This week's Friday Night Video takes us across the pond to Yosemite Valley, where Amity Warme is trying Book of Hate, 5.13d.
First climbed by Randy Leavitt in 1999, the forty-five metre route follows a gradually steeping corner, requiring delicate and strenuous stemming, as well as a couple of pumpy gear placements after the bolts run out.
One of the hardest corner climbs in Yosemite, Amity's attempt on Book of Hate - which she later found out had led to a fully ruptured A2 pulley in her middle finger - features equal parts calm and collected climbing, panic and terror, and pure relief, what's not to like?
For those who enjoyed the video, here's a bonus video of Randy making the first ascent back in 1999, as featured in INERTIA 2: Focus. The footage of Book of Hate starts at 2:40.
Comments
Americans are weird. Put bolts right next to sinker wire slots and then no bolts in the top half where you're into sketchy ball-nuts and micro-cams?
Not that I cared! Proper all out fight! That girl climbs well for sure but she is above all a proper fighter. I am well impressed. I wish I could fight half as hard when I am on the wall.
Good videos and that looks like an amzing route. Would love to try it.
Curious as to the grade change though. Randy declared it "borderline 5.13" and now it apparently gets 5.13d? That's a 3 or maybe even 4 grade change!
Or by "borderline 5.13" could he have meant possibly even 5.14? Seems an unlikely way to phrase it if that's what he meant.
Anyone know why the grade may have changed so much? Absurdly talented first ascentionist? (but we know that already!) Climbing style that modern climbers struggle more with? Anything else?
I wonder whether it was a bit of a throwaway comment from Leavitt. At any rate, the change doesn't appear to have taken long; the route is captioned as being 5.13d in the video which appears to have been released only two years after the first ascent. Had it been repeated by then? If not then the 5.13d presumably came from Leavitt. There are only two repeats listed on the MP database and they're both last year - with one other name suggesting the 13d rating without logging an ascent.
Broken hold? Not unlikely looking at some of those flakes. caveat: I know nothing about the route or the sector it is in.