge or experience . It was a long time before I acknowledged that UKC is a social media and on  reflection the way I was persuaded of this was vaguely unpleasant  ( boo hoo ) . Maybe it’s because the context ( climbing ) is one that I have some experience , but I found James discussion of this world and how it has affected him very engaging. I am going to get my kids to read the article and hope it will spark some discussion outside of E12 . I would like to hear  James interviewed with an emphasis on this maybe with a short discussion of context for a non climbing audience.

In reply to mike123:

Do watch Redemption, it's brilliant. And your kid will enjoy it too I surmise.

In reply to UKC News:

James delivered a talk at Kendal Film Festival that essentially consisted of this article and it was excellent. The amount it meant to him came across really clearly and his thoughts were fascinating. When he finished with his big (but by that point unsurprising) statement that he thought the route deserved E12, I was immediately curious about whether he'd choose to publicise that more widely. I'm glad to see he has and that UKC has broadly received it so well, with only one person getting in a really tacky dig.

I thoroughly second the recommendation for the film 'Redemption'. It's a good few years old now but makes for great background to this article.

In reply to Luke90: a friend tried to persuade me to go to a few things at Kendal for which they had tickets , I toyed with the idea but decided i wasn’t very  interested , which considering how little effort it would have involved is a poor do . It would seem I should try removing my blinkers once in a while .

In reply to UKC News:

There have been some cutting edge trad climb FA's or repeats this year:

Bon Voyage - E12

Crown Royale - 9a

Meltdown (Yosemite) - 5.14c, 8c+

Stranger than Friction - 5.14

With sport climbing  and bouldering there appears to be a universally accepted unification of grading system, French for sport and Font for bouldering.  Trad climbing looks trapped between three systems, US for cracks, Sport grades for safe and UK grades for terrifying.

In reply to UKC News:

A thoughtful and honest article, enjoyed reading that.

As for the grade, here’s an extract from a UKC interview with Steve McClure after he repeated Le Voyage E10 7a:

“Have you taken a look at Bon Voyage? How does it compare to Le Voyage? 

I had the pleasure of James giving me a blow-by-blow account of the route when we were side by side on an abseil. I got to see every hold and move in close detail. It looks absolutely nails! Just a different level to anything I've seen. The route is trad, it has only trad gear. It's generally good but pretty spaced to say the least. You won't die and risk of injury is 'fairly low' but there will be big falls, providing the gear is placed well. The last moves will be very spicy indeed.

But what is clear is the difficulty. As a sport route it is very hard indeed, like 9a hard. Tiny poor holds, awful feet. Very impressive. If it's not E12 (or more) I'll be very surprised! 

Any plans to give it a go? 

Funnily enough my inspiration for a visit to Annot was from Bon Voyage. Hearing about the route was inspiring, and then I was reminded about Le Voyage, and so the focus became to try Le Voyage and then 'look' at potentially the hardest trad route in the world.

And, to be honest, I think that 'look' will be as far as it goes. It's really hard.

I can imagine I could start to make some progress but I've enough experience to know instantly what is gonna take a long time, like we are talking many days, multiple trips. And it may still be just too hard for me, an unfamiliar rock type and at that grade, it is likely to be right on the limit or above for me.  

In addition, and James would be in agreement, it's got a few very reachy moves. The rock type is such that there is a hold, or nothing. I could see I'd really struggle a lot.”

I may have missed it but not sure it’s had a second ascent yet? Perhaps Will Bosi will give it a go one day, seems to fit the bill for the hard but ‘safe enough’ trad routes he’s been focusing on.

In reply to Misha:

It hasn't been repeated yet.

Thanks for including Steve McClure's thoughts, confirms the grade is about right. I enjoyed James's interview too, seemed really honest.

In reply to UKC News:

That was a great read, thank you James. 

In reply to UKC News:

E0 is back, baby!

Given the inconsistencies and sensitivities of extending the UK grading system beyond E10, perhaps we've got it all the wrong way around and we should actually ascribe anything beyond E10 as E0?

😬

In reply to UKC News:

TLDR?

In reply to DenzelLN:

"James Pearson proposes E12 for Bon Voyage"?

But you're missing out; it's an excellent article.

In reply to UKC News:

Good on James for not crumbling under all that negative bs, and putting up a route like this in the end.  Imagine feeling hounded out of your own country because you made a youthful error in judgement.  Geez...

Enjoyed the article and all his candor, but I don't think he owed anyone an explanation, much less the mob that shamed him into leaving.

