Trad climbs

A classic Johnny Dawes test piece. A hard move gains entry to the groove where easier climbing awaits before a terrifying finale.

A Peak District test piece, the soaring arête was so named because, while working the line, Jerry Moffatt proclaimed:

only a true master could solo it onsight. [1]

Jerry was preparing for a solo ascent. Meanwhile, Ron Fawcett found that a new and obscure sliding nut, the Edelrid Amigo [2,3], fitted the quarrymen’s shotholes, which lie just over halfway between the ground and the crux. Keen not to be outdone by the up-and-coming Moffatt, Ron promptly led the route after minimal inspection. The gear went untested and the Master showed he still had the edge…

In the 2010s a marginal slider placement was discovered in the first part of the route, taking some of the sting out of the solo to the shotholes. Around 2024–2025 someone took a fall onto the slider and blew the placement out in the process.

References

[1] On The Edge Issue 107, page 48

[2] https://www.ukhillwalking.com/photos/dbpage.php?id=416863

[3] https://needs-needlesports-gob2b.b-cdn.net/imagecache/8dae6b69-d110-410b-890c-aaf700cdd554/NutsStory510_300x198.jpg

References

[1] https://open.spotify.com/episode/2Ydq78HiAujHdEy0t4hp1R?

Originally climbed as an easier variation of Salathé Wall, avoiding the hard crack pitches on the headwall, Freerider is now one of the most popular free routes on the main face of El Capitan.

In 2017, Alex Honnold made history with an audacious free solo of the route after extensive preperation. His solo was filmed for the 2018 feature film Free Solo.

In November 2024 Barbara Zangerl flashed the route, making her the first person to flash a free route on El Capitan. Cédric Lachat and Pete Whittaker both made ascents which could be considered flashes by some definitions but both ascents came with caveats.

The route's origins stem from Todd Skinner and Paul Piana's ascent of the Salathé, where they considered bypassing some of the hardest climbing via parts of what was to become Freerider, but opted to follow the original aid line as closely as they were able to. The full line was conceived by Alex Huber whilst working on his free ascent of the Salathé Wall in 1995. He rope-soloed the four-pitch variation to the headwall that year but waited three years before climbing the whole route with his brother Thomas in 1998.

There are two common variations that make up the crux of the route, The Boulder Problem at around 7c+ sport or 7B/+ boulder or The Teflon Corner at around 7c sport. The boulder problem is short and dynamic, while the teflon corner features extremely technical and insecure smearing. While the rest of the route is seldom easy, the other notable hard pitches are The Monster Offwidth and The Enduro Corner.

Dan McManus on The Monster Offwidth:

Left side in! The first time I climbed this pitch I had been told that it was crucial to climb it with a specific side in the crack, but I couldn’t remember which side. I guessed right side, I was wrong, but I did miraculously manage to chicken-wing my way up by the skin of my teeth. In doing so I removed the skin on my tricep which oozed for the next few days and made further offwidths very painful. [1]

References

[1] https://danmcmanus.blogspot.com/2016/03/a-guide-to-freerider.html

[2] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199901800

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.

Jon Read:

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

A defining route of the Ron Fawcett era, and one of the most prized onsights in the UK. The route tackles a tasty crackline, followed by a fruity runout up the Vector headwall.

Fawcett initially tried the route in 1978; despite remaining unclimbed, Chris Griffiths' photo of the route was the cream of the crop, earning the cover of the 1978 Tremadog and the Moelwyns Climbers Club guidebook. [2][3]

The project lay unchallenged for 18 months until John Redhead was spotted making attempts. Fawcett got wind of this and returned, finding the route to be just as hard-going as before. On day one, he climbed ground-up, but ran out of juice. On day two, feeling the pressure to get the project done, he abseiled down to pre-place and pre-clip the gear he'd established the day before. Seeing red, a desperate fight ensued:

