Climbs

A direct start to Route of All Evil bolted in 1991 by Boone Speed, and the first 8c+ in America established by an American, the soon to be famous Chris Sharma.

Jim Thornburg writing in Climbing magazine #168:

Speed worked on the sick-looking direct start and reckoned that an ascent of the entire route would be like climbing two 5.14a's back-to-back. After a finger injury put Speed out of commission, it seemed likely that the route would gather cobwebs until some visiting Euro arrived to snake yet another American testpiece. [1]

References

[1] https://www.instagram.com/p/CkRY8NJSro2/

The hardest route on Dinas Cromlech. 8a climbing with spicy gear.

Named after Jerry Moffatt who decked from the upper reaches of the route on a previous attempt at the FA. Miraculously he survived relatively unscathed, using up one of his nine lives. Having completed all the hard, dangerous climbing and found a good runner he was stumped by the dirty top section so decided to lower off the runner. The runner failed and he landed flat on his back and was knocked unconscious, but miraculously awoke unscathed.

Alan Carne recalls

I thought he was dead. He landed flat on his back and was completely unconscious, immobile and I just looked at him and thought 'oh, my god, he's dead'.

Tried extensively by Ben Moon. Despite coming close around 1995 was unable to finish the route due to a combination of poor conditions and injury. Steve McClure's successful ascent in July 2000 represented a passing of the torch, with him taking on the mantle as the UK's pre-eminent sport climber by finishing off Ben's old project.

A very long boulder problem. Around 8c+ to 9a as a sport route depending on how many knee bars you find.

Chris Doyle:

Pilgrimage (or The Big Link as it was always referred to) is a historic piece of Welsh climbing. In the early 90s long before the Cave was a popular and recognised bouldering destination an in-form Ben Moon got close to making the FA. The problem was written up in the first Northern Soul despite being a project and its legend grew in Cave circles. In 2004 legendary strong man Malcolm Smith invested considerable time and money (1000 pounds worth of fuel driving down from Scotland) and made the first ascent of the link at 8b+ or F9a.

References

[1] https://doylosblog.blogspot.com/2013/03/pilgrimage-2nd-ascent.html

Eneko Pou:

The first part consists of seven pitches (about 300 m) with difficulties that do not exceed 7b, but many of them either do not have bolts, or only have one or two, meaning that you’re tested physically and psychologically since, in many places, falls are potentially very dangerous.

Iker Pou:

The second part consists of another seven more difficult pitches, very vertical and without rests, past continuous difficulties that peak with an 8c. As in the first section, bolts are runout and the pro needs backing up with trad gear. This was by far the crux. [1]

References

[1] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/alpinism/new-picos-de-europa-8c-multi-pitch-by-pou-brothers-kico-cerda.html

[2] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oxgwD_SnzCY

Traditionally protected ~8a climbing making it a contender for the first 8a in the UK.

Rhapsody is a trad route at Dumbarton Rock in Scotland first climbed by Dave MacLeod in 2006. It was one of the hardest trad routes in the world at the time and maintains a substantial reputation, featuring hard, intense climbing with the potential for huge falls.

The climb starts by climbing the majority of Requiem (around 7c+ to here) to a poor rest before an intensely technical sequence up the headwall above.

Around the time he made the second ascent Sonnie Trotter also added a variation called Direquiem which takes the headwall but finishes left rather than going to the highest point of the crag.

References

[1] E11 2006 film by Paul Diffley