Redemption enough that he puts up an actual E12 in the end

In reply to grectangle:

I m not sure I agree he was mobbed out of his own country. There was widespread scepticism as to the grade, which had been given along with a comment on the only e11 back then, which he hadn't even attempted. 

Then MacLeod came along and gave the grade a massive slap in the face to e9.

It's after that that james left. For me his leaving is more a matter of 'shame', of feeling the chasm between his perception and reality. 

In reply to Denislejeune:

To me at the time, reading the comments and vitriol, it seemed and felt like a pile on and shit show.

You say “For me his leaving is more a matter of ‘shame’…” Do you know the reasons why James left or is that what you have decided must be the case? 

I found these words from his excellent and very honest article interesting: 

“For a long time I held a grudge against the climbing community in the UK for the way I felt I'd been treated. It seemed cruel out of all proportion and I wanted nothing to do with them. I'd often think about the UK as my hypothetical ex, someone I loved and hated at the same time, and the more I'd do to try to win them back, the more they'd run away! It took a long time to process my feelings and to find peace within myself.

The early 2000's were a very different time to today and I think we've come a long way as a community in terms of tolerance and inclusivity, but we still have a long way to go. Whilst we might be less likely to publicly humiliate people than we were in the era of those terrible television shows, there is still plenty of that going on in private, especially hidden behind internet anonymity. I know I'm not going to change the world on this subject, but I would love it if anyone reading this could think just a little more about how we treat one another, and realise that our words can carry significant weight, even if we don't take them seriously.”

In reply to Cusco:

Hi Cusco,

I thought I had taken enough precautions regarding the subjectivity of my comment with 'for me', as well as nuanced it by using the word 'more', which in my mind does not do away one second with the notion that the online crap he got didn't affect him. Sorry if I was wrong on either count.

I can quote passages which would go 'my' way, right now at the wall so can do later if u want. 

For me, in my eyes, personally, if the e12 had been vindicated by dave, james could have risen above the idiots. And if he d left just because of the hatred, I personally, for myself, see no valid reason to go into a negative spiral and put everything in doubt due to keyboard warriors. I could very well be wrong, I claim no more hold of the truth than the next man in a comment section.

What I think shook him most, as in 'not just that but more than the rest', is the chasm I mentioned, that he saw himself as a bit more than he was then. Which is totally forgivable, he was very young etc. Not throwing stones here.

In reply to UKC News:

I don't think it will come as a surprise to anyone that this route is rated as one of the very hardest single pitch trad routes in the world. While I haven't been the greatest fan of (what often appears to be) Pearson's 'style chasing' in many of his UK flash ascents/attempts, the fact that he has had the vision and drive to attempt the likes of Lexicon in better style than his contemporaries - many of whom being among our best UK trad climbers - shows that in many ways, he's ahead of the pack.

That he can exile himself and work hard over many years to become a better, harder, fitter, more rounded climber in every way than before, and then have the determination and courage to offer his best stab at a grade for this line (when it would have been very, very easy to stay quiet), shows that he is a class act.

In reply to Michael Gordon:

’exile’ in the south of France would probably be good for most peoples climbing!! 

In reply to Michael Gordon:

What do you mean by "style chasing"? It's not a concept I've come across before, and the only meaning I can think of in this context would seem to be the thing you then praise him for.

In reply to Luke90:

I assume that's what they meant. Like getting Caro to ab routes and give first-hand beta so he could claim a 'flash'.

As contrived as some of it is, is there anyone else attempting to onsight E10 or going Ground-up on E11?

James talked about it in the article about Parthian I think- his desire to improve on previous ascents and not wanting to even bother attempting something in a worse style than what has already been done.

In reply to Luke90:

I assume it's in relation to some of the routes James did in Pembroke. He flashed a lot of hard routes there (Dusk till Dawn, Daddy Cool, his attempt on Muy Calienete! etc) but I think it's fair to say he had a lot of info for those ascents, generally from watching Caro try them and discussing with her afterwards. Nothing wrong with this imo, as far as Im aware he's always been open about the style which I think is the main thing.

In reply to remus:

What you and Paul have suggested as a definition makes sense, it just leaves me no more clear about why Michael seemed to be using the term critically.

In reply to UKC News:

He seems so much older and wiser and much water moved under that bridge, it seems unnecessary and laboured he still has to discuss the Walk of Life. Aren't we all ready to move on from that and just focus on the new route without going back there over again 

In reply to CantClimbTom:

I agree, but unfortunately, tis an albatross hanging around his neck

In reply to CantClimbTom:

It's a two-way street I think. People still feel compelled to bring it up any time anyone mentions James and I think the redemption arc also sells him more as an athlete (hence why he still brings it up on the regular also). 

