Since his ascent of The New Statesman, E8 7a, Leeds resident Jacob Cook has recently been quickly working his way through the big ticks at Ilkley in good style. Ticks include; Cindy Crawford, highball 7C/E7, Desperate Dan, E6 6b, and Guillotine, E6 6b.
First, and most significantly, Jacob made the first flashed ascent and perhaps third overall ascent of John Dunne's Cindy Crawford, 7C/E7. John Dunne made the first ascent in 2000 and due to the difficulty and height of the route, it had repelled all potential suitors until earlier this year, Dave Sutcliffe made what is considered by most to be the second ascent of the line, ground-up (UKC News Report). Jake flashed the highball on the 17th November, commenting on his blog:
"It was one of those rare moments in climbing where everything falls into place and hard moves feel effortless. I wasn't concentrating on anything really, how high I was off the ground, how small the holds were, exactly what sequence I was going to use, success, failure... It all just faded into the background. Until everything flashed back to reality and I was cutting loose with my right hand holding a green sloper on the lip of the boulder. Deep breaths. Take it easy. Over the top. A perfect climbing experience."
Since Jacob's ascent, David Mason made the fourth ascent ground-up and Jordan Buys flashed the fifth ascent, showing the problem is finally getting the attention it deserves.
You can see a video of David's ascent here
Jacob then returned to Ilkley a week or two later, and made a ground up ascent of the classic Ron fawcett arete; Desperate Dan and also made a headpoint ascent of the Livesey arete; Guillotine E6 6b, on the same day.
Commenting on his UKC Logbook Jacob said of Desperate Dan: "Second go, ground up above pads, quite scary falling off tickling the pocket!" and of Guillotine; "Green, Slimy and Scary! Would not like to fall off this one".
Here is a video of Jacob recreating his flashed ascent of Cindy Crawford:
Here is a video of Jacob climbing Desperate Dan and Guillotine:
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