Julian Lines has finished-off his long-term project on the Dubh Loch's False Gully Wall, naming it Magrathea and grading it at a weighty E9 7a. The three-pitch line includes two British 6a pitches following the crux pitch, which Jules claims are just as worthy as the first, describing the 2nd in particular as boasting "delightful, absolutely lovely climbing."
I was lucky enough to belay Jules on the route and have to say what I saw him do on that slab pitch was extraordinary. You can't see the holds on photos and you can barely see them belaying.
Balls of steel and a technical climbing genius.
Sounds like a fierce new route.
The interview reads a bit like a phone conversation that's been transcribed word for word. It's nice to hear Jules' "voice" come through in the interview, but it can be a bit hard to follow at times and the text isn't quite coherent in the way it might be if you actually heard Jules talking? Could be useful to apply some careful editing? The Dave Birkett interview from a few weeks ago was the same.
For what it's worth I agree with you a bit there Will. A simple case of paragraphs being too long. You could have kept it exactly the same words there, but made it much easier to read on a smallish screen by framing the points better.
But even then it would rapidly become neglected and lichenous judging by things in the Lakes. Good mountain crags seem to be a bit wasted on southerners.
> But even then it would rapidly become neglected and lichenous judging by things in the Lakes. Good mountain crags seem to be a bit wasted on southerners.
...and away from the two guys who gave it dislikes. Possibly add some yoofs with airguns, stones, and minimotos to keep the hordes away (or mention that in the guidebook, like Rosyth Quarry)
Fri Night Vid Finding Focus - Life Behind The Lens of a Climbing Photographer
This week's Friday Night Video is a portrait of a prolific climbing photographer from Wedge Climbing. Sam Pratt is well known in both the outdoor and competition scene but if you haven't heard of him, you've likely seen...