UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => news => Topic started by: El Mocho on July 09, 2012, 07:29:12 pm
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Caff has only gone and done the Meltdown, talk of 8c+ from the crimper himself but heard possibly harder from others (I failed to get to the second bolt!)
He got pretty close last year and then in typicall Caff manner was very driven to get it done before his yosemite trip later this year.
Good effort crimping fist...
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Bloody hell!
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Amazing effort! Big news, Well done Caff. Spoke to a certain slatesman of short stature a week or so ago who was complaining that modern climbers are still using holds and should be moving on to climbing on nothing, this must be as close as you're gunna get. :bow:
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:clap2: :2thumbsup: Caff.
Was This the original Dawes line? Heard it had fallen down :shrug:
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:clap2: :2thumbsup: Caff.
Was This the original Dawes line? Heard it had fallen down :shrug:
Think a 'crucial' hold came off (an undercut?) I kinda remember JD talking about bolting a brass hold on to mimic the friction of the slate...
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:jaw: Fsck me.
This surely must be close to the definitive answer to Fiend's World's Hardest Slabs (http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,19730.msg354318.html) thread?
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Massive congrats! Inspiring news since reading about dawes's efforts back in the nineties and the demise of a key hold :clap2:
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Bloody hell!
:agree:
Awesome, can hardly wait for full news details.
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AMAZING!
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Fucking brilliant! :clap2: Effort Caff
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:great:
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BIG! :bounce:
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He'd allocated 30 days to try it before his trip so was shocked to get it so quick. Legend! 9a on limestone and slate, guys a heavyweight :boxing:
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WOW!! I've never seen the line but it is one of the classic projects of folklore, I also remember the talk of bolting on a brass replica of the lost hold (although from memory I seem to remember it was a clump of three holds for a hand swap sequence, yes I am that sad).
Anyway hero status duly conferred.
(this kind of buggers up my "weather's been to rubbish to do anything" track of thought though...)
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(this kind of buggers up my "weather's been to rubbish to do anything" track of thought though...)
Weather was pretty humid and rainy in Llanberis today, didnt look like dervish slab was dry at all so theres no excuse for anyone now.......
Top effort Caff!
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A range of replica climbing holds from the route have already been released.
Available in several colours http://tinyurl.com/c4vnryv (http://tinyurl.com/c4vnryv)
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(this kind of buggers up my "weather's been to rubbish to do anything" track of thought though...)
Weather was pretty humid and rainy in Llanberis today, didnt look like dervish slab was dry at all so theres no excuse for anyone now.......
Top effort Caff!
It was like that when he did Big Bang, obviously can't operate in good conditions. I guess slate is one of the more reliable options in the UK right now..
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(this kind of buggers up my "weather's been to rubbish to do anything" track of thought though...)
Weather was pretty humid and rainy in Llanberis today, didnt look like dervish slab was dry at all so theres no excuse for anyone now.......
Top effort Caff!
Slate in 'sticky damp' shock :o
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Near-mythical project climbed – brilliant stuff.
(although from memory I seem to remember it was a clump of three holds for a hand swap sequence, yes I am that sad).
Vaguely recall the JD article saying the pitch had 'a sideways double dyno – the easiest move on the route', and that the speculative brass hold would look like a gangster's gold tooth.
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:bow:
(this kind of buggers up my "weather's been to rubbish to do anything" track of thought though...)
Proves we were both talking bollocks about the weather, last night
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Amazing effort, especially given how manky the weather was here yesterday.
Half expected him to turn up at the Mill afterwards for some more training but he actually went to the pub instead for some well earned beer.
You can see the line in this topo:
http://news.v12outdoor.com/2011/06/16/king-of-the-mezz-e7-6c-twll-mawr/ (http://news.v12outdoor.com/2011/06/16/king-of-the-mezz-e7-6c-twll-mawr/)
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I'm so pleased this has got done. Any vid / pics or in typical Caff fashion did he not bother?
Isn't this the thing there was a pic of Dawes doing some wierd contortions on?
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Any vid / pics or in typical Caff fashion did he not bother?
