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19th October, 2010

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Adam Taylor on Golden ticket, 9a © Taylor coll. — Adam Taylor on Golden ticket, 9a
© Taylor coll.

These days, it seems every time Adam Ondra goes to any kind of crag anywhere, he produces news. He's simply at a level where 9a in a few tries and 8b+ onsight is nothing out of the ordinary, and although this in no way makes it less impressive, it tends to become a bit... routine? What's happened in the last couple of years however is interesting. Adam has slowly changed his focus from making 2nd ascents of the unrepeated test-pieces (not many left now) to making first ascents. At 17 the young Czech is already one of the greates, and I'm sure he's no where near his full potential yet.

According to his 8a-scorecard, he has now made the FA of Echolokace at Býčí skála, Mor.kras in the Czech Republic. Adam suggests 9a, but adds that it's hard for the grade.

Meanwhile the action continues in Switzerland. Just before everything turned baltic, Chris Webb-Parsons took advantage of what he describes as the best conditions at Magic wood ever, making the first ascent of one 8C and one 8B+. Believe in two was an old project that starts in the classic Steppenwolf, but heads immediately right. Chris says he's sure that this, his "physically hardest boulder to date" is 8C and that it will stand the test of time. Still on a high from the send, Cristian Core showed him what he thought could be a possible new harder exit to One summer in paradise, 8B. After cleaning it, it went down in a couple of tries and became Tough times, 8B+.

Finally just a heads up. Jonathan Siegrist is in the Red River Gorge, Kentucky, and those of you who remember last year's rampage know what this means. So far, Jonathan has been working a bit on Golden ticket, 9a. The only thing left to solve now is the big dyno. As he is considerably shorter than Adam Taylor, who made the FA, it's pretty difficult for Jonathan, but as it seems it's only a matter of commiting. Watch this space.