Max Milne has made just the second flash ascent of The Ace (f8B), at Stanage Plantation, in the Peak District.

The boulder, which was first climbed by Jerry Moffatt in 2001, is an extension of the short and powerful classic The Joker (f8A), which Moffatt established five years prior, in 1996. Moffatt, one of the best climbers of his generation, had The Ace as his main goal in climbing for somewhere in the region of 'three years', before eventually making the first ascent.

The boulder received early repeats from Ben Moon, Malcolm Smith, a young Ty Landman, and Andy Earl, and quickly became a testpiece of gritstone mastery, with the finest climbers of each generation making the Plantation pilgrimage to try their fingertips on one of the Peak District's most iconic boulders.

The years that followed saw ascents from climbers such as Michele Caminati, Jan Hojer, Will Bosi, and Aidan Roberts, before a certain Adam Ondra came along in January 2023, more than two decades after the boulder's first ascent, and made the boulder's first flash ascent. 

Then, earlier today, Max Milne joined that very exclusive list by becoming the second person to flash The Ace.

At 8B, Milne and Ondra's flashes of The Ace are the hardest gritstone flashes ever.

Sharing the news on Instagram, Max said:

'Finally put my money where my mouth is and went up to try flash this gem today. I've dreamt about it for years and believed that I had it in me, but if I'm being honest I still can't believe it just happened! Words can't express how good it felt to build something up so big in my head, lock in, execute, and stand on top of this one'.

'Shoutout everyone who has got me to this level and thanks to Jim Pope and Sam Pratt for a beautiful morning out on the grit today before a savage endurance session, cause at the end of the day I still got some more competitions to train for!'

We spoke to Max shortly after he made the ascent, and asked him a few questions about it:

How long has flashing The Ace been on your radar?

Since I first saw it when I was still a little kid who lived in Aberdeen 😂

Have you tried The Joker?

No I haven't tried it, or I don't think it would count as a flash for The Ace.

Do you think The Ace is a boulder that suits modern comp style climbing?

Hmmmm, tricky one I think flashing things does as it's a skill I practice lots. My plan was to do the 'one, two' beta for the last move, but I got there it didn't feel right, so I changed my plan and I'm glad I did because it worked perfectly - and I almost caught a cheeky toe took too.

It's definitely a style which is super athletic, but those crimps are small, and that's not something often seen in comps, so it was nice to reconnect to my roots in Aberdeen and crimp the shit out of some small holds. 

Do you have your eyes on any other hard outdoors boulders?

I'd like to do my first 8C and 8C+ this year but not sure when I'll have time with all my comps coming up! What was nice about today was I have thought about trying to flash this boulder for a few years and it was on the fly and an unplanned trip.

I was in Sheffield with Jim last two days and had some great training days, and had a lovely rest day wild swimming and drinking coffee yesterday, and yeah was like 'shall I stay an extra night and try flash The Ace?'

We went up last night to have a look at the holds and I visualised it and I thought it was on the cards and today we went up and, boom, a royal flush'.