Billy Ridal has made the eighth ascent Rhapsody (E11 7a) at Dumbarton Rock, Scotland.

First climbed by Dave MacLeod in the spring of 2006, Rhapsody was the first route in the world to be given the grade of E11 7a, and remains one of just a handful of trad routes at the grade.

Since the route was established, it has seen ascents from some of the best trad climbers in the world, including Sonnie Trotter, Steve McClure, James Pearson, and Jacopo Larcher.

For Billy, the ascent marks a return to hard trad climbing for the first time since he freed The Nose, alongside Alex Waterhouse, in the autumn of 2023.

We caught up with Billy shortly after the ascent to find out more:

Billy - congratulations on your ascent of Rhapsody! It's an iconic route, when did you first come across it, and at what point did you first realise that it was a route that you might one day climb?

I actually feel quite connected to this route. Dave made the first ascent back in 2006 which is the year I started climbing. I watched the film 'E11' not long after and it had a big impact on 9 year old me. Of course back then I had no plans to do it, but it's been a source of inspiration ever since.

As for when I decided I wanted to try it, in the last year I've had a goal of wanting to push myself across multiple disciplines simultaneously. The Big Island (f8C) at the beginning of the year represented that for my bouldering.

A derailed sport trip to Spain due to van problems was supposed to be this for sport climbing, Rhapsody was the trad aspect.

With the personal connection from my childhood, as well as it representing the more physical rather than outrageously dangerous side of trad, it seemed perfect.

When did you first start working the route, and what were your early experiences on it like?

I first got on it last month, we went up in the van in a short weather window before some rain came in. The idea was to get a sense of things so I could go away and train for the Autumn when it cooled.

However, I was surprised to be doing really well on it after just a couple of times up on top rope. I really enjoy the style on the headwall; it splits into two boulders, each with eleven moves. The first consists of extended moves on open handed holds, which is really good for me, whilst the second is an unrelenting positional crimp sequence. Whilst the second always felt hard, I knew I could fight on that style whilst tired.

I figured I'd get on lead before we left to see how it felt and to settle my mind regarding the fall potential, and found myself battling in the final boulder problem before taking the whip. I knew then it was on, and have been waiting until now to have the chance to go back up and finish it off.

You mentioned that you took a fall from the very top, and that you snapped one of the pieces. Firstly, we're glad that you're ok! Secondly, how did that affect your future attempts, both in terms of how you climbed and how you felt psychologically?

Yeahhhh.. So on the headwall there are two wires. Really solid placements, you're not going to rip them out. This is what gave me the confidence to push hard on this route. I still have a lot of fear around trad gear, but having two really good placements next to one another I can rationalise as being pretty safe, even if you're taking quite the lob.

Saying that, the top placement is a No. 1 half nut, it's a small bit of kit, and only rated to 4kn. On my first trip up I took the fall on it and it got pretty wedged in. I couldn't get it out with a nut key, and so ended up having to yank up on it with a quickdraw. I was a little concerned after this that it might have fatigued the wire at the point it attaches to the nut, and actually discussed getting a new one.

The return trip happened very short notice, and I didn't end up getting one. Optimistically, or perhaps more naively, I figured that it would be okay, it was a brand new nut other than the use it'd had on Rhapsody... My next lead attempt I fell right at the top, going for the lip, so as big as the fall gets.

We'd decided that Frances, who was belaying, would keep a relatively tight rope and take in slack on the fall. This obviously makes it a harder catch, but would keep me off the bottom slab, which I didn't think looked like a very appealing landing zone! Clearly, the resulting fall produced a fair amount of force, and the sound of snapping gear as the rope came tight is still strongly in my mind! As I said, fortunately, there is another good wire next to it, so it didn't make the fall much bigger, though definitely more terrifying!

It's hard to say how much me yanking on the nut actually compromised it, or whether I just generated around 4kn in that fall on the nut. Either way, I've learnt a couple of valuable lessons. Replace small kit as soon as it's had any abuse, and never assume that it is infallible. 

I was a little shaken, and wanted to be lowered down pretty sharpish, but once we'd discussed it I don't think it had too much impact on my confidence going forwards. We went into town to buy some new gear, bought multiple half nuts so that I could essentially have them as single use if necessary, and also got a new nut for the other placement for good measure. I also adjusted the quickdraws so that the larger nut came under load first. This one is rated to 9kn, which I think you'd have to do something pretty outrageous to for it to snap. I was back on for another lead attempt that evening and it wasn't in my mind.

Talk us through the successful attempt!

I was nervous! The second trip was pretty whirlwind too, we arrived in the evening with enough time to set up a top rope, brush some holds and re-check a couple of moves before it got dark. Then the next morning I got on the sharp end and snapped the gear.

That evening, the temps cooled and there was a really strong wind. It felt like things were aligning, I climbed really well and felt confident. I was pretty sure I was going to do it, then on the second to last move my foot popped, damn.

It felt like I might have missed the window. The next morning started with rain, and we had to leave that evening so it was all a bit uncertain. It dried up, but it was less windy and warmer than before. It didn't have the same feeling of things aligning. I really had to talk myself into it, convincing myself that I could do it regardless of the situation.

It worked, and I climbed well, but it was odd not to feel like I was in the zone, I had to really actively create the correct mindset. The last section was very tense, I was acutely aware that my feet had slipped last time and that the holds felt sweatier than before.

I ended up chalking up in the crux trying to compose myself, which got me really pumped for the last couple of moves. It all made it a bit more special topping out though, sometimes things not going how you'd hoped, and having to overcome it, makes the experience richer.

Since retiring from comps you've climbed some incredible boulders, multi-pitch routes, and single pitch trad routes. With so much to go at across these disciplines, how do you decide where to put your focus?

I've actually found this difficult. As a comp climber, your goals are prescribed for you and you can build a plan for the year out from this. Now, I feel pulled in so many different directions for what I'm excited about. It's a great problem to have, but can make it difficult to bed down and make something happen.

When I stopped competing, I stopped working with a coach for a couple of years. I've started back with my old coach Dave Mason this year to help with this, and to make sure I actually get some training in between bouncing around different disciplines depending on what takes my fancy. 

Looking through your logbook, it's clear to see that trad has always been a part of your climbing, but Rhapsody, alongside The Nose - seem to represent a step up in terms of difficulty. Are there any other hard trad lines that you find particularly inspiring that you're keen to take a look at in the near future?

Hmm we'll see on this. Rhapsody was the big one that really resonated with me. I've always enjoyed trad as a more casual or adventure-y way of interacting with climbing. As you say, The Nose and Rhapsody have been the first things where I've shifted this discipline towards performance.

I'm also cautious in venturing too far towards the dangerous side of trad. I actually think I'd get a kick out of it, which I reckon would become a problem if I let it. It's not fair on the people around me. I wonder if there was potential when I was younger to go down that kind of route. I started pushing it a little when I was a teenager and ended up decking out on to my belayer, who cracked their ribs. If you're reading Mark, thanks for softening the blow, and sorry... I shied away from trad after that for a long time, and now I want to be more measured. 

That's not to say there aren't things that excite me, there's loads in Pembroke that is hard without being too dangerous that I'd be psyched for, and it's a place I feel I'm just starting to discover.

I do feel that, regarding physical difficulty, the top end of trad on UK soil is a little behind current standards now, so I'd be really inspired by something that made that step up without being deathly. I have absolutely no idea what that would be though, do let me know if you hear of anything that fits the bill.

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