Climbing History

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References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/DaiUlaeCpne/

A 40m long off-width roof crack in the White Rim, an outrageous adventure into horizontal suffering and the hardest off-width in the world at the time of the first ascent.

Century Crack was discovered by Steve 'Crusher' Bartlett who aid climbed it in 2001 (Chocolate Starfish, A1), before showing it to Stevie Haston, who put in some major efforts to free climb the route. Weighed down by an enormous rack of large cams, Stevie made progress but stripping the route after each attempt left him wasted for days.

Around 2009, aspirant 'Wideboyz' Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker got wind of the project and started a relentless two-year training regime in the cellar of Tom's house, doing countless laps of inverted shuffling, sandwiched between two planks of wood.

In October 2011, released from the cellar and blinking in the unfamiliar daylight, Tom and Pete set off on an off-width tour of the US, where they made short work of most of the existing hard cracks. They worked Century Crack, then – leaving the gear in place – tossed a roll of tape to decide who would lead first. Tom won the toss and after a monster effort pulled the first free ascent out the bag. Pete was next up and also succeeded.

However, the route had been lead on pre-placed gear and Stevie Haston was not impressed. Tom and Pete returned in November 2011 to do the route placing all gear on lead. This in some ways made the physical climbing easier, as cams did not have to be climbed around, but to minimise the amount of gear carried they chose to run it out well into the no-fall zone.

Tom Randall:

Going back down to re-climb Century was a very strange experience for me. I couldn't decide whether I was psyched to do the route for myself or whether I was doing for others. Comments had been made about the pre-placed gear we used and this only seemed to add to my desire to return to the White Rim.

Pete was first up on "Century Round II" and as he set off along the 120ft section of roof with only 6 cams racked for this part, I did wonder if we'd bitten off more than we could chew. By halfway he'd spent most of the time in a deck-out situation and my heart was in my mouth – partly for his boldness, but also for the thought that I'd have to do the same next go.

As Pete rounded the final alcove section to reach the lip, he really started to grunt and shout – at the same time I belayed, totally gripped… Just a few minutes later, he groveled his way through the final slot to glory and a well-stocked medical kit.

After watching Pete's insane efforts, I actually felt strangely calm about the whole affair. I'd already resigned myself to repeating the route and had also resolved the level of risk in my mind. I knew that if I focused solely on the climbing, then the run outs and the ground would soon fade into nothing and it would simply be a matter of pain tolerance and tactical breathing. In a haze of disassociation I followed in Pete's steps to make a cleaner ascent of Century Crack and also to clear in my mind the doubts I had about the route. [1]

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2011/11/wideboyz_climb_century_crack_placing_gear-64870

Le Bombé Bleu was a legendary project bolted by Marc Le Menestrel in 1991. In an era when chipping was prolific Marc wanted to keep the route unchipped, as a challenge for future generatons, and in return opened the project up for all to try. In 2026 Erwan Legrand, son of François Legrand, made the first ascent in a relatively quick 15 sessions.

The route consists of an easy intro section to a big ledge where you can rest completely. There is then a very hard boulder problem, originally tried as a morpho span from the right, but finally solved with a dyno from the left. This leads into a hard upper section of around 8c+/9a depending on whether you climb it with or without shoes!

Many big names dabbled on the route over the years, including Ben Moon, Fred Rouhling, Stefan Glowacz, Iker Pou, Chris Sharma, Nico Januel, Charles Albert, Nico Pelorson and Lucien Martinez. All made relatively modest progress, the hard dyno at the start of the route proving the major obstacle.

References

[1] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/interviews/interview-erwan-legrand-on-first-ascent-of-le-bombe-bleu-at-buoux.html

[2] Interview with Marc Le Menestrel (2026) https://www.grimper.com/news-la-contre-interview-marc-menestrel-equipeur-bombe-bleu

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References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/reel/Daf_YyMgunu/

A 40m long off-width roof crack in the White Rim, an outrageous adventure into horizontal suffering and the hardest off-width in the world at the time of the first ascent.

