UK men/women who climb >=8b+ on TRAD (Read 10974 times)

Tommy · July 13, 2015, 09:58:28 am

Don't know about anyone else, but I found it really interesting reading the list of people that have done those kind of grade boundaries on sport, but it got me thinking about where the potential future lies for Trad. As after all, that's what counts when you're a sport climbing punter ;-)

In the aim of collecting some info for an article (secretly trying to get other people to do my work??) I wondered what are the UK climbers who've done trad of 8b+ and above, whether in the UK or abroad. The way I see it, is that in time all these 8c-9a climbers are going to turn some attention to the hardest trad and we'll see 8a on gear being relatively easy....

So...

Dave Mac (Rhapsody, Echo)
Neil The Mawson (Choronzon)
Pete Whittaker (Century Crack, Bigger Baron etc)
Neil Gresham (Equilibrium)
James Pearson (Equilibrium, The Groove? others?)
Neil Bentley (Equilibrium)
Tom Randall (Cobra, Dina Crack, Pura Pura)

Question?

Caff - I just can't think of one? Must be one though!
Steve Mac - Rhapsody on preplaced so not in my opinion. But Choronzon placed on lead?
The Bransby? Fence posting?
Ryan? Surely something?
Jordan?

Rules (in my probably unfair thinking):

No pre-placed gear, no highballs, got to be proper trad with ropes, clanking nuts and some kind of sock appearance.

SA Chris · July 13, 2015, 10:09:04 am

You mean they have to look like a sock puppet?

lagerstarfish · July 13, 2015, 10:23:42 am

clanking nuts and socks?

Red Hot Chili Peppers, shirley?

tomtom · July 13, 2015, 10:26:26 am

Quote from: lagerstarfish on July 13, 2015, 10:23:42 am

clanking nuts and socks?

Whats that in V grades?

T_B · July 13, 2015, 10:29:21 am

Dave Birkett - Welcome to the Cruel World

Fiend · July 13, 2015, 10:45:11 am

Caff would have been on for Longhope Route if he hadn't downgraded it from 8b+ish to 8a+

nai · July 13, 2015, 11:16:48 am

Quote from: Tommy on July 13, 2015, 09:58:28 am

Ryan? Surely something?

What does Sleepy Hollow get?

Duncan campbell · July 13, 2015, 11:22:53 am

Caff on mission impossible? Though that might not be 8b+?

Nutty · July 13, 2015, 11:26:29 am

Quote from: Tommy on July 13, 2015, 09:58:28 am

James Pearson (Equilibrium, The Groove? others?)

Rhapsody as well for Pearson.

dave · July 13, 2015, 11:40:08 am

No idea what the sport grade of this would be, but what about John Arran's Doctor Dolittle?

nai · July 13, 2015, 11:46:52 am

Gerty Berwick? Or is it considered a highball?

petejh · July 13, 2015, 12:51:59 pm

Blimey didn't realise Equilibrium was 8b+!

There aren't many options for 8b+ trad in the UK are there? Can't be that many abroad either.

Quote from: Tommy on July 13, 2015, 09:58:28 am

Rules (in my probably unfair thinking):

No pre-placed gear, no highballs, got to be proper trad with ropes, clanking nuts and some kind of sock appearance.

That rules out Bigger Baron then - old bolts are pre-placed gear. As are in-situ pegs and threads in my o. The defintion of 'trad' is so messy

I think my definition is the same as yours i.e. no/minimal pre-placed junk.

Nutty · July 13, 2015, 01:20:51 pm

What would Blind Vision weigh in at?

Doylo · July 13, 2015, 02:23:18 pm

Quote from: Nutty on July 13, 2015, 01:20:51 pm

What would Blind Vision weigh in at?

8a+/b? Font 7c/+ to a ledge then an E7.

Sasquatch · July 13, 2015, 05:17:46 pm

Tom and Pete for the 8b+ offwidth the did in wide boys (i forget the name, maybe century crack? )

Tommy · July 13, 2015, 05:19:18 pm

Sleepy Hollow was given 8b by Pete when pushed for a grade. Really hard to be accurate on the slabbier/vert style things though.

Gerty - yeah good point. That prob is 8b+

Grades abroad - loads to go at! I mainly try crack lines and I have a list of around 15 of 8b+ or more around the world. Trotter, Caldwelll, Stanhope and Earle have all contributed. Matt Segal as well, now I think of it.

Bigger Baron - good point. Maybe leave it out as its a grey area.

Anything gnarly in Devon/Cornwall???

Fiend · July 13, 2015, 05:20:33 pm

Rewind?

Gerty shurely is soft-of highball territory? The crux seems to be hard climbing high above pads rather than hanging around getting pumped fiddling in filed-down RPs?

T_B · July 14, 2015, 01:57:15 pm

High Fidelity looks just as high as Gerty?

benpritch · July 14, 2015, 03:36:54 pm

Choronzon by Steve Mac- he climbed it placing all the runners.

Grubes · July 14, 2015, 03:56:03 pm

What grade did Pete think baron greenback was? That would get ben bransby on the list

T_B · July 14, 2015, 04:08:18 pm

Ben said hard 8a+

Tommy · July 14, 2015, 04:24:36 pm

Quote from: T_B on July 14, 2015, 01:57:15 pm

High Fidelity looks just as high as Gerty?

Yeah but there's no gear and there's no sock potential on High Fidelity. And if Micky did it it's blatantly not a trad route.

Steve the Man is in there for his Pembroke now... good work Steve.

Did Barker or Myles do any hard trad routes apart from Marbellous or Captain Invincible? And is Welcome to Cruel World really 8b+ or is that some kind of guess work by a random 8a.nu poster :-)

T_B · July 14, 2015, 04:39:09 pm

Quote from: Tommy on July 14, 2015, 04:24:36 pm

And is Welcome to Cruel World really 8b+ or is that some kind of guess work by a random 8a.nu poster :-)

Well, until someone repeats it...

Pretty sure Dave said at the time it was 8b+, before 8a.nu was invented

duncan · July 15, 2015, 07:29:09 am

Shouldn't this be asking about women who have climbed 8a on Trad.?

Hazel Findlay - 8b (PreMuir, The Doors, Book of Hate).

Anyone else?

Tommy · July 15, 2015, 06:53:44 pm

Book of hate isn't trad and The Doors is soft 8a+.

And Premuir might be 5.13c? Or is that wrong?

UK men/women who climb >=8b+ on TRAD (Read 10974 times)

dave