Also it isn't often you can trace something so pivotal in your life back to one action. Even if James had gone with E11 for TWOL he may be in a totally different place right now. His entire world now happened because of one specific action. You can't blame him for talking about probably the most important thing that has ever or will ever happen to him. 

In reply to Luke90:

It's the type of sniping that can plague the British climbing scene, and harks back to the original controvery.  It's a bit rich as so many other people have done it (everyone?) and got away with.

Good luck to James by the way - this, and the rest of his ticklist, puts him right up there for getting some top climbing done

In reply to remus:

I think that there has been some push back against his style chasing because he has injected a degree of ambiguity into the definition of styles which sat uneasily with some. Chasing style by re-defining the limits of the style.

Pre-inspection on abseil turns out to be a totally ambiguous nightmare. On one end of the scale we have a cursory brush of the holds and a check of gear placements and on the other we have sequentially measuring all the body positions on the route whilst ones weight is held by the abseil rope.

Whilst this hyper inspection flash method has possibly delivered impressive results compared to the older approach it leaves possibly more to the descriptive integrity of the climber in a way that is avoided by redpointing and obviously leaves the climber open to a whiff of impropriety in a way that is more insidious and hard to rebut.

I imagine it to be a fine line between measuring the body positions on abseil and pulling on.

In reply to Brown:

If anything JP has removed some ambiguity as I understand he doesn’t abseil the routes unlike many ‘flashed’ ascents you see recorded.
Ground up is a binary action that should form the basis of any definition of flashed, that said, it’s better not to be too wedded to three misunderstood definitions and judge each ascent on it’s merits. 

In reply to Tyler:

Only buried in the fine print of the Pembroke flashes there is abseil inspection. The lexicon flash attempt had abseil inspection.

As I say. Ambiguity.

In reply to Brown:

But still a better style and quicker than the original first ascent head-points….?

Still great and noteworthy repeats of great and hard routes? 

Still something worth celebrating and not downing? (I despair at this aspect of British mentality in general society and sometimes seen and reflected in this parish). 

In reply to Michael Hood:

As time passes, it increasingly looks more like an albatross hanging round the necks of the internet critics, and it's not a good look.

In reply to Brown:

It is very buried as there doesn't seem to be any mention of it in the UKC article, is that something that's in the definitive guides as at the time I thought it was stated there was no abseil inspection by JP himself.

I agree on the ambiguity which is why I said significant ascents should be accompanied by some narrative. Not sure what your point is about Lexicon, as he didn't flash it but it's hard to argue that he didn't move the needle a bit in terms of trad climbing, it's possibly the hardest/most impressive trad ascent there's been in the UK.

In reply to Cusco:

I can kind of understand the tendency to be more excited when someone pushes back the boundary of what's achievable in a given style by fundamentally being harder rather than by doing more preparation than people previously had done while staying within the rules of the style.

OTOH, I don't really agree with it, not least because the two often seem to go hand-in-hand anyway - look at JP, look at Ondra's megaprojects, look at Dave Mac, look at Ben and Jerry, hell look at OG Jones if you want to...

In reply to Michael Hood:

Is it? He got a grade wrong, so what? He's a really REALLY good climber and he's proven so over and over again.

In reply to Ramblin dave:

Agreed. I don't understand why JP gets such a go of it. He made a wrong call on the grade of TWOL, which he has clearly grown from. He is consistently climbing the hardest trad lines across Europe and, while not always in 'perfect' style, is always honest and open about his ascents.

In reply to CantClimbTom:

I think the back story about The Walk of Life is very much part of the overall story. In some ways, he has now come full circle.

In reply to Tyler:

https://www.climber.co.uk/news/pearson-flashes-e9-in-pembroke-short-intervi...

How did you prepare yourself for the route?

I decided to try to flash the route as opposed to attempt an onsight, as I figured I had a realistic chance of the former. There is a massive difference between two styles, especially on a route like Something’s Burning, which comes down to a very exact sequence, and rather specific gear. I decided to try the route after Caroline (Ciavaldini) checked it out on abseil rope and told me it looked easy. It seemed too good to be true, and it was.  Over the next couple of days she made a more detailed inspection of the route, figuring out the gear, and actually trying some of the moves.  She changed her original opinion, several times in fact, finally telling me it was going to be hard, and that there were a couple of moves that would rely mainly on luck. Just before I tried the route, I abseiled down the line with Caro to watch her try some of the moves, and more importantly place the crux gear. Caro is really aware of my climbing style, and she's become quite good at choosing a method that works for me. Basically she climbs things with big moves, and avoids using small, precise footholds.

