[Greg C]

Nice pics Rich!

Well you have busted out everything else hard in Europe isn't it about time you got on Walk Away? It was dry yesterday, and 11 degrees today.

Prime meat?

[Palomides]

Well cool.

[saltbeef]

Nice pics Rich!

Well you have busted out everything else hard in Europe isn’t it about time you got on Walk Away? It was dry yesterday, and 11 degrees today.

Prime meat?

There's more to life than the lakes...

[Fiend]

Well cool.

Indeed. Some very nice photos. Although it makes you wonder why this tendonitis-fest is the most popular F9a on the planet  :shock:

[saltbeef]

have you no pulse?! obviously if you've actually seen it then you'll realise it looks like one of the most improbable things in the world. damn fine effort to anyone who can drag their sorry ass up it.

[dobbin]

Where is the 1-5-9 tee from?! I must have one!

(perhaps I should just get 1-4-7 though, do you have to be able to do 1-5-9?)

Fantastic pics and fantastic effort. I want to go back and do slingshot (8a+ to the right) just to say I have done a route at WadKopf. (spelling mistake deliberate!)

[Ru]

I want to go back and do slingshot (8a+ to the right)

Slimline, and me too.

[dobbin]

Bollocks. There is a route called SLingshot somewhere in the jura though isnt there?

Andy has done slimline.

[unclesomebody]

I think it has many repeats for a few reasons... it is the oldest standing 9a route. It has been tried by every single good climber.  What you don't hear in the news is about who goes to actually try routes, even though failure is most interesting.  Literally any climber who is capable of 9a has tried this route, and only 8 have succeeded. I would even say that Action Directe has had more people try it than any other hard route in the world. This is why it APPEARS to have had more repeats than most. the other thing is that Action is not shit, it is actually very good, so people want to go to try it, unlike some other 9a routes that I won't mention.

[dobbin]

and its not really long, its a proper power 9a.

[Fiend]

Oh yeah I can see about the quality and sense of history. It's the campussing on vicious looking mono-pockets that had me wondering  :wink:

[a dense loner]

(perhaps I should just get 1-4-7 though, do you have to be able to do 1-5-9?)

if this was so panto's shop would be out of business :wink:

[Doylo]

sweet pics, the pidgeon proves his photographic pedigree once again. Its not an easy route to get good pics of.

[dave]

I think it has many repeats for a few reasons... it is the oldest standing 9a route. It has been tried by every single good climber.  What you don't hear in the news is about who goes to actually try routes, even though failure is most interesting.  Literally any climber who is capable of 9a has tried this route, and only 8 have succeeded. I would even say that Action Directe has had more people try it than any other hard route in the world. This is why it APPEARS to have had more repeats than most. the other thing is that Action is not shit, it is actually very good, so people want to go to try it, unlike some other 9a routes that I won't mention.

since it was originally given UIAA XI (and thus it was heavily debated as to whether it was 8c+ or 9a), is it also true that theres a fair chance that its towards the "softer" end of 9a? also that'd make sense toward explaining the repeats along with the age of the route.

[a dense loner]

it would not explain it at all. the 8 people that have climbed this route are all monster's (with the obvious exception of buoux :wink: ). not only that they are all known for having mutant mono-strengths. if people didn't know this they just didn't know it

[Buoux 8C]

since it was originally given UIAA XI (and thus it was heavily debated as to whether it was 8c+ or 9a), is it also true that theres a fair chance that its towards the "softer" end of 9a? also that'd make sense toward explaining the repeats along with the age of the route.

I would disagree with that, the reason, like Keith has explained that Action has now had 8 repeats is because it is one of the best and most impressive sport routes in the world. Along with this it is also the most famous hard route, it really has classic status amongst the worlds elite. This explains why nearly every world class sport climber has been their for some attempts. lets not forget that realisation has already seen 2 repeats in the matter of a couple of years, does that make it easier than one of mclures unrepeated 9a, or does it mean that it is just a better route that is more inspiring for most top climbers. i certianly would go for the latter.

As for the softer end of 9a, lets not forget dai Koyamdas comment that Action is by fare the hardest route he has ever climbed (a guy who has climbed 3 other 9a rotues and over 20 8c+ routes) and also comments from markus Bock who considers Action to be a hard 9a (he also has climbed 2 other 9a routes and over 20 8c+ routes).

As for me Action is the hardest thing i have climbed, for me it is a standard 9a harder than Hubble or any other 8c+ i have climbed. And although i havent climbed Any of these routes, i would say its as hard or harder than both rainshadow and Mutation both proposed 9a's in britain.

Just because the route has seen ascents from 3 climbers in one season dosent make it soft, it just means that 2 world class climbers both went to the frankenjura at the same time to attempt action directe and another one lives their and has been trying for the past 5 years. It also concludes that the weather was very good for 3 weeks which is a rarity in the frankenjura.

I feel that if action where to be soft 9a or an 8c+ then it would have had double the amount of repeats it has seen.
here is a list off the top of my head of world class climbers that have been and tryed action and not succeded.

John Gaskins
Dani Andrada
Fred Nicole
Klem Loskot
Ben Moon
Josune Beratizu
Paxti Usobiaga
Huber Brothers
Jerry Moffatt
many top french climbers,
Kilian fishuber,
Markus bendler
Sharma? i think
fred Roughling
Jb tribout

and of course keith bradbury

some list, and probably another 10 9a climbers i have forgotten about.
It really is an amzing climb.

[dobbin]

It certainly is an amazing climb, the buttress it climbs is staggering and the forest is really beautiful too. Its somewhere I'm fully psyched to go back to, although I think it might be one or two years before it goes down  :wink:

This is such a good effort Rich, its good to see someone really pushing British sport climbing.

[dobbin]

as an aside, what did you think to Unplugged?

Did you think it was soft in the grade, or were you just in the right head space after the biggest tick in the world?

[Huffy]

and of course keith bradbury

Thats right, force it Bungle!

P.s. there are some CoC (#1&2) waiting for your fair hand to crush when you get back mate! :D

[dobbin]

I'm ordering some this morning - how long they take to arrive?

[SA Chris]

Just because the route has seen ascents from 3 climbers in one season dosent make it soft, it just means that 2 world class climbers both went to the frankenjura at the same time to attempt action directe and another one lives their and has been trying for the past 5 years. about.

Nice to see the old modesty shining through  :wink: Either that, or you have been living a double life for 5 years.

Superb effort though, what you got your eye on next? Or would that be telling?

[Huffy]

C'mon, we should get some tight Captain of Crush T's made specifically for each school session, weekly crush convention, crush newsletters etc.....follow me people, i have a vision! :D

Ordered mine from london company : http://www.londonkettlebells.com/

not arrived yet, but when it does you can rest assured i'll be doing it just like this man:

Cue heavy thrash music...

[cofe]

i worry about you huffy.

[saltbeef]

you haven't seen his fighting videos and his selection of vests...

[Terrace Ghost]

LADYS AND GENTLEMEN AND SCRUFFY CLIMBERS

NUMBER 2 HAS BEEN CLOSED

by the Welsh punter himself. grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr