[slackline]

From Mark Savage's Blog a new E8 7b by Adam Watson at Back Bowden

When we went up there in December, for the first time in a while, I didn't think it was going to be the day.
 He's always struggled the first couple of times that he's got on the route as it takes two or three goes to get dialled into the moves. Although he looked a bit shaky, he got it first go, did the top a couple more times, then lowered off and said, 'Right, I'm just off for five minutes to give myself a talking to, then I'll lead it."
 It was late in the day and the sun had already gone down, so it wasn't great for photos (to say the least), but you don't get to choose when a route like this gets done.
 After a short break, he tied in and off he set.
 The moves are brutal and the holds are tiny. Adam said the crux is the hardest move he's ever done. Deep lock offs and very long reaches are the order of the day. When he popped for the sloper on the arete, he didn't hit it right and took a second to re-sit his fingers slightly. When I was watching, this seemed to take ages and I started to worry, but watching it back on video, you can barely notice it. This sloper is where the crucial edge came off and it's an awful hold. In fact, Adam said he couldn't pull on it from below and needs to cut loose and throw himself outwards to be able to get his weight on it.
 I can't emphasize how hard this is. I was probably climbing 8a+ish when I was working it and I couldn't do this. It's an outrageous move to do way above your gear! Adam told me that if it was a boulder problem it would be 8b. Every time he did it on a top rope I was impressed. To see him do it on the lead was jaws-to-the-floor, heart-in-mouth, breathtaking. Also, he did it slightly differently every single time, which added to the excitement...

[Wood FT]

fuckiiiiiing hell. Looks amazing!

[Doylo]

Saw the vid on Facebook, brilliant!  The good old British E grade, E8 with French 8b used to seem hard but now we have E8 with Font 8b!! Can't see this one overtaking End of the Affair for popularity somehow ...

[SA Chris]

Brilliant!

[a dense loner]

Fantastic line!!!

[willackers]

I saw the vid on Facebook as well, it looks very good and proper hard!

Nice one!

[slackline]

Anyone care to link to this video please?

(Not on Farcebook so have no idea where to find it).

[r-man]

Post

Looks awesome.

So does E8 have the biggest difficulty range of any trad grade? From low font 7's (?) to 8B!!

[Zods Beard]

Christ on a bike, that's looks fookin ace. Bon effort etc..

[Stubbs]

Can anyone familiar with the buttress say if you are looking at a groundfall from the hard climbing?  Difficult to tell how far above the ground the gear is.  Amazing looking climbing.

[bendavison]

Can anyone familiar with the buttress say if you are looking at a groundfall from the hard climbing?  Difficult to tell how far above the ground the gear is.  Amazing looking climbing.

As with Transcendence it looks to be fairly safe. You might/would probably hit the slab below if you fell off on the cut loose, and would probably only hit the ground/hurt yourself if you fell off on the final crux celebration. Looks to be slightly higher above the gear at the hard bit than Transcendence and that's considered E8 now I think. I haven't tried either of these by the way. Balls aren't big enough and fingers aren't strong enough.

Anyone else think it looks a bit squeezed in (yet logical) between Transcendence and the E4 to the right?

[slackline]

The fall (well the landing actually) is described in Mark's write-up (near the start of the text).

[SA Chris]

Balls aren't big enough and fingers aren't strong enough.

Given your recent performance, I'll accept the first half of that excuse.

[Wood FT]

I'd forgotten how good Lost Cause looks as well, why o why haven't I been 

[bendavison]

Balls aren't big enough and fingers aren't strong enough.

Given your recent performance, I'll accept the first half of that excuse.

For font 8b! Maybe on the motherboard at a very optimistic push (plus a decent push from a 'spotter')

Seems like big Watson had another reasonable day at backers soon after: http://adamjwatson89.wordpress.com/ The Darkside and Empty the bones of you next?

[SA Chris]

County Ethics for a warmup.

That wall is in great nick so much more now the trees have been cut back

[Doylo]

Post

Looks awesome.

So does E8 have the biggest difficulty range of any trad grade? From low font 7's (?) to 8B!!

Font 6c+ to 8b. Bonkers but somehow it works doesn't it!

[abarro81]

No, it doesn't

[Doylo]

Hubble and Liquid Ambar were written up as E9 originally so maybe it's not far off the mark! 

[gme]

The routes on that wall at back bowden are superb and, now the trees have been cut back are, dry most of the time. However i don't get why he soloed Macbeth. The crux is at mid height protected by an average 2 1/2 friend but i can see why you would boulder that. However the top is pretty high and sandy but there is good gear.

You dont want to fall off the top of these things as TB will testify.

[Luke Owens]

Looks phenomenal! The video is awesome.

[Jaspersharpe]

Hubble and Liquid Ambar were written up as E9 originally so maybe it's not far off the mark! 

Barrows is right, it doesn't work. It worked fine when those routes were done as you say Doylo but the whole thing's gone to shit since.

E grades and tech grades for sport routes worked really well. Hardest move + overall difficulty. So a bolted E8 6b would be a stamina fest but E6/7 7a would be one or two hard moves. Both probably 8a+ in French money but you got more info from the UK system.

If people hadn't got so hung up about tech grades not moving (and headpointing for the adjectival grade moving too much) the system could have continued to work properly for sport routes and it would have still made sense for trad routes.

As it is, it's all fucked and using Font or French route grades for difficulty plus things obviously being dangerous or not is the only sane option.

Shame really.

Hubble as E9 7b and Liquid Ambar as E9 7a (think Jerry might have said 6c actually but that was bollocks) made perfect sense at the same time as Indian Face being E9 6c, if you understood the system.

[Doylo]

Because Hubble and liquid got E9 for difficulty and IF got E9 for being death....  Glad grading sport routes is pretty easy.

[Jaspersharpe]

Because Hubble and liquid got E9 for difficulty and IF got E9 for being death.... 

Exactly. It worked fine as the difference between the two was pretty obvious! Also meant trad/semi trad/sport routes on the same crag used the same system and made sense.

[GCW]

Meh, it was too complicated for anyone that wasn't English aristocracy.

Anyone for crumpets?   What ho!