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Topic split: 8a+ flashes and above in the uk (Read 7019 times)

shark

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Have any women, including non Brits, flashed 8a+ in the UK? I can't think of many contenders.

Me neither

Teaboy

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There aren’t that many men are there, or do we just not hear about them?

remus

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There aren’t that many men are there, or do we just not hear about them?

I don't know for sure but I feel like there'd be quite a few if you started digging.

Kingy

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Years ago IIRC, Steve McClure either flashed or onsighted both Idefix and Victor Hugo at Malham (I'm sure somebody can clarify) at Malham, both 8b. Also Indian Summer and Dr Crimp 8b+, both 8b+ were OS'd by Steve (IIRC no prior info on either)

(In case this isn't already documented.)

Kingy

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Nic Sellars flashed Nemesis 8a+ at the Cornice, Cheedale in the early nineties. When asked whether he knew much about the route beforehand, he replied there wasn't a single hand or foothold he didn't know like the back of his hand (I hope I have remembered this magazine quote reasonably accurately. Even more kudos seeing as this was before Youtube video beta!).

remus

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Was it Nic who onsighted the fa of homegrown at cheddar (8a+)?

i_a_coops

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Ian Vickers IIRC

petejh

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Taylor Parsons (formerly Chris -Webb) flashed The Brute 8b. Closer to an onsight really as she'd (he'd) never seen anyone on it (first visit to the crag) and only had some beta shouted up for some moves as she (he) went. Diamond a good place for os/flashes as less cryptic than many hard sport in the UK.

First female 8b flash in the UK then..? :P I await the first jedi flash.
« Last Edit: June 12, 2021, 10:33:57 pm by petejh »

Kingy

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Simon Nadin onsighted the Groove 8a+ at Malham in 1990, the grand daddy of all UK hard onsights. Ian Vickers flashed Urgent in 1997 around the same time he did True North in 2 hours. Just getting started with this! Thread split time?

Kingy

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Was it Nic who onsighted the fa of homegrown at cheddar (8a+)?

Yes. Sometime in the late 90's

abarro81

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Was it Nic who onsighted the fa of homegrown at cheddar (8a+)?

Vickers I thought?
Plenty at 8a+, off top of my head: me, Mawson, Eddie B, Savage, Pope, Pete Dawson from people I know then I think maybe Cubit?, Earl?...

Kingy

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Was it Nic who onsighted the fa of homegrown at cheddar (8a+)?

Vickers I thought?

oh yes it was, my bad. Got them mixed up

Ged

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Somebody must've on sighted or at least flashed infinite gravity, that's crying out for it. Same for airshow at Rhossili.

I seem to remember turning up at Ansteys a few years ago and Tyler landman had just flashed tuppence. Although it may have been a very quick second go or something.

Wood FT

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That needs finding out, that'll be the only flash if true, wouldn't it? If it's already been flashed I'll just leave it then, not worth it...

grimer

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ben moon flashed kleinian envy?

JK

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Matej Sova onsighted Supercool and Mandela

Andy F

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Didn't CWP on-site The Brute on the Diamond.

Kingy

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Yes, that's right, actually mentioned further up the thread.

Ste Mac onsighted Kali Yuga 8b in Cheedale over 10 years ago

shark

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Steve also flashed the Oak

Duncan campbell

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Think Caff onsighted supercool too? Steve has probably done that as well?

Adam Lincoln

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Didn't CWP on-site The Brute on the Diamond.

No as stated above, she flashed it.

Kingy

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Malcolm Smith flashed Energy Vampire 8a+ at Malham in the early 90's.

I have not heard of Tuppence being flashed before and have spent a fair amount of time at the Cove.

Stu Littlefair

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Is Airshow still 8a+? Rob Sutton and myself have both onsighted that but it’s a different category to some of the routes mentioned in this thread...

ali k

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Is Airshow still 8a+? Rob Sutton and myself have both onsighted that but it’s a different category to some of the routes mentioned in this thread...
Pretty much accepted as 8a I thought, from when I was down that way. Mind you on that crag it depends what month/year you climbed it as to the grade depending on what holds are or aren’t still there…

Paul B

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Nic Sellars flashed Nemesis 8a+ at the Cornice, Cheedale in the early nineties. When asked whether he knew much about the route beforehand, he replied there wasn't a single hand or foothold he didn't know like the back of his hand (I hope I have remembered this magazine quote reasonably accurately. Even more kudos seeing as this was before Youtube video beta!).

Was there something similar with Dev. Arms? In that he flashed or nearly flashed it and hence it couldn't possibly be 8b etc.?

Ged

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Is Airshow still 8a+? Rob Sutton and myself have both onsighted that but it’s a different category to some of the routes mentioned in this thread...
Pretty much accepted as 8a I thought, from when I was down that way. Mind you on that crag it depends what month/year you climbed it as to the grade depending on what holds are or aren’t still there…

Yes you're probably right. For what it's worth I thought infinite gravity was probably 8a too, they just popped up as likely contenders

Kingy

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Was there something similar with Dev. Arms? In that he flashed or nearly flashed it and hence it couldn't possibly be 8b etc.?

IIRC from On the Edge, Nic Sellars nearly flashed 42 and therefore they downgraded it to 8b as it would have been almost unheard of to flash 8b+ at that time in the mid 90's. I don't know the route but maybe Nic was better than he gave himself credit for and it should have been 8b+. Would have been an amazing flash had he been successful!

Kingy

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If I'm not mistaken Malcolm Smith flashed Chimes 8a+ at the Tor as I remember reading about it in On the Edge. I think it was around the time of 'The Power and the Glory' article in '92. I believe the feat was not deemed to be too significant at the time compared to the likes of Hubble.

