Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
3972 Climbers
7740 Climbs
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Meshuga | E9 Trad climb at Black Rocks
The prow at Black Rocks is one of the most impressive and uncompromising features on gritstone and for decades was regarded as a Last Great Problem. Attention in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s focused on the prow’s left arête, with climbing said to be around 8b.
Whilst top-roping Seb Grieve on the line, Quentin Fisher suggested trying to link to a line of better holds on the right arête. With a bit of beta refinement from Dave Jones, the line of Meshuga was unlocked and Seb made his ascent in 1997. It was perhaps the boldest route on gritstone at the time, comprising unpredictable 7c climbing, a long way above a terrible landing. The name comes from the Yiddish word for Insane. [1]
Despite its boldness, it has become one of the most repeated E9s.
The left arête remains unclimbed.
Not much gear until all the hard climbing is completed (though initial pocket may take a F1.5). Instead, protection would appear to take the form of several futon mattresses and a wandering clutch of Frenchmen lashed down to prevent them from running off. The landing is possibly the worst on gritstone although Neil Gresham miraculously only got concussion when he fell off the crux slap. One other thing to think about to savour the full atmosphere is that The Promontory is a historically popular suicide spot. [2]
References
[1] ‘Peak Rock’, Vertebrate Publishing, 2013.
[2] https://www.geocities.ws/readza1/climbing/gritlist/grit_e9.html
The prow at Black Rocks is one of the most impressive and uncompromising features on gritstone and for decades was regarded as a Last Great Problem. Attention in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s focused on the prow’s left arête, with climbing said to be around 8b.
Whilst top-roping Seb Grieve on the line, Quentin Fisher suggested trying to link to a line of better holds on the right arête. With a bit of beta refinement from Dave Jones, the line of Meshuga was unlocked and Seb made his ascent in 1997. It was perhaps the boldest route on gritstone at the time, comprising unpredictable 7c climbing, a long way above a terrible landing. The name comes from the Yiddish word for Insane. [1]
Despite its boldness, it has become one of the most repeated E9s.
The left arête remains unclimbed.
Not much gear until all the hard climbing is completed (though initial pocket may take a F1.5). Instead, protection would appear to take the form of several futon mattresses and a wandering clutch of Frenchmen lashed down to prevent them from running off. The landing is possibly the worst on gritstone although Neil Gresham miraculously only got concussion when he fell off the crux slap. One other thing to think about to savour the full atmosphere is that The Promontory is a historically popular suicide spot. [2]
References
[1] ‘Peak Rock’, Vertebrate Publishing, 2013.
[2] https://www.geocities.ws/readza1/climbing/gritlist/grit_e9.html
Pics + Vids
Featuring 9815 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Alex Megos on Tuareg Blanco 9b
Janja Garnbret on Puro Dreaming 8c+
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Featuring 4178 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Meagan Martin on The Struggle Climbing Show, July 2024
- Lucy Stirling on The Layback Podcast, April 2019
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- Jared Wicks on The Climbing Majority, March 2026
Library
Featuring 14894 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Deep Water (2019) Film
- Alpine Journal61 1957 544-551 Alpine Notes (1957) Journal
- Buckland Hill Climbs Guidebook
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Per deviated slightly from the original line of Houdini Assis OG (8B), thus inadvertently created a new version of the boulder.
Per deviated slightly from the original line of Houdini Assis OG (8B) and thus inadvertently created a new version of the boulder.