In reply to Brown:

I still don't see the issue. You are welcome to make your own assessment as to whether or not it is a flash but he hasn't hidden anything or tried to deceive anyone. Given the behaviour and ethics of plenty of climbing legends this is incredibly minor.

In reply to slawrence1001:

I'm trying to explain what was meant by style chasing as people seemed confused up thread and then I was clarifying a question raised by Tyler.

I don't think we can really celebrate hard climbing achievements without understanding what has been achieved. That's not negative. Not bothering to engage before being impressed is disrespectful.

In reply to Brown:

Thank you, I’d not seen that. It puts a different complexion on the ascent for sure, still mightily impressive though.

In reply to Michael Hood:

If you move on through "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner", you come to this point:

"The self-same moment I could pray;

And from my neck so free

The Albatross fell off, and sank

Like lead into the sea."

Then, just a few verses later:

"I moved, and could not feel my limbs;

I was so light......"

Is this possibly a good description of where JP is, and where UKC should now be?

In reply to UKC News:

The Crime and Punishment of climbing. I felt quite the tortured soul reading it.

I’m sure it was JP’s reality that he felt pushed out of the UK. I doubt that everyone in the same position would have felt the same way, but he’s certainly not the only one to have felt that way.

Nonetheless, it is a perceived reality that has served him well for a few years now: it yields a good yarn and it gives a clichéd narrative arc that -evidently- appeals to a modern UKC audience.

Good effort to JP, afterall, he’s the one still making a living from -ostensibly- doing something he loves.

In reply to simes303:

Notice that I started my post with "I agree" - and if you look at what I'm agreeing with you'll see that I agree with you too.

The albatross aspect is really, can you ever envisage JP making a statement or doing a blog or whatever without the WoL grading raising it's head; I hope that time comes, but it's not here yet. I also hope that it no longer has any adverse effect on his climbing (or the rest of his life).

In reply to Luke90:

In addition to what others have said upthread, it seems to me to be doing just about anything one can do to claim a particular style, rather than the emphasis being on just attempting the route for the challenge, and in a less contrived way. Hence going to the trouble of having someone else play on the route before you, with the primary intention of giving you the beta on it, and then bawl at you the moves all the way up the route. That aint just for the challenge is it; that's being primarily focused on the style.

That's the nice thing to me about onsights or headpoints; they leave less room for tactical differences between different ascents. I'm not saying there are no grey areas with onsight, but there do seem to be a lot fewer.   

In reply to Michael Gordon:

I think you might be looking at it the wrong way.

Maybe it's a personal thing and he's not too bothered about how anyone else thinks, and maybe he ideally wants to do every route on-sight, but he knows that just isn't possible with the hardest routes he wants to do. Maybe he's then trying to do each route as close to on-sight as possible, so for each route he has to assess what that "close as possible" is likely going to be whilst retaining a reasonable chance of him getting up the route without resorting to actual practice. And so whilst we might think that abseiling down whilst Caro does the moves is pretty strong beta (and we might wonder is there any point in doing that rather than head-pointing), maybe he feels that the route's going to be so difficult that he needs that level of beta otherwise he'd have to head-point it to stand a reasonable chance of success and he's trying to avoid that because that's the furthest away from on-sight.

And then when he records that he flashed it (or whatever style) but also details how he got the beta, he's just being open so nobody can accuse him of being "economical with the truth" and the end result is he gets criticised by us armchair warriors regardless.

When I started climbing, apart from lack of ability and circumstances, making a living from climbing wasn't a dream because nobody at the time (except maybe Ron) was doing it. Isn't it great that people like JP can now "live the dream".

In reply to UKC News:

Now all that needs to happen to bring the circle complete is that Dave Macleod needs to go siege the route, upgrade it to E14 and offer a black pudding of Peace to James!

jokes aside, this was a great article and lovely to hear how a big name sponsor gave a young athlete a second chance and that he actually took that chance and is able to reflect on the whole journey. In some ways i feel James could have avoided the contentious grade by simply avoiding giving a French route a British grade. But I'm kind of glad he has as its given him an opportunity to share a great story.

In reply to Michael Hood:

And maybe pigs fly now and again...

"Maybe he's then trying to do each route as close to on-sight as possible"

Sorry, but I had to laugh at that. These ascents are really as far away from the onsight ethic as it is possible to get without resorting to practice (and in cases like Lexicon, even that is borderline). And yet, credit where it is due, it's certainly a more difficult way to attempt these routes than others have chosen, even if it's arguably more contrived. So it is pointing the way forward and throwing down the gauntlet for future improvements.  

