[Vince Mcnally]

Jim Pope has red pointed revelations at Raven tor today
It was his second day on the route

We'll done Jim

[dave]

Who or what is Jim Pope?

[petejh]

DC Jim Pope, yerr facking slaaaag.

[bendavison]

Second day? We need hours and minutes these days.

[tomtom]

Who or what is Jim Pope?

Vinces mate...

[mr__j5]

https://twitter.com/jimpopeonarope

[shark]

Who or what is Jim Pope?

Jim's a youngish London based climber - 15? and still a short arse. Lovely lad, keen as mustard. Probably doesn't warrant a news post but he is on the way up and should see a lot more from him

[Oldmanmatt]

Who or what is Jim Pope?

Jim's a youngish London based climber - 15? and still a short arse. Lovely lad, keen as mustard. Probably doesn't warrant a news post but he is on the way up and should see a lot more from him

Watched him at the DWS under 16's, star quality a'coming. And seriously, "revelations" at 15 doesn't warrant a news post?

We are producing some world class kids and they should be encouraged!

[Wood FT]

Isn't the Revelations start a notoriously knacky 7C? I think that's really impressive, well done Jim, and in this indian summer too!

[shark]

And seriously, "revelations" at 15 doesn't warrant a news post?

We are producing some world class kids and they should be encouraged!

An appropriate level of hype is required and world class includes Ashima.

I think the most impressive thing about this particular ascent is his height rather than his age.

Revelations is an odd one - Font 7C boulder problem into a 7c route or thereabouts.

[Stu Littlefair]

The most notable thing about this ascent is that it has ruined every single one of my excuses

[gme]

Who or what is Jim Pope?

Jim's a youngish London based climber - 15? and still a short arse. Lovely lad, keen as mustard. Probably doesn't warrant a news post but he is on the way up and should see a lot more from him

Watched him at the DWS under 16's, star quality a'coming. And seriously, "revelations" at 15 doesn't warrant a news post?

We are producing some world class kids and they should be encouraged!

Well done Jim , classic old route with a hard start that many cant do. But i really dont think a 15 year old repeating an 8a+/b from 1984 deserves its own news post. Maybe worth a mention in the significant repeats bit but thats it.

I dont want to sound like a miserable old c**t but surely things need to move on a bit in UK climbing. This level at this age was done decades ago and wouldnt even raise an eyebrow anywhere else in the world. And i am all for encouraging the youth but lets not over do it.

The fact that a lot of people in the UK are still really impressed by this is part of why we are so far behind the rest of the world in sports climbing. Unless your pre pubescient it should be 8b+ onsights, 9a redpoints or 8B+ boulders before they deserve there own post on here.

Its time for them to think big and this isnt.

[JacobJacob]

Good effort Jim! Although I hope he neither knows or cares about this thread...

[Sloper]

The most notable thing about this ascent is that it has ruined every single one of my excuses

Your friendly lawyers says, put on lots of weight, then you'll have another excuse.  That will be £220 please.

[Oldmanmatt]

Ashima, is astounding, but like all of the very, very best is an exception.

We have several placed into the top 20 at the World youth comp. (Alex and Peter placed joint 19th and Will B 8th, Hannah 13th, Rebecca 18th), that's hardly a poor showing.

And...

How much harder do we imagine climbing can get?

Is anyone really expecting an 11a from the next generation?

Is no kid good enough unless they can hang from a roof by the nail of their little finger?
 I'm psyched for the kid, the fact that Johnny was the Ondra of my generation and could do that bitd doesn't diminish the achievement of an 8a+/b in two days on redpoint.

Climbing must rapidly be running out of "harder" to go to, before the limits of human physiology shut it down.

[SA Chris]

The most notable thing about this ascent is that it has ruined every single one of my excuses

Why, have you dropped out of full-time eployment, become a weightless brutally strong youth, too young to drink, and too motivated to stay off the cake all of a sudden?

If you need excuses, I've got dozens to spare.

Sounds like an excellent effort to me.

[Jaspersharpe]

Climbing must rapidly be running out of "harder" to go to, before the limits of human physiology shut it down.

People said that 20 years ago.

[Oldmanmatt]

Oh, yeah.

Has anyone thought how the climate of the UK, affects the quality of outdoor climbing?
If you are raised in California, Spain, even France, how many more climbing days do you get in a year?

[gme]

Ashima, is astounding, but like all of the very, very best is an exception.

We have several placed into the top 20 at the World youth comp. (Alex and Peter placed joint 19th and Will B 8th, Hannah 13th, Rebecca 18th), that's hardly a poor showing.

