The Hardest Trad Routes in the World (By Physical Difficulty)

The Hardest Trad Routes in the World aims to list the hardest trad routes by considering both their physical difficulty and how dangerous they are. This list is based on pure physical difficulty.

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85 entries on the list.

Climb Grade First Ascent
1 Drifter's Escape 9a+ (E12) Connor Herson, 2025
2 Bon Voyage 9a (E12) James Pearson, Between 1st Jan 2023 and 9th Feb 2023
3 Tribe 9a (E11) Jacopo Larcher, Mar 2019
4 The Best Things In Life Are Free 9a (E11) William Moss, 12th Mar 2023
5 Crown Royale 9a (E11) Pete Whittaker, Between 23rd Sep 2023 and 28th Sep 2023
6 La Bruja 9a (E10) Ignacio Mulero, 2021
7 Rhapsody 8c+ (E11) Dave MacLeod, 9th Apr 2006
8 Meltdown 8c+ (E11) Beth Rodden, 14th Feb 2008
9 Magic Line 8c+ (E10) Ron Kauk, 6th Dec 1996
10 The Recovery Drink 8c+ (E10) Nicolas Favresse, 22nd May 2013
11 Blackbeard's Tears 8c+ (E10) Ethan Pringle, 2016
12 Into the Sun 8c+ (E10) Bernd Zangerl, Aug 2017
13 El Boulder del Pedal 8c+ (E10) Ignacio Mulero, Feb 2023
14 Yma O Hyd 8c+ (E10) James McHaffie, Sep 2024
15 Empath 8c+ (E10) -
16 Viceroy 8c (E10) Matt Wilder, 2009
17 Century Crack 8c (E10) Pete Whittaker, Tom Randall, Nov 2011
18 The Pura Pura 8c (E10) Tom Randall, 2014
19 Family Man 8c (E10) Sonnie Trotter, 2014
20 Stranger Than Fiction 8c (E10) Mason Earle, 2015
21 Gondo Crack 8c (E10) Jacopo Larcher, 2017
22 Power Ranger 8c (E10) James Pearson, 2017
23 Crown Duel 8c (E10) Pete Whittaker, Aug 2019
24 Hard Cheese 8c (E10) Craig Matheson, 28th May 2021
25 Eigerdosis 8c (E10) Pete Whittaker, Aug 2023
26 Autobahn 8c (E10) Tom Randall, 23rd Sep 2024
27 Mangia Che Ti Passa 8c (E10) Pietro Vidi,
28 Sammansvärjning 8c (E10) -
29 Lapoterapia 8c (E10) -
30 Black Mamba 8c (E9) Pete Whittaker, Tom Randall, Apr 2019
31 The Crack of Destiny 8c (E9) Didier Berthod, 23rd Jun 2023
32 Lexicon 8b+ (E11) Neil Gresham, 4th Sep 2021
33 Equilibrium 8b+ (E10) Neil Bentley, 24th Feb 2000
34 Direquiem 8b+ (E10) Sonnie Trotter, 6th May 2008
35 The Bull 8b+ (E10) Jeremy Smith, May 2013
36 The Bigger Baron 8b+ (E10) Pete Whittaker, 31st Mar 2014
37 Choronzon 8b+ (E10) Neil Mawson, 21st Sep 2014
38 Le Voyage 8b+ (E10) James Pearson, 2017
39 En Passant 8b+ (E10) Nathan Hadley, 1st May 2019
40 Les Amoureux du Vent 8b+ (E10) Mathieu Miquel, Before 17th Jul 2024
41 A Denti Stretti 8b+ (E10) -
42 Gunslinger 8b+ (E10) -
43 Sans Liberté 8b+ (E9) Stevie Haston, 1994
44 La Zébrée 8b+ (E9) Jeff Beaulieu, 11th Oct 2004
45 Cheating Reality 8b+ (E9) Matt Wilder, Before 1st Jan 2005
46 Cobra Crack 8b+ (E9) Sonnie Trotter, 23rd Jun 2006
47 The Path 8b+ (E9) Sonnie Trotter, 21st Aug 2007
48 Necronomicon 8b+ (E9) Jean-Pierre Ouellet, 1st Nov 2011
49 Psychogramm 8b+ (E9) Alex Luger, 13th Feb 2014
50 Dina Crac 8b+ (E9) Tom Randall, 15th Aug 2014
51 Kokanee Corner 8b+ (E9) Hayden Kennedy, 2015
52 Vertigo 8b+ (E9) Daniel Fisher, Sep 2019
53 Daydream 8b+ (E9) Naoki Komine, 2020
54 Kilogram 8b+ (E9) Connor Herson, 30th Jul 2021
55 Prayer for a Friend 8b+ (E9) Adrian Vanoni, 6th Oct 2023
56 Flying Vikings Direct 8b+ (E9) -
57 China Doll 8b+ (E9) -
58 Smart Went Crazy 8b (E10) Matt Segal, Mar 2009
59 Hanuman 8b (E10) Jonas Schild, Mar 2014
60 Jeune et Con 8b (E10) Jacopo Larcher, Apr 2022
61 Dr Snuggles 8b (E10) -
62 Stingray 8b (E9) Hidetaka Suzuki, Jun 1988
63 Captain Invincible 8b (E9) Sean Myles, 8th May 1991
64 Mission Impossible 8b (E9) Neil Carson, 23rd Jul 1997
65 Widdop Wall 8b (E9) John Dunne, 1998
66 The Book of Hate 8b (E9) Randy Leavitt, 1999
67 Welcome to the Cruel World 8b (E9) Dave Birkett, 19th Apr 2002
68 Zodiac 8b (E9) Alex Huber, Thomas Huber, Oct 2003
69 Greenspit 8b (E9) Didier Berthod, 14th Dec 2003
70 Prinzip Hoffnung 8b (E9) Beat Kammerlander, Mar 2009
71 Present Tense 8b (E9) Dave MacLeod, 11th Jul 2009
72 Necronomicon 8b (E9) Jean-Pierre Ouellet, 1st Nov 2011
73 Baron Greenback 8b (E9) Pete Whittaker, 4th Mar 2013
74 The Locknar 8b (E9) Ben Harnden, 25th Oct 2013
75 Ronny Medelsvensson 8b (E9) Crister Jansson, Erik Massih, Jul 2014
76 The Votive Light 8b (E9) Keita Kurakami, 16th Apr 2017
77 Butterfly Circus 8b (E9) Fred Moix, 2022
78 Crac Yr Meistri 8b (E9) James McHaffie, 1st Jun 2022
79 Tazlov 8b (E9) Mari Augusta Salvesen, Dec 2022
80 Patresence 8b (E9) Angus Kille, 13th Sep 2024
81 Марсианин 8b (E9) Dmitry Fakiryanov, 2025
82 Kärlek 8b (E8) Petter Restorp, 2nd Nov 2007
83 Tainted Love aka Northern Soul 8b (E8) Hazel Findlay, 2017
84 Ty Pwmpty 8b (E8) James McHaffie, Jul 2024
85 Sulualliansen 8b (E8) -