There's pics and a write up on t'other channel
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There's a clip at
http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=67243 (http://www.ukclimbing.com/news/item.php?id=67243)
James McHaffie On 'The Meltdown' - 9a Slab? on Vimeo (http://vimeo.com/45460859)
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:clap2:
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This is absolutely legendary. I cannot conceive how hard an 8c+/9a slab must be. Sounds like teering and dynoing up a featureless brass slide might not be far off.
:great:
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The Man's posted a sort of topo/instruction book thing on his facebook page.
http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=262941957152264&set=a.147468465366281.31958.100003093850233&type=1&theater (http://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=262941957152264&set=a.147468465366281.31958.100003093850233&type=1&theater)
It's got a "massive jug" and a "good foothold" on it, so can't be too bad then...
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any chance some one could copy and paste? can't access farcebook at work.
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Legend! :great:
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Very impressive!
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An audioboo interview by Ray Wood with James and his thoughts on the route on the DMM news section.
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Audio at the bottom:
http://dmmclimbing.com/news/2012/07/first-ascent-of-britains-hardest-slab-climb/ (http://dmmclimbing.com/news/2012/07/first-ascent-of-britains-hardest-slab-climb/)
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Amazing. Still no moves harder than English 7a though? Can't see that.
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Once upon a time there were no moves harder than 6c :whistle:. Fantastic news in these conditions just fkin amazing.
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Mythical project, mythical English 7a. Perfect match.
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Happy about this! Awesome effort...who else (other than Bobbins) has been trying this line?
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Amazing. Still no moves harder than English 7a though? Can't see that.
Sounds sustained though. Successive 7a moves most probably..
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Audio at the bottom:
http://dmmclimbing.com/news/2012/07/first-ascent-of-britains-hardest-slab-climb/ (http://dmmclimbing.com/news/2012/07/first-ascent-of-britains-hardest-slab-climb/)
Wow :blink:
should that not say "first ascent of worlds hardest slab climb"...?
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Hardest slab in the UK/World? Perhaps, but given that a certain Gaskins E8 7b / 8B has still had no repeats, who knows...?
That said, this is flippin amazing!
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Cool to see a tiny bit of footage. Weird, weird moves going on on that thing!
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can anyone think of a harder slab route as opposed to a boulder problem? E.g. Bain de Sang is 9a but is probably more of a wall climb
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I imagine a lot of these 'slabs' are more like walls. Walk on by is considered a slab by some guidebook writers.
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The Stanworth slab is definitely a slab IMHO.
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can anyone think of a harder slab route as opposed to a boulder problem? E.g. Bain de Sang is 9a but is probably more of a wall climb
I did ask and the answer was "probably not": http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,19730.msg354318.html (http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,19730.msg354318.html)
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I wonder if there's a film of the whole route? I'd love to see that - steep slate seems to conjure up some of the weirdest moves ever. I can see why it's hard to put a grade on something like this. Anyway, fine effort from Caff - legend.
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can anyone think of a harder slab route as opposed to a boulder problem? E.g. Bain de Sang is 9a but is probably more of a wall climb
Caff has good experience of this kind of thing, and considering that this thing seems to be considered 8c+ and is essentially a slab, he must think Meltdown is harder???
(http://www.alpinist.com/media/web08s/madagascar-route-line.jpg)
http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08s/newswire-madagascar-super-route (http://www.alpinist.com/doc/web08s/newswire-madagascar-super-route)
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Meltdown is on the Quarryman Wall - the clue is in the name. ;)
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this thing seems to be considered 8c+ and is essentially a slab
Essentially here meaning what? Its not overhanging?
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We need some SCIENCE, bitches. And by science, I mean a protractor at the very least.
I'd love to see a film too....or just more photos n stuff.
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this thing seems to be considered 8c+ and is essentially a slab
Essentially here meaning what? Its not overhanging?
In that its a multi-pitch, but the 8c+ crux pitch is apparently a slab....according to the article.
SCIENCE required: When does a wall become a slab?