Here I flagged my left foot behind my right and moved my left hand up again to a better hold. Time to fight in another runner. I was, as always on Strawberries, on the verge of falling off, completely consumed by the climbing but needing to remember where I was, conscious that I couldn't get too high without finding another piece of protection. Small wires in those days weren't as positive as they are now and I had to bear in mind that some of the gear might fail. From the left-hand crack I reached powerfully up to a shallow pocket, pumped out of my mind and now desperate to finish. I couldn't bear the thought of failing again so close to the top. I hauled myself up, and made one last thin move to reach good holds before a small groove just below the top. Here I hung off a jug, levering out almost horizontally against my braced feet, while I pulled myself together sufficiently to finish the route. [4]

Fawcett graded the route E5 7a. Today the route is graded E7, with climbing around the 7b+/7c mark. He named it Strawberries, as an accompaniment to the neighbouring route on the headwall, Cream (E4). As a project, it had been known as Peaches. Other fruity dessert-themed names proved irresistible (Dream Topping (E7), Bananas (E5)).

Stefan Glowacz made the historic first onsight of the route in 1987, running it out with no gear above the crack. Glowacz' extraordinary onsight effort would not be matched until Jorg Verhoeven succeeded in 2011. Steve McClure was the first British climber to onsight the route in 2014. Nearly five decades on, Strawberries remains as fresh as ever.

References

[1] Jack Geldard on the history of the route https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/features/strawberries_-_a_british_on_sight-1117

[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/dbpage.php?id=411731

[3] https://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/dbpage.php?id=411732

[4]Ed Douglas, Ron Fawcett: Rock Athlete, Vertebrate Publishing, 2010

References

[1] https://fanatic-climbing.com/il-etait-une-voie-once-upon-a-line-les-voillage-faurmes-la-jenaice-aka-le-voyage/

Around 8a+ to 8b difficulty wise, protected by pegs and small wires. The in-situ gear has changed since the first ascent:

Rhoslyn Frugtniet:

Today, however, the route feels quite different from what Neil, Caff, and Oli would have experienced. Tied-off and equalised bomber pegs now provide the majority of the protection, requiring very little necessary additional gear. Good cams at the bottom and top then cover the pegless sections of rock. [1]

James Taylor re-equipped the route in 2021:

Just a historical note. It has far fewer pegs now than it ever did. I replaced the top cluster of 4 pegs with two new ones and the cluster of 3 pegs that were just below that with 2 new ones. All the old pegs are in my mantlepiece. So 7 pegs were replaced with 4, two pairs of two, this was done in 2021 and now it's common to have the pairs equalised. I didn't replace the 5 lower pegs, 2 of which have now come out. The lower pegs are next to good gear and inconsequential to the route, just artifacts of Twid. [2]

References

[1] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2026/07/mission_impossible_the_most_possible_e9_in_the_uk-74180

[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/forums/ukc/mission_impossible_the_most_possible_e9_in_the_uk-791770?v=1#x10157604

A psychological breakthrough hailed at the time as one of the most difficult routes in the UK. Whilst clearly a step-up from the Brown-Whillans era, with the benefit of hindsight, there were already a number of harder routes by the time of its first ascent. Nonetheless it possessed a considerable cachet until attaining trade-route status by the mid-1980s.

The Nose is one of the most monumental and iconic rock climbs in the world, taking the most prominent line up the middle of El Capitan.

Prior to its free ascent, it had a long and storied history as an aid route, still the most popular way up El Cap today. The free ascent was an obvious longstanding challenge, with sections were freed by many different people, not always formally recorded, before Lynn Hill's completely free ascent in 1991.

Much of the route is climbed by pitches from fairly moderate up to 5.12d. However, the burly Great Roof (5.13c/8a+) and notoriously technical Changing Corners (5.14a/8b+) pitches, both high on the route, have stopped even some of the best climbers.

The Stoveleg Cracks were first freed by Jim Bridwell in June 1967 after attempts in 1965 partnering Frank Sacherer, who originally conceived they might be climbable without aid.

