Climbs

Bolted in 1988 by Jean-Cristophe Lafaille [1]. Arnaud Petit climbed the pitch to a half height anchor in 1996 at a grade of 8c+. The full pitch was given the name Biographie but was later renamed Realization by the first ascenionist Chris Sharma. In line with French tradition the line is now known by the original name, Biographie.

The route became famous as one of Chris Sharma's first big new routes and one of the earliest routes given 9a+, though notably not the first (several routes previously given 9a have subsequently been upgraded). His extended efforts on the route were documented in the film Dosage Volume 1.

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suVH2BuFEh0

Previously a Dave Graham project before Daniel Woods made the first ascent in 2007.

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHveI852h0M

References

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Rambla_(climb)

References

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

Originally given E8.

Sleepwalker is a boulder problem in Red Rocks in the USA. Nalle Hukkataival first cleaned and tried the line, and was then joined by Jimmy Webb and Daniel Woods in trying it. Jimmy Webb made the first ascent, shortly followed by Daniel Woods. After a prolonged battle with skin and conditions Nalle was able to make the third ascent.

It has become one of the most popular hard boulders in the world, in part due to relatively reliable conditions and ease of access, with 15 ascents at the time of writing.

The first 8c+ in the USA.

References

[1] https://open.spotify.com/episode/30qPube60E0HHtsSacKlHF?

Originally given 8C but due to a chipped hold, some soft rock and vigorous brushing holds have changed and it is now more like 8B/+.

Known as Peaches before Ron Fawcett made the first ascent in 1980, due to its proximity to the route Cream (peaches and cream, strawberries and cream etc.).

In other trivia, the route was featured on the cover of the 1978 Tremadog and the Moelwyns Climbers Club guidebook making it a rare example of an unclimbed route on the cover of a guide. [2][3]

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

Around 2019 some pebbles broke on the crux holds making the problem slightly harder.

Around November 2009 the crux pinch broke off making the problem harder. Dreamtime is now considered 8C.

References

[1] https://www.planetmountain.com/en/news/climbing/dreamtime-a-dream-which-vanished-for-a-second-only.html

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 El Capitan.

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, technical and crimpy while the teflon corner features extremely technical 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