(http://www.alpinist.com/media/web08s/madagascar-redpoint-10.jpg)
McHaffie redpointing the crux 10th pitch (8c+) on his second day of effort. McHaffie commented afterwards that it was “a whole grade harder†than Johnny Dawes’s Welsh masterpiece The Very Big And The Very Small (8b+/c) on Dinorwig slate, of which he made the 3rd ascent.
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SCIENCE required: When does a wall become a slab?
When it is enough from vertical that you can take both hands off... would be my personal definition...
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When it is enough from vertical that you can take both hands off... would be my personal definition...
This count? :clown:
(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2mrd8JEl71r931g9o1_1280.jpg)
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The Very Big And The Very Small - which is found on Rainbow Slab.
Once again the clue is in the name...
That said, I guess it depends on which type of rock you are referring to - in the Llanberis slate quarries a 'just off' vertical wall will often be referred to as a steep wall.
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When it is enough from vertical that you can take both hands off... would be my personal definition...
This count? :clown:
(http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2mrd8JEl71r931g9o1_1280.jpg)
Yup :)
(http://img.tapatalk.com/5284d8de-ba6a-c63a.jpg)
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Managed to dig out the OTE with Dawes account of The Meltdown, from 1997:
I first bolted the Meltdown in '85. Like every great climb from me at first it was a hunch. From exploring the elements of the rock able to support body weight to the emergence of what would be (if manufactured) a crazily imaginative sequence. Just enough except for the right patches of not enough. Nature has made it right but it now awaits restoration.
Slate is famous for the rockover yet Meltdown barely has one. Off the top of my head i can remember ten unique moves i've never come across elsewhere. In '86 i was able to link large sections together one combination representing the hardest link i'd ever done at that point except perhaps for the pre-scarred crux of Scrittos Republic in '82. On Meltdown eight 6c moves up a dynamically climbed rib are sandwiched between an ankle height drop down involving precise rotation of the whole body and a highly compressed mantle. This link i repeated in '90 was my best achievement of the year alongside The Very Big and The Very Small, but this time complete with the substance of the start and clipping two bolts.
This meant i'd linked up to the second crux traverse right. The technicality of these cruxes is such that any limb's contact can fail which is unusual. The top crux is the harder, powerful like Hubble, subtle like Shirleys Shining Temple yet at the end of an horrendous sequence. Lovely. The trouble is the sequence has disappeared.
While yarding like mad at the edge of the overlap the overlap broke, the weight of a satchel full of gold, i fumbled it then watched as it rotated slowly, accelerating swiftly into obscure bits of disappointment. Some 11 years have passed since the convoluted ripples right of the first pitch of The Quarryman first attracted me. What to do now? One idea i hit upon was to remold the crux out of bronze. like a gold cap on a gangsters tooth the cast would gleam on the smooth purple overlap. I have a friend who casts bronze. His skills combined with a stangely clear image in my mind (plus High 8 video evidence from a Stone Monkey pilot) should allow a meltdown to remould the moves of my memory.
Meltdown is unique, though only '80 high it has two crux traverses of 20' each. Each move is different to any other, tiny slivers of slate as sidepulls manifested in spookily appropriate positions, rounded micromounds for feet, set in natural perfection to limit the sweep of the hand. Clusters of three holds where three are necessary to swap hands. There is a rest before the crux which takes six moves to establish and use three footholds to enable a heel standing/hands off, possible by starring out your body.
The second crux involves using the bronze cap; this will be for six moves. A dyno into a left hand finger pointing layback (fingers straight, hand palm at 90' to them) with the right knee resting on top of the left hand. A slap into an undercling and then a leg flag move where it would be ideal if you could take off you left calf muscle. Then a full foot smear, toe pull and footless dropdown after a low, long slap onto a pinch in front of your face. Extended, a big beautiful slpey foothold comes within reach, legs and arms all crossed up, a hand off is sequentially possible. A few deft unweightings, a set up and a sideways double dyno (the easiest move on the route) and the Meltdown is complete.
Johnny Dawes
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:agree:
Brilliant.
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Nice find Doylo.
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I agree, nice one Doylo, that's a great read.