Bradders

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Also Indian Summer and Dr Crimp 8b+, both 8b+ were OS'd by Steve (IIRC no prior info on either)

(In case this isn't already documented.)

Just flicking through the old YMC Yorkshire Limestone guide and these are mentioned in the history section there. Both must be up there with the hardest British UK onsights?

cheque

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Many climbers can’t tell you with any certainty if they’ve climbed a route or not, let alone how many goes it took them. Meanwhile, Ted can remember the details of other climbers’ ascents from 30 years ago.  :bow:

Kingy

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Just flicking through the old YMC Yorkshire Limestone guide and these are mentioned in the history section there. Both must be up there with the hardest British UK onsights?

Amazing, yes, to my knowledge, nobody else has onsighted 8b+ in the UK.

This stuff is strangely memorable, to me at least! Just looked up in my 1990 Yorkshire Lime rockfax that Simon Nadin 'flashed on sight' Urgent Action in July 1990, 7 years before Vickers gave it the treatment.

This guide has a lightning bolt next to all routes of 7c and above that had been flashed (quite a few at the Big 3) without giving away who did it. Would be a cool feature for current guides.

remus

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This stuff is strangely memorable, to me at least! Just looked up in my 1990 Yorkshire Lime rockfax that Simon Nadin 'flashed on sight' Urgent Action in July 1990, 7 years before Vickers gave it the treatment.

I think it was actually 30th June 1990  :whistle: There's a pic of him on it on UKC https://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/dbpage.php?id=137438

wasbeen

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Ondra onsighted Bat Route (not sure whether that is in the rules of the game though)

gme

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This stuff is strangely memorable, to me at least! Just looked up in my 1990 Yorkshire Lime rockfax that Simon Nadin 'flashed on sight' Urgent Action in July 1990, 7 years before Vickers gave it the treatment.

I think it was actually 30th June 1990  :whistle: There's a pic of him on it on UKC https://www.ukclimbing.com/photos/dbpage.php?id=137438

Nice dig out of a historic photo.
Thats a young Nic Sellers with the Van Halen fleece and long hair, John Boyle on his left. I was there to somewhere. Simon onsighted 50 for 5 and the bulge on the same day. Still one of the most impressive things i have seen when you think how long ago it was.

crimpingandy

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Gav may remember but Ingo Grabner on sighted Pump Up The Power in 93/94. I offered him some beta but he declined and 30s later it was done. It had been downgraded to 8a at that point.

He then went on to do all the moves on Hubble in a session if I remember correctly.

remus

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Listification: https://climbing-history.org/list/10/hard-flash-or-onsight-ascents-by-brits

Lots of missing info in there so any additional info much appreciated!

(Be aware that climbing-history.org doesn't currently have the location of climbs, so the above is hard flash/onsights by brits regardless of location).

Ged

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Surely our very own Ali K has flashed 8a+ or harder? Come one Ali don't be shy.  I once heard a rumour that you flashed Migranya, then you told me it wasn't true.  But there's no smoke without fire..

remus

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Ha, good shout, a little UKC stalking and it looks like Ali OS'd Los Racos Extension in Kalymnos.

I wonder how many people would be if we expand out to onsights/flashes by brits anywhere in the world?

abarro81

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Lots of missing info in there so any additional info much appreciated!
I find it weird that the list has multiples for some but not others e.g. Ste, Jim, Buster, Molly.. not clear what the rationale is given it's not just a UK/non-UK split (e.g. Molly has 2 8b in Europe on there and a uk, Buster on for both 8b and 8b+ but Bolger not etc...)? So I don't really know what to suggest because I don't know what you're trying to track... all 8a+ and up in the uk plus people's hardest? Just each person's hardest? Everything anyone's done above 8a+ (don't go there!)??


I wonder how many people would be if we expand out to onsights/flashes by brits anywhere in the world?
Way too many to list, especially if you list multiples for people (I'm on 50+ so Ste prob on 100-200?). You'd maybe be able to do it for 8b and up (again, too many with multiples) but never 8a+ outside of uk. For 8b: Savage onsighted zona zero. Eddie B flashed 8b in Rumney (would need to look on 8a for the name), pretty sure Vickers has os 8b, Pearson flashed 8b+ IIRC. Simpson ( :worms:) done a couple. Gaz in Santa L. Think P widdy flashed 8b too.
If you want 8a+ it'll get horrible - Robbie P, Alan C, McNair, Hick, think Ben D, Luke D, Aid Baxter, probably Jordan, Billy, Alex WC, and that's just a stream of conciousness off the top of my head...

« Last Edit: June 18, 2021, 09:01:10 am by abarro81 »

Kingy

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Ondra's full Yorkshire Lime o/s/ flash ticklist from Keith's blog from 10 years ago:

http://keithsharplesphotography.co.uk/blog/blog/_archives/2010/5/8/4524247.html

remus

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There's not a clear criteria for it atm, I've just been adding interesting (for some loose definition of interesting) flash and OS ascents.

Sounds like 8b flash/OS is a sensible cut off for current ascents, I'll add those you've mentioned so far in.

I know Pete Whit onsighted that 8b trad crack on the profile wall, I've skipped hard trad stuff in the past though just to avoid getting in to grade debates. Has he OSd/flashed any 8b or harder sport?

ali k

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I thought it was just onsights/flashes in UK. Plenty of 8a onsights abroad for me but that one in Kaly is the only 8a+ I think. Yeh yeh it’s in Kaly so it doesn’t count but Gaz Parry fell off it so fuck y’all  :lol:

ali k

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Come one Ali don't be shy.  I once heard a rumour that you flashed Migranya, then you told me it wasn't true.  But there's no smoke without fire..
That must have been a miscommunication by someone, probably about the 8a+ tufa at the same sector which I did flash.

 

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