In reply to Michael Gordon:

I'm still confused by how you keep sounding utterly opposed to his approach in one sentence and then in the next acknowledging its strengths and even expressing admiration for it. I get that a pure onsight and a classic headpoint are both easier to precisely define than James' "maximum beta flash" approach which muddies the water a bit. But as you've sometimes acknowledged, what he's doing is still increasing the challenge in a way that edges closer to onsight, even if it's still a long way from it. As long as there's complete openness about the process followed, I don't see any reason to be grumpy about it. It's just not realistic to expect anyone in this generation of climbers to rock up and onsight routes like Lexicon, that's surely a challenge for the next generation. What's the hardest trad route anyone's ever onsighted? E8?

Like most boundaries, it will probably be broken down in stages rather than all at once. Edging closer to onsighting hard routes by attempting them with various levels of beta feels like a step along the path to me. Refusing to give any kudos for those steps seems like it would delay the pure onsights you want to see rather than bringing them closer.

In reply to Luke90:

Good post. I'm trying to be balanced, as while I dislike (what often seems to be) the pursuit of style kudos over challenge for its own sake, that approach has nevertheless pushed things forward and resulted in some impressive ascents.   

In reply to UKC News:

I'm somewhat amazed and sadly disheartened by the constant sniping, 'nit picking' and trivialities shown by some of the contributors on this post.

The point is - 99.99% of climbers could not not have achieved what JP has done - a fabulously written and honest article showing humility and youthful regret - total respect to JP, well done and congratulations 👍

In reply to Michael Gordon, Luke90:

What's going on 'ere then? Healthy debate?!

...

Actually, what was the highest E-grade onsight?

In reply to morpcat:

Hopefully without too much sniping

Pretty sure E9 is still to be cracked?

In reply to Michael Gordon:

In the UK and Ireland, certainly no E9 onsights and possibly no E8 onsights either. I don’t know if E9 level trad routes have been onsighted elsewhere. Some US crack routes might have been?

In reply to Misha:

Pretty sure I watched the very same James Pearson onsight My Piano (E8) at Nesscliffe, I think this was 2012. 

In reply to Misha:

Is this a coded hint that the ones usually spoken of weren't really onsight or aren't really E8?

In reply to AJM:

Nightmayer is definitely E8. Is Dawes Rodes. Shovelhead considered boarderline at the grade?

In reply to Misha:

Steve McClure onsighted Nightmayer (E8)

In reply to Michael Hood:

What a load of piffle. He's more than proven himself. In fact a lot of this thread is awful. He made a mistake years ago, let it go.

In reply to Tyler:

Yeah I've heard no mutterings about Nightmayer being soft. I've no idea how Dawes is viewed. But there's others that have been claimed too.

In reply to AJM:

Dave Birkett on sighted Fear of Failure on Dove, in 2022. I quizzed him about it as it shares the start with some other routes. He did FofF first. Not heard of it being downgraded.

In reply to UKC News:

I remember the Bon Voyage debacle - and by that I mean the shameful way too many people piled in to criticise the grading of something they would never be able to attempt themselves. I can totally understand why he chose to live and climb abroad after that, and thankfully he seems to have found a way through to a happy life. Can't wait to see if this route gets any repeats. 

In reply to UKC News:

Out of interest I put together a list of E8 or harder flashes + onsights https://climbing-history.org/list/29/hard-trad-onsights-and-flashes

In reply to Wyre Forest Illuminati:

Dave Birkett has also onsighted My Piano (onsight DVD I think).

In reply to remus:

I should add that this isn't meant to be definitive. If anyone knows any others it'd be great to flesh out the list.

In reply to remus:

Blimey, Mike Owen was a bit of a wad and I'd never heard of him. Was he a dark horse at the time or did I just miss him because he was before my time? Looks like 1990 was quite a year for him!

In reply to Luke90:

I'm sure I remember him doing an early repeat of Fated Path (when it was E7 rather than 7C+ or whatever it is now since rebolting). Did he onsight it? It's such a long time ago I may have him mixed up with someone else.

That Bells write up is sweaty palms reading.

In reply to 65:

Mike Owen quietly mopped up a load of horror show early repeats in the 80s/90s. Pex honed fingers and a cool head. Still climbing 8a in his 60s.

In reply to slawrence1001:

Completely forgot that. I stand corrected.

In reply to Tom Briggs:

Did you mean 2022 or was that a typo? Remus’s list suggest 2003, which seems more apt. E8 onsight is very impressive but if Birkett did it in 2022 I’d be seriously impressed.

In reply to Misha:

Yes, typo - sorry. 2002.