Congrats to the beast who did the climbing too. Does he agree with the above description?!
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That's lovely - Dawes - a living argument for a link between physicality and personality - grace of movement allied to felicity of language. Just as well it isn't a universal relationship - I'd be an illiterate, unable to communicate except by bellowing!
I do suspect though that Dawes' beta would only apply to him - he danced up routes partly because he had to - where mechanical crimping and campusing might suffice for stronger types.
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http://youtu.be/im_RDycsbwM (http://youtu.be/im_RDycsbwM)
Always good to see Johnny in his prime.
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fucking hell that is solid 14 carrat gold.
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Reminds me why I wore black tights in my nascent climbing days.
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Can't believe that footage has been sat on for 25 years. Fantastic.
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awesome, I wonder how much footage of johnny is still out there somewhere, covered in dust and cobwebs.
The move up to the overlap at 1:29, where he checks the swing with a sort of reverse foot stab behind his L leg is sublime, proper Johnny.
I remember him mentioning Moffats mood after being on the route in his book. I see why now!! :lol:
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Wow, where did that appear from? Good find JB
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Loved watching that. Also liked the snippets of footage which appeared in the Guardian interview on the Youtube.
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Amazing! :bow:
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Class. What an ending
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SCIENCE required: When does a wall become a slab?
When you can climb it but your mate can't.
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Interesting that Dawes was 'thinking' about creating a new brass hold ... i'm happy he stuck to his guns and didn't! Especially with reference to the majestic Clowynn du'Arddu and the Redhead affair ... Is one to conclude from Redhead's departure to Espana (if he's still there) that he's a bolt clipper now?
Ah, the swings and roundabouts of Zebedies play park.
Beijos xxxx
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Interesting that Dawes was 'thinking' about creating a new brass hold ... i'm happy he stuck to his guns and didn't!
I wouldn't read too much into it, he never built the vegetable car either. Not sure JR moved for the bolts either....
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Careful Patrul that post actually made sense
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Quite ... one is getting concerned, i must remember to polish the teapot again... however, i'm thinking of moving to a Castle soon, which ought to aid lofty concerns.
Talking of castles one went for a play at 'THe Castle' in Londium recently, like a cunning fox i signed in as K.Souza, as i'm kind of banned. And in the midst of my play stumbled across an incredulously fantastic climbing mantra, which i proceeded to exhale at the top of my voice. It goes "MUNCH, MUNCH, CRUNCH, CRUNCH." You see what it does is open the Shen Dao (back of the heart) which aids power no end and if one is prone to closing that centre (as i am) then it keeps it open, hence increasing power ten fold!
THis is the sort of info. one could pay handsomely ... (i'll accept pints, cheques and karma points ; )
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The second crux involves using the bronze cap; this will be for six moves. A dyno into a left hand finger pointing layback (fingers straight, hand palm at 90' to them) with the right knee resting on top of the left hand. A slap into an undercling and then a leg flag move where it would be ideal if you could take off you left calf muscle. Then a full foot smear, toe pull and footless dropdown after a low, long slap onto a pinch in front of your face. Extended, a big beautiful slpey foothold comes within reach, legs and arms all crossed up, a hand off is sequentially possible. A few deft unweightings, a set up and a sideways double dyno (the easiest move on the route) and the Meltdown is complete.
Very cool watching the video and working it out from Dawes genius description above :)
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2mins32s:
What am I supposed to do there?
- Jerry :bow:
I think most people who've climbed with Johnny will have uttered those words at some point. :lol:
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Great footage!
I wonder what else Al Hughes has got waiting to be seen?
I love the bit where Pete Norton randomly pops up in the background.
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Rumour has it he had footage of neil carson on big bang but sent it somewhere without making a copy and never got it back
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We need to launch a social networking campaign to get it back.
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Brilliant line from the main man! Good effort Caff - what's next!?
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Brilliant line from the main man! Good effort Caff - what's next!?
From the horses mouth: An extension to the Meltdown linking it to the Fire Escape in one monster pitch.
I doubt anyone would be taking the victory whipper on that bad boy....