John Arran

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No falls after abseil inspection to place knifeblade peg

Arran gives the FA year as 1998 on his website. On UKC the more specific date of Feb 1994 is given.

First free ascent.

When Dave went to quiz Oliver Hill (who did the FA with Drummond) on where the route went up the headwall, he was extremely helpful. I remember Dave reporting his advice, that the FA aided up an impressive thin crack, which according to Oliver might be possible free but extremely hard (what foresight from 1970!), but that an easier way to free the route would be to take a left-hand variation and traverse back to the crack higher up, which we did. Apologies to Oliver if I've misremembered or misinterpreted his message, but it definitely suggests he thought our way would be another way to climb the same route. I'm also mindful of the Scoop on Sron Ulladale, which takes a notably different line at times to its originally aided version.

What I don't doubt is the difficulty and quality of the crux pitch that Drummond aided (no small feat in itself, I'm sure) and Dave MacLeod later freed. I recall looking up at it and thinking it would be amazing if it were to be climbable free, but it seemed well out of our league at the time, especially ground-up! It almost certainly would have been too hard for us even after practice, though that wasn't the game we were playing at the time. Such a pitch at the end of such an adventure deserves a status of its own; whether it's the principal free line of the route or a stunningly good and hard variation I'll leave for others to decide. [1]

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/rock_talk/not_a_hope_in_hoy-754177?v=1#x9714420

"The Zone" is a term used in Sports Psychology to describe a rarely-achieved heightened state of awareness experienced by some athletes during major events. This sensation is often accompanied by an extraordinary level of personal performance.

References

[1] http://www.thefreeclimber.com/articles/tfcDiaryZone.htm

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/ukc/jim_pope_headpoints_olwen_e9_6c_and_onsights_strawberries_e7_6b-762630?v=1#x9815217

A solo onsight first ascent in a remote part of Pembroke.

After three days of hard on-sight free climbing and rope fixing, Anne and I set off at 3am to finish what looked set to be the most challenging trad rock route in the valley and one of the hardest in the whole of Asia. Despite an enforced bivouac in a storm just a few metres from the summit, we returned fired with enthusiasm for more exotic adventures.

References

[1] http://www.thefreeclimber.com/johnHistory.htm

The H[9 grade] was an attempt to grade the difficulty of the headpoint experience rather than guessing at what an onsight would feel like. Aid-climbers don't guess at free grades so why should headpointers guess at onsight grades? The gear and moves of Dr. Dolittle (note one 'o') are so unobvious that a true onsight would be much harder than for other comparably-physical and comparably protectable routes. [1]

[1] Westlake, D. (2010). Froggatt to Black Rocks.

References

[1] On The Edge Issue 111, page 13

Hardest route in Egypt at the time

But nothing could compare with Angel Falls - the granddaddy of tepui big walls. We tried it in 2002 and again in 2003, but not until 2005 did we manage to assemble the best team with the best equipment and an unshakeable conviction that this time it would go free. The main 1000m wall had been climbed only once before, and it is testimony to its difficulty and inacessibility that this A4 aid route is still unrepeated after 15 years. Our free line covered much of the same first half as the aid line but then headed off into virgin territory to finish within a stone's throw of the falls' glistening spout. In all nine E7 pitches were climbed, five onsight. Two of these fell to me, one being pitch 29 of the route's 31 pitches and climbed on the seventeenth consecutive day of climbing effort. Such an adventure is going to be hard to follow!

References

[1] http://www.thefreeclimber.com/johnHistory.htm

References

[1] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/amurita-big-wall-climbing-in-venezuela-by-john-anne-arran.html

References

[1] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12200827901/Asia-Jordan-Wadi-Rum-Various-Routes