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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117 entries on the list.

# ClimbGradeFirst AscentDate
1 Drifter's Escape 9a+ (E12) Connor Herson Jul 2025
2 Bon Voyage 9a (E12) James Pearson 1st January-9th February 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 23rd-28th September 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 Stoning the Fascist 8c (E10) Pete Kamitses 20th Sep 2010
18 Century Crack 8c (E10) Pete Whittaker, Tom Randall Nov 2011
19 The Pura Pura 8c (E10) Tom Randall 2014
20 Family Man 8c (E10) Sonnie Trotter 2014
21 Stranger Than Fiction 8c (E10) Mason Earle 2015
22 The Millenium Arch 8c (E10) Pete Whittaker, Tom Randall 3rd-13th October 2016
23 Power Ranger 8c (E10) James Pearson 2017
24 Lamb of God 8c (E10) Pete Whittaker Before 25th Sep 2017
25 Vita Nätter 8c (E10) Aleksej Jaruta 2019
26 Privatvägen 8c (E10) Tomi Nytorp 14th May 2019
27 Crown Duel 8c (E10) Pete Whittaker Aug 2019
28 Hard Cheese 8c (E10) Craig Matheson 28th May 2021
29 Eigerdosis 8c (E10) Pete Whittaker Aug 2023
30 Sammansvärjning 8c (E10) Aleksej Jaruta 6th Oct 2024
31 Mañana Never Dies 8c (E10) Ignacio Mulero Before 28th Sep 2026
32 Lapoterapia 8c (E10) -
33 Mangia Che Ti Passa 8c (E10) Pietro Vidi
34 Post Orgasmic Depression 8c (E9) Anthony Gullsten 19th Jul 2014
35 Gondo Crack 8c (E9) Jacopo Larcher 2017
36 Black Mamba 8c (E9) Pete Whittaker, Tom Randall Apr 2019
37 The Crack of Destiny 8c (E9) Didier Berthod 23rd Jun 2023
38 Lexicon 8b+ (E11) Neil Gresham 4th Sep 2021
39 Equilibrium 8b+ (E10) Neil Bentley 24th Feb 2000
40 Sewer Rat 8b+ (E10) Dave Sharratt Before 18th Aug 2006
41 Ill Fire 8b+ (E10) Pete Kamitses Before 26th Sep 2008
42 The Bull 8b+ (E10) Jeremy Smith May 2013
43 The Bigger Baron 8b+ (E10) Pete Whittaker 31st Mar 2014
44 Choronzon 8b+ (E10) Neil Mawson 21st Sep 2014
45 Le Voyage 8b+ (E10) James Pearson 2017
46 En Passant 8b+ (E10) Nathan Hadley 1st May 2019
47 Les Amoureux du Vent 8b+ (E10) Mathieu Miquel Before 17th Jul 2024
48 Hollow 8b+ (E10) Ian Cooper 15th Aug 2026
49 A Denti Stretti 8b+ (E10) -
50 Gunslinger 8b+ (E10) -
51 Sans Liberté 8b+ (E9) Stevie Haston 1994
52 La Zébrée 8b+ (E9) Jeff Beaulieu 11th Oct 2004
53 Cheating Reality 8b+ (E9) Matt Wilder Before 1st Jan 2005
54 Cobra Crack 8b+ (E9) Sonnie Trotter 23rd Jun 2006
55 The Path 8b+ (E9) Sonnie Trotter 21st Aug 2007
56 Direquiem 8b+ (E9) Sonnie Trotter 6th May 2008
57 Oppositional Defiance Disorder 8b+ (E9) Pete Kamitses 19th Sep 2011
58 Necronomicon 8b+ (E9) Jean-Pierre Ouellet 1st Nov 2011
59 Psychogramm 8b+ (E9) Alex Luger 13th Feb 2014
60 Dina Crac 8b+ (E9) Tom Randall 15th Aug 2014
61 Kokanee Corner 8b+ (E9) Hayden Kennedy 2015
62 Crown of Thorns 8b+ (E9) Pete Whittaker, Tom Randall Before 4th Oct 2016