Century Crack was discovered by Steve 'Crusher' Bartlett who aid climbed it in 2001 (Chocolate Starfish, A1), before showing it to Stevie Haston, who put in some major efforts to free climb the route. Weighed down by an enormous rack of large cams, Stevie made progress but stripping the route after each attempt left him wasted for days.

Around 2009, Aspirant 'Wideboyz' Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker got wind of the project and started a relentless two-year training regime in the cellar of Tom's house, doing countless laps of inverted shuffling, sandwiched between two planks of wood.

In October 2011, released from the cellar and blinking in the unfamiliar daylight, Tom and Pete set off on an off-width tour of the US, where they made short work of most of the existing hard cracks. They worked Century Crack, then – leaving the gear in place – tossed a roll of tape to decide who would lead first. Tom won the toss and after a monster effort pulled the first free ascent out the bag. Pete was next up and also succeeded.

However, the route had been lead on pre-placed gear and Stevie Haston was not impressed. Tom and Pete returned in November 2011 to do the route placing all gear on lead. This in some ways made the physical climbing easier, as cams did not have to be climbed around, but to minimise the amount of gear carried they chose to run it out well into the no-fall zone.

Tom Randall:

Going back down to re-climb Century was a very strange experience for me. I couldn't decide whether I was psyched to do the route for myself or whether I was doing for others. Comments had been made about the pre-placed gear we used and this only seemed to add to my desire to return to the White Rim.

Pete was first up on "Century Round II" and as he set off along the 120ft section of roof with only 6 cams racked for this part, I did wonder if we'd bitten off more than we could chew. By halfway he'd spent most of the time in a deck-out situation and my heart was in my mouth – partly for his boldness, but also for the thought that I'd have to do the same next go.

As Pete rounded the final alcove section to reach the lip, he really started to grunt and shout – at the same time I belayed, totally gripped… Just a few minutes later, he groveled his way through the final slot to glory and a well-stocked medical kit.

After watching Pete's insane efforts, I actually felt strangely calm about the whole affair. I'd already resigned myself to repeating the route and had also resolved the level of risk in my mind. I knew that if I focused solely on the climbing, then the run outs and the ground would soon fade into nothing and it would simply be a matter of pain tolerance and tactical breathing. In a haze of disassociation I followed in Pete's steps to make a cleaner ascent of Century Crack and also to clear in my mind the doubts I had about the route. [1]

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2011/11/wideboyz_climb_century_crack_placing_gear-64870

Silence was established by Adam Ondra in 2017. It was the first route to be graded 9c and is still a contender for the hardest sport climb in the world. Bolted by Ondra and originally dubbed Project Hard, it features a notoriously strange boulder problem crux with feet-first jamming through a slopey crack. Ondra rated this section alone 8C, whilst Will Bosi thought 8C+ was more appropriate.

Bosi and Stefano Ghisolfi have put serious time into trying to repeat the route, with both climbers linking the crux section.

Silence was established by Adam Ondra in 2017> It was the first ever route to be graded 9c and is still a contender for the hardest sport climb in the world. Bolted by Ondra and dubbed Project Hard, it features a notoriously strange boulder problem crux with feet-first jamming through a slopey crack. Ondra rated this section alone 8C, whilst Will Bosi thought 8C+ was more appropriate.

Bosi and Stefano Ghisolfi have put serious time into trying to repeat the route, with both climbers linking the crux section.

A 40m long off-width roof crack in the White Rim, an outrageous adventure into horizontal suffering and the hardest off-width in the world at the time of the first ascent.

Century Crack was discovered by Steve 'Crusher' Bartlett who aid climbed it in 2001 (Chocolate Starfish, A1), before showing it to Stevie Haston, who put in some major efforts to free climb the route. Weighed down by an enormous rack of large cams, Stevie made progress but stripping the route after each attempt left him wasted for days.

