#19 A Mixed Bag of Global Ascents
Another mixed bag of bouldering, sport, trad and multipitch from around the world...
North Wales Bouldering
Charlie Torrance has released the latest edition of Girl Crush which features a selection of fantastic looking problems in North Wales. The video features these problems: Y Castell (7a+), Diamond Eyes (7a), Ding Dongs Traverse (7b+), Poison Ivy (7b), Tusk (7c), Aberdarondyno (7b), Cruella (7b), Klems Arete (6c).
9a+ for Jonathan Siegrist
American climber Jonathan Siegrist has made the first ascent of Full Metal Brisket (9a+) at Summersville Lake in the New River Gorge area of West Virginia. He first heard about the project seven years ago and took several sessions to work the moves. Days of redpoint attempts followed and he eventually spent many sessions falling on the last (and hardest) move before completing the route.
Full Metal Brisket (5.15a/9a+) -- First Ascent! from PhysiVāntage on Vimeo.
Three 9as for Adam Ondra
Whilst waiting for conditions on Perfecto Mundo, Alex Megos' 9b+ at Margalef, Adam Ondra has ticked three 9as: Victimas Pérez, Direcya Bongada and El Potro - all at Margalef.
The humidity in the area went into the 80s which is unusual for the area and an easterly wind came in, making the Finestra sector where Perfecto Mundo is located a bad option.
Along with ticking most of Margalef, Ondra visited his friend and mentor Patxi Usobiaga and climbed in some newer areas around Oliana:
New highball/trad Line by Bernd Zangerl in Valle dell'Orco
Austrian boulderer Bernd Zangerl has climbed a striking, as yet ungraded crack line called Grenzenlos/"Boundless". The line is protected by a low cam and a pecker at the crux. Zangerl opted not to use a huge pile of crashpads for a highball ascent and instead climbed it as a trad route.
First Free Ascent of Angels and Demons in Valle dell'Orco by Federica Mingolla
Italian climber Federica Mingolla has made the first free ascent of Angels and Demons (200m, 8a+ max.), a multi-pitch rock route first established 15 years ago on Caporal in Valle dell'Orco. Mingolla has had an extremely productive year in the Alps, ticking off multiple alpine and rock routes.
Dai Koyamada 8C/+ Repeated
Ryohei Kameyama has made the second ascent of Dai Koyamada's Sanctum - a Font 8C/+ in Shirakawa. It took the Japanese climber 5 days in total and he agreed with Dai Koyamada's slash grade, believing it sat between the two boundaries.
Font 8Cs left, right and centre across the pond
The Americans have been busy ticking off multiple Font 8Cs between them. Sean Bailey made the second ascent of Drew Ruana's Pegasus (Font 8C) - the hardest problem in Joe's Valley, Utah. Bailey has been in good form recently and in November, he made the second ascent of The Grand Illusion (Font 8C+) in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah.
In Red Rocks, Nevada, Liam Andrews-Bancroft ticked off The Nest (Font 8C), his hardest climb yet. The 23-year-old had previously climbed two Font 8B+s; Echale in Clear Creek Canyon and Jade in Upper Chaos Canyon.
In Chattanooga, Nicolas Milburn climbed Southern Drawl (Font 8C), his second of the grade. He commented on his Instagram: 'This is the stuff that my dreams are made of! I put so much work into this boulder and finally it is done. I first tried it many years ago and now after about 25 days of effort I finally summited.'
Solid Gold 5.14c (8c+) by Delaney Miller
Former USA Climbing Team member and editor of Gym Climber magazine, Delaney Miller, has redpointed Dan Mirsky's 2013 route Solid Gold 5.14c at Utah's Cathedral crag. The line is a link-up that starts on Space Shuttle to Kolob 5.13a then incorporates a boulder problem up the centre of the wall to Golden Direct 5.14d, before finishing up Golden. Delaney retied from competitions, where she made two Lead World Cup finals. She now works for Rock and Ice magazine on their Gym Climber publication.
Another Font 8C for Niky Ceria
27-year-old Italian climber Niky Ceria has repeated Jimmy Webb's La Rustica in Val Bavona, Switzerland. He likens the problem to The Island in Fontainebleau; a stunning compression based prow. He attempted the problem in 2014 and earlier this year, but he describes how the problem felt much better when he returned to it a couple of weeks ago.