Climbs

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

References

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

First climbed to an intermediate lower off (La Rambla (L1) (8c+)) by Alex Huber in 1994, it was then extended to the current lower off by Ramón Julián Puigblanque in 2003 for which he suggested 9a+, while also suggesting Alex's original line was likely harder than the 8c+ that was originally suggested.

Notably Ramon did not use a jug that was slightly off-line to rest on. Using this jug is now considered routine and does not alter the grade.

References

[1] https://tenaya.net/en/story/?r=the-legacy-of-la-rambla&

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.

Originally climbed from a slightly higher start and called Ummagumma, Klem Loskot added the lower start a week later.

Very morpho. 8B if you are tall enough to span the first move, otherwise you have to dyno which is worth 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

The first ascent of The Nose (A2) was mainly aided. Sections were freed by many different people, not always formally recorded, before Lynn Hill's landmark completely free ascent.

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 bar 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 (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, Pitch above Camp 5, Changing Corners and the final Harding bolt ladder. Working top-down, Sandhal 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 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 (5.13b/8a) but they were unable to completely free the Changing Corners by either the original line or the Sandhal/Schultz variation. All bar 10 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, Sandhal 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. The completely free ascent was made from the ground with Hill leading all the hard pitches.

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