Climber Anna Taylor has completed what is believed to be the first continuous, self-powered round of the 100 routes that feature in Steve Broadbent's 'Mountain Rock' guidebook.
In the course of just 53 days, Anna cycled, ran and walked almost 2,000km to reach and make each climb in Scotland, England and Wales. She free soloed the majority of the routes, graded between Moderate and Very Severe, climbing a total of 12,402 metres. Anna's fiancé Mathew Wright provided support along the way, meeting her at various points and capturing images and footage to document the trip, which was possible thanks to backing from Berghaus. Anna used some of the brand's latest specialist kit on the trip, during which she faced a variety of challenging weather conditions.
Written by climber and author Steve Broadbent, Mountain Rock was published in 2020. The guidebook selects and describes in detail 100 of the UK's best multi-pitch routes for the aspiring climber, all graded between Moderate and Very Severe. Last year, Anna Taylor completed a round of the 83 routes that feature in Ken Wilson's 1978 book Classic Rock. Despite the difficulties of her first experience of combining bike touring with climbing, the adventure gave Anna an appetite for more and she devised her Mountain Rock plan over the winter. During her tour, Anna cycled over 1,600km, with over 12,000m of elevation, and ran or walked almost 340km.
Anna comments: "Being the first person to complete a human-powered link up of Mountain Rock is something that I'm really proud of, and I certainly hope that I won't be the last to do it! It's been a long, hard, and at times scary journey, but it's allowed me to travel to parts of the UK that I never would have otherwise seen, and challenges like this always remind me just how much of an adventure you can have on our little island, without having to fly off overseas!"
Anna started her Mountain Rock tour on Sunday 24 July, on Beinn Eighe in the Scottish Highlands, and topped out on her final route on Cadair Idris in Wales on Wednesday 14 September.
Her progress was shared on Instagram via @anna_taylor_98 and @berghausofficial, and through @TheRealBerghaus on Twitter and Facebook.
Comments
Better weather this year you would hope…Well done Anna
I guess Anna is relieved that Steve ignored my suggestion to include Land's End Long Climb and Commando Ridge!