In 1975 John Bachar, Dale Bard and Ron Kauk had climbed ~85% free, all but 120m, at ~5.11+.

In Spring 1980 Ray Jardine spent 4 months working the route, fixing ropes, managing to climb as far as the Great Roof free, but only after chipping four holds on the Jardine Traverse to avoid the King Swing pendulum. So far (as of 2025), all subsequent free ascents have taken this traverse.

In Fall 1990, Brooke Sandahl and Scott Franklin climbed all but four pitches free, the remaining aided sections were the Great Roof, the pitch above Camp 5, Changing Corners, and the final Harding bolt ladder. Working top-down, Sandahl freed the Harding bolt ladder in 1991 (5.12c/7b+) and, with Dave Schultz, freed the pitch above Camp 5 in 1992 (5.12d/7c). They prepared the route for a free ascent, including bolting a variation just to the left of the aid line on the Changing Corners pitch, but were unable to climb this.

Lynn Hill partnered by Simon Nadin, first free climbed the Great Roof on a ground-up attempt in 1993, but they were unable to completely free the Changing Corners by either the original line or the Sandahl/Schultz variation. All but ten feet of the route had now been free-climbed.

Hill and Sandahl joined forces later in the summer of 1993 and began working the Changing Corners pitch top-down, Sandahl focusing on his left-hand variation, Hill on the original aid line. Hill was able to climb all the moves on the latter, with two falls.

In September 1993, Hill made a completely free ascent of the route from the ground, leading all the hard pitches. She returned the following year to climb the whole route in a day – an astounding achievement.

Notable repeats include Keita Kurakami's rope solo, Sébastien Berthe's ground-up, and Connor Herson's rapid ascent in just nine and a half hours.

References

[1] https://alpinist.com/features/birds-eye-view/

[2] http://www.edhartouni.net/nose-in-a-day.html

[3] https://www.rayjardine.com/Papers/Magazine-Articles/index.php?StoryPage=7

[4] https://www.rayjardine.com/Avocations/Rock-Climbing/index.php

[5] https://climbingzine.com/brooke-sandahl-beginnings-freeing-nose/

[6] https://publications.americanalpineclub.org/articles/12199404100/El-Capitans-Nose-Climbed-Free

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.

One of the eight ‘last great problem’ projects listed in the Derwent Grit guide. [1]

Jerry Moffatt did all the moves, Johnny Dawes top roped it in a oner, Ron Fawcett was hovering, but it was Andy Pollitt who tied into the sharp end, jumped through the crux and wobbled through to the top – narrowly avoiding a disastrous fall when he slipped on the final sloping ledges.

The route was first climbed on the 2nd of March 1988 by Andy Pollitt and graded E9. The pre-clipped 'hand-held' peg used on the first ascent was later discovered to have actually been placed with a 'hand-held' hammer. [2]

The grade of a given ascent depends on the particular gear placements used. The first ascent and early repeats used a peg in a slot high on the left. Later repeats used a cam in a good slot at half height, though this requires a traverse to access. Some people have combined the cam and the pegs, some people have used neither!

References

[1] The others were Dharma, Gaia, End of the Affair, Kaluza Klein, Soul Doubt, The Screaming Dream and The Groove.

[2] https://www.ukclimbing.com/news/2010/10/ryan_pasquill_flashes_knockin_on_heavens_door-58563

Golden Gate climbs the first 21 pitches of Salathe/Freerider then ~9 new pitches links it into the last 7 pitches of El Corazon.

5.13c/8b, and likely E9, if the headwall is climbed in a single pitch.

References

[1] https://www.climbing.com/culture/climbing-style-el-capitan/

[2] Details of the incremental freeing of the route https://web.archive.org/web/20170213064201/[http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/yos/longhf.htm#salathe](http://www.stanford.edu/~clint/yos/longhf.htm#salathe)