63 The Cruzifix 8b+ (E9) Pete Whittaker 12th September-1st October 2017
64 Monomani 8b+ (E9) Aleksej Jaruta Jul 2018
65 Telemarksuiten direct 8b+ (E9) Aleksej Jaruta Aug 2018
66 Lille Krone 8b+ (E9) Pete Whittaker 21st Aug 2019
67 Vertigo 8b+ (E9) Daniel Fisher Sep 2019
68 Daydream 8b+ (E9) Naoki Komine 2020
69 Kilogram 8b+ (E9) Connor Herson 30th Jul 2021
70 Riverside Motherfucker 8b+ (E9) Thilo Schröter 25th Aug 2023
71 Prayer for a Friend 8b+ (E9) Adrian Vanoni 6th Oct 2023
72 Autobahn 8b+ (E9) Tom Randall 23rd Sep 2024
73 China Doll 8b+ (E9) -
74 Psykisk Analyse 8b+ (E9) -
75 Flying Vikings Direct 8b+ (E9) -
76 Smart Went Crazy 8b (E10) Matt Segal Mar 2009
77 Dr Snuggles 8b (E10) Erik Heyman 2011
78 Hanuman 8b (E10) Jonas Schild Mar 2014
79 Jeune et Con 8b (E10) Jacopo Larcher Apr 2022
80 Stingray 8b (E9) Hidetaka Suzuki Jun 1988
81 Captain Invincible 8b (E9) Sean Myles 8th May 1991
82 Mission Impossible 8b (E9) Neil Carson 23rd Jul 1996
83 Widdop Wall 8b (E9) John Dunne 1998
84 The Book of Hate 8b (E9) Randy Leavitt 1999
85 Achemine 8b (E9) Dave MacLeod 9th Oct 2001
86 Welcome to the Cruel World 8b (E9) Dave Birkett 19th Apr 2002
87 Zodiac 8b (E9) Alexander Huber, Thomas Huber Oct 2003
88 Greenspit 8b (E9) Didier Berthod 14th Dec 2003
89 Illuminescence 8b (E9) Pete Kamitses Before 5th Oct 2006
90 Ceclie 8b (E9) Jay Conway 31st Aug 2008
91 Prinzip Hoffnung 8b (E9) Beat Kammerlander Mar 2009
92 Present Tense 8b (E9) Dave MacLeod 11th Jul 2009
93 Crassostrea Gigas 8b (E9) Erik Heyman Sep 2009
94 Necronomicon 8b (E9) Jean-Pierre Ouellet 1st Nov 2011
95 Sulualliansen 8b (E9) Mats Peder Mosti Oct 2012
96 The Highline 8b (E9) Pete Kamitses Before 25th Oct 2012
97 Geezer Pleaser 8b (E9) Joe Terravecchia 1st-30th November 2012
98 Baron Greenback 8b (E9) Pete Whittaker 4th Mar 2013
99 Difficulties be Damned 8b (E9) Jay Conway 22nd Jun 2013
100 The Locknar 8b (E9) Ben Harnden 25th Oct 2013
101 Ronny Medelsvensson 8b (E9) Christer Jansson, Erik Massih 15th Jul 2014
102 Genus Locy 8b (E9) Martin Skaar Olslund Jul 2015
103 Infinite Jest 8b (E9) Connor Cliffe 1st-31st July 2015
104 The Votive Light 8b (E9) Keita Kurakami 16th Apr 2017
105 Cox Orange 8b (E9) Aleksej Jaruta 2018
106 Kustavin Kuningaslinja 8b (E9) Olli-Petteri Manni 2020
107 Butterfly Circus 8b (E9) Fred Moix 2022
108 Crac Yr Meistri 8b (E9) James McHaffie 1st Jun 2022
109 Tazlov 8b (E9) Mari Augusta Salvesen Dec 2022
110 Ty Pwmpty 8b (E9) James McHaffie Jul 2024
111 Patresence 8b (E9) Angus Kille 13th Sep 2024
112 Marsianin 8b (E9) Dmitry Fakiryanov 2025
113 Tempesta D’estiu 8b (E9) Eduard Marin Jul 2026
114 Mother Earth 8b (E9) -
115 Kärlek 8b (E8) Petter Restorp 2nd Nov 2007
116 Tainted Love 8b (E8) Hazel Findlay 2017
117 Grand Café 8b (E8) Sigbjørn Veslegard 15th Jun 2021