In reply to Quarryboy:
People value the first ground up ascents of headpointed routes (see those articles about a route getting a Fr + PG/R/X until it gets a ground-up, Gravediggers say).
People value the first flashes or onsights of previously headpointed routes (if the first flash of Gaia or first onsight of End of the Affair or whatever was not news then why do I think I know who did them, despite it not being in any way my local scene).
People value the first onsights of notable sport testpieces (as the reporting of last year's Ondra ticking at Malham showed, first onsights of some of those Malham testpieces did make the news).
I see very few people arguing that if you recognise the value of the head/redpoint there's no value in trying the onsight/flash, do you?
In the same way, first solos of notable southern sandstone routes are valued. The local ethic says that due to the nature of the rock the accepted style of ascent is a toprope or better a solo, in the same way that the local ethic says an acceptable style in which to ascend a sport route at Malham is a redpoint, or better a flash or better still an onsight.
And do you really think that the first solo of a Font 7c+ what looks like a reasonable distance off the ground with the kind of moves that could leave you taking a completely uncontrolled fall wouldn't be news - it sounds far more than an E8 solo to me - isn't Equilibrium a badly protected/unprotected boulder problem in the sky in that sort of region of difficulty)