And...

How much harder do we imagine climbing can get?

Is anyone really expecting an 11a from the next generation?

Is no kid good enough unless they can hang from a roof by the nail of their little finger?
 I'm psyched for the kid, the fact that Johnny was the Ondra of my generation and could do that bitd doesn't diminish the achievement of an 8a+/b in two days on redpoint.

Climbing must rapidly be running out of "harder" to go to, before the limits of human physiology shut it down.

I am happy for him as well, its a good effort for anyone to climb at that standard but it doesnt deserve its own thread. I never meant to to be a put down on Jim Pope and it still isn't despite whatever Jacob Jacob obviously thinks.

However i do think that by making a big deal about what are, on a world scale, pretty insignificant ascents, we are not helping develop the younger generation of climbers. Big fish in a small pond etc. It still seams to me that you can become a bit of a UK hero by redpointing an 8b-c or headpointing an E8, of which wouldnt get a mention in other countries. And its not just Ashima there are dozens and dozens of examples.

Until they start thinking big they wont get there.

And regards the comment about 11a, we will get there at some point, 9c isnt far away and 10a will happen in the next 15-20 years so why not more. Who would have ever though 9a would be onsighted and yet 2 people have now done it, more will follow and i would love to see one of them being from the UK.

[cowboyhat]

I dont want to sound like a miserable old c**t but

Then don't.

Of course its not significant in a world wide Adam Ondra, Usain Bolt sense but whats wrong with giving a kid some encouragement you miserable old cunt?

Jim is about 5'4" ATM, it is a flipping good effort. He's also pretty grounded, humble even, and probably won''t be phased reading this thread.

However gme your comment! This takes me back over twenty years to when I was that age. I quit the comps and actively avoided trying to get into any sort of Sheffield scene because of the negative bitchy environment that prevailed.

They are thinking big GME, despite this sort of negative bullshit. Some will be put off altogether, others will think fuck you I'll do it on my own.

[Obi-Wan is lost...]

Jim Pope? Any relation to Tim Pope? and what is Shark doing in the Park? 

I'll get my coat....

[Stubbs]

Effort Jim!

I'm sure keen youths are well aware where they sit on the scale of world ascents, I bet they consume more climbing media than anyone else.  I don't think this should stop the reporting of things which are nationally significant. 

IMO publicising these ascents to encourage more young climbers onto rock and away from plastic is more likely to lead to a rise in national standards, rather than ignoring them because they are not hard on a global scale!

[bendavison]

Sounds to me like you're all trying to achieve the same thing by slightly different means. I don't think anyone is saying that its not a good effort, it is - he's from London so getting out to the Tor at his age then having the guts to get on a route which he's not just going to path is more of a factor than the weather. And of course we all want Jim to go on to climb in the 9's, I don't see why he won't - even Ondra is saying short is best!

Giving encouragement is really important, but I think gme is trying to make a good point here which is important for the long term development of all the young British climbers. Perspective is important, even if the standards in the uk are a notch behind the rest of the world (but the gap is closing), and gme is correct in saying that there are masses of kids climbing much harder stuff, because its all too easy for young kids to drop out if they get used to 'winning' too much.
This is a real issue is swimming - now good coaches who can gauge potential will deliberately hold back swimmers at a younger age, and will put them in competitions that they know they can't win so that the kid has continual long term progress. 

I'm sure Jim is as obsessed with following the climbing media as many of us, so I doubt he's under any illusions as to where his current level of climbing is relative to others anyway.

[Will Hunt]

I for one would like to see a news thread only when the climber is younger than half the routes grade plus seven.

[Oldmanmatt]

And regards the comment about 11a, we will get there at some point, 9c isnt far away and 10a will happen in the next 15-20 years so why not more. Who would have ever though 9a would be onsighted and yet 2 people have now done it, more will follow and i would love to see one of them being from the UK.

Why not?
Because the incremental increase in difficulty becomes, inevitably, ever smaller and hence harder to define. This is already apparent from the arguing and bitching that goes on about current grades.
We start entering the realms of difficulty where the slightest change in a Myriad of subtle variables determine success or failure.

For me that's the crux.

If some future NBA, 8'3", star learns to leap 4mtrs into the air and latch a hold that no-one else could ever climb to, would it count?

I'd contend that 11a (or even 10a), will ever be so controversial and restricted to such a small sample of humanity, as to be meaningless.

Unless we have substantial genetic/bionic/tech modifications to contend with...