Around 2009, Aspirant 'Wideboyz' Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker, got wind of the project and started a relentless two-year training regime in the cellar of Tom's house, doing countless laps of inverted shuffling, sandwiched between two planks of wood.

In October 2011, released from the cellar and blinking in the unfamiliar daylight, Tom and Pete set off on an off-width tour of the US, where they made short work of most of the existing hard cracks. They worked Century Crack, then – leaving the gear in place – tossed a roll of tape to decide who would lead first. Tom won the toss and after a monster effort pulled the first free ascent out the bag. Pete was next up and also succeeded.

However, the route had been lead on pre-placed gear and Stevie Haston was not impressed. Tom and Pete returned in November 2011 to do the route placing all gear on lead. This in some ways made the physical climbing easier, as cams did not have to be climbed around, but to minimise the amount of gear carried they chose to run it out well into the no-fall zone.

Tom Randall:

Going back down to re-climb Century was a very strange experience for me. I couldn't decide whether I was psyched to do the route for myself or whether I was doing for others. Comments had been made about the pre-placed gear we used and this only seemed to add to my desire to return to the White Rim.

Pete was first up on "Century Round II" and as he set off along the 120ft section of roof with only 6 cams racked for this part, I did wonder if we'd bitten off more than we could chew. By halfway he'd spent most of the time in a deck-out situation and my heart was in my mouth – partly for his boldness, but also for the thought that I'd have to do the same next go.

As Pete rounded the final alcove section to reach the lip, he really started to grunt and shout – at the same time I belayed, totally gripped… Just a few minutes later, he groveled his way through the final slot to glory and a well-stocked medical kit.

After watching Pete's insane efforts, I actually felt strangely calm about the whole affair. I'd already resigned myself to repeating the route and had also resolved the level of risk in my mind. I knew that if I focused solely on the climbing, then the run outs and the ground would soon fade into nothing and it would simply be a matter of pain tolerance and tactical breathing. In a haze of disassociation I followed in Pete's steps to make a cleaner ascent of Century Crack and also to clear in my mind the doubts I had about the route. [1]

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2011/11/wideboyz_climb_century_crack_placing_gear-64870

After previously doing the climb with pre-placed gear in October 2011.

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2011/11/wideboyz_climb_century_crack_placing_gear-64870

After previously doing the climb with pre-placed gear in October 2011.

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2011/11/wideboyz_climb_century_crack_placing_gear-64870

A 40m long off-width roof crack in the White Rim, an outrageous adventure into horizontal suffering and the hardest off-width in the world at the time of the first ascent.

Century Crack was discovered by Steve 'Crusher' Bartlett who aid climbed it in 2001 (Chocolate Starfish, A1), before showing it to Stevie Haston, who put in some major efforts to free climb the route. Weighed down by an enormous rack of large cams, Stevie made progress but stripping the route after each attempt lest him wasted for days.

Around 2009, Aspirant 'Wideboyz' Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker, got wind of the project and started a relentless two-year training regime in the cellar of Tom's house, doing countless laps of inverted shuffling, sandwiched between two planks of wood.

In October 2011, released from the cellar and blinking in the unfamiliar daylight, Tom and Pete set off on an off-width tour of the US, where they made short work of most of the existing hard cracks. They worked Century Crack, then – leaving the gear in place – tossed a roll of tape to decide who would lead first. Tom won the toss and after a monster effort pulled the first free ascent out the bag. Pete was next up and also succeeded.

However, the route had been lead on pre-placed gear and Stevie Haston was not impressed. Tom and Pete returned in November 2011 to do the route placing all gear on lead. This in some ways made the physical climbing easier, as cams did not have to be climbed around, but to minimise the amount of gear carried they chose to run it out well into the no-fall zone.

Tom Randall:

Going back down to re-climb Century was a very strange experience for me. I couldn't decide whether I was psyched to do the route for myself or whether I was doing for others. Comments had been made about the pre-placed gear we used and this only seemed to add to my desire to return to the White Rim.

Pete was first up on "Century Round II" and as he set off along the 120ft section of roof with only 6 cams racked for this part, I did wonder if we'd bitten off more than we could chew. By halfway he'd spent most of the time in a deck-out situation and my heart was in my mouth – partly for his boldness, but also for the thought that I'd have to do the same next go.

As Pete rounded the final alcove section to reach the lip, he really started to grunt and shout – at the same time I belayed, totally gripped… Just a few minutes later, he groveled his way through the final slot to glory and a well-stocked medical kit.

After watching Pete's insane efforts, I actually felt strangely calm about the whole affair. I'd already resigned myself to repeating the route and had also resolved the level of risk in my mind. I knew that if I focused solely on the climbing, then the run outs and the ground would soon fade into nothing and it would simply be a matter of pain tolerance and tactical breathing. In a haze of disassociation I followed in Pete's steps to make a cleaner ascent of Century Crack and also to clear in my mind the doubts I had about the route. [1]

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2011/11/wideboyz_climb_century_crack_placing_gear-64870

The first E10 on grit, climbed by Neil Bentley in 2000, Equilibrium has held its grade and repelled all but the most dedicated – or reckless. Neil Gresham stepped up in 2002 after a sustained effort (and yoga), whilst keen youth James Pearson sketched through the no-fall zone in 2005. The route has not been repeated since.

The route features a 7C+ boulder problem from which Neil Gresham took several ground-sweeping falls, followed by an hard runout to a pocket and a welcome cam.

References

[1] https://www.geocities.ws/readza1/climbing/gritlist/grit_e9.html

The first E10 on grit, climbed by Neil Bentley in 2000, Equilibrium has held its grade and repelled all but the most dedicated – or reckless. Neil Gresham stepped up in 2002 after a sustained effort (and yoga), whilst keen youth James Pearson sketched through the no-fall zone in 2005. The route has not been repeated since.

The route features a 7C+ boulder problem from which Neil Gresham took several ground-sweeping falls, followed by an still-hard runout to a pocket and a welcome cam.

References

[1] https://www.geocities.ws/readza1/climbing/gritlist/grit_e9.html

The first E10 on grit, climbed by Neil Bentley in 2000, Equilibrium has held its grade and repelled all but the most dedicated – or reckless. Neil Gresham stepped up in 2002 after a sustained effort (and yoga), whilst keen youth James Pearson sketched through the no-fall zone in 2005. The route has not been repeated since.

The route features a 7C+ boulder problem from which Neil Gresham took several ground-sweeping falls, followed by an unprotected runout to a pocket and a welcome runner.

References

[1] https://www.geocities.ws/readza1/climbing/gritlist/grit_e9.html

The first E10 on grit, climbed by Neil Bentley in 2000, Equilibrium has held its grade and repelled all but the most dedicated – or reckless. Neil Gresham stepped up in 2002 after a sustained effort (and yoga), whilst keen youth James Pearson sketched through the no-fall zone in 2005. The route has not been repeated since.

References

[1] https://www.geocities.ws/readza1/climbing/gritlist/grit_e9.html

One of the most compelling single pitch lines out there, Divided Years tackles a 55m prow at Buzzard's Roost in the Mournes. It was the first route to be given E10 in the world in 1994, and was said to feature 8c climbing. It now rates E9, with climbing around 8a+.

James McHaffie and Ryan Pasquill made ground-up ascents with minimal beta and prep in 2015. Robbie Phillips made a well-prepared flash of the route in 2026.

Jack Geldard, UKC:

The route is one of the most inspirational lines in the UK, tackling a huge overhanging bastion of rock in a beautiful and remote setting.

Dave MacLeod describes it as: "This is one of the best single pitch routes I've ever seen or done"

The sport grade would weigh in at around F8a+ (possibly F8b) and the route is known to be well protected. Both John Dunne and Dave Birkett are thought to have had a few pre-placed runners on the most difficult section, whereas Dave MacLeod and Ricky Bell placed all gear on lead. Ricky took some 30ft falls on to hand-placed bird beak runners during his ascent.