BURSTAfter climbing her first 5.14d last year, Quinn Mason has added another hard Squamish testpiece with a send of Spectre Del Norte 5.14c. “Maybe the most sweaty, pumped, and chalky I’ve ever been,” Mason said. “An incredible reminder of what it’s like to be terminally pumped but somehow keep climbing.”
The route links the cruxes of Spirit of the West 5.14a into Queen Bee 5.13c via a technical crux on tiny crimps. Although she sent it on her second redpoint attempt, Mason had already climbed each section individually. It marks her seventh route at Paradise Wall and fourth there this season. “I’m still reflecting on the grade,” she added. Also in Squamish, Mason recently climbed Sixty Nine 5.13b/c trad, and flashed Flight of the Challenger 5.12c trad.
In other climbing news, Shauna Coxsey has repeated Francesco Bernardino’s Quiet Storm V14 in Gottardo while taking a break from her main objective, Hazel Grace Sit V15. “It sure felt nice to try hard and get to the top of a boulder,” Coxsey wrote. “This boulder has some of the most impressively terrible holds I’ve ever pulled on!” The five-time V14 climber switched objectives after a combination of hot conditions and a forearm muscle tear made her main project impractical. More on the send here.
And Leo Bøe has made the first ascent of Verdens Ende 5.15a in Flatanger, a 130-metre line that starts with Brunhilde Low Start 5.14d before continuing for another 70 metres on traditional gear through the cave roof. Because new bolts are prohibited in the cave, Bøe protected the upper section entirely with trad gear and devised a system of three rope changes using a single 80-metre rope to reduce rope drag. The successful ascent took more than an hour. “I was looking for the most obvious and straight line through the whole roof that also could be secured with gear,” Bøe said.
The 26-year-old spent days establishing the line, sourcing enough protection and refining the logistics before linking the bouldery start into the sustained endurance climbing above. “It felt awesome,” he said after reaching the lip, before completing the final 35 metres of easier climbing to the summit. Read more about it here.
Also in Flatanger, Hannes Puman packed seven ascents up to 5.14d into a 10-day trip, while also sampling five of the cave’s hardest routes. Among the 28-year-old Swede’s redpoints were Kangaroo’s Limb 5.15a, Illusionist 5.14d, and Witchhammer 5.14d.
“The first few days the conditions weren’t ideal, so I just tried many routes,” Puman said. When cooler weather arrived, he quickly dispatched Kangaroo’s Limb before returning to complete Illusionist after a battle that lasted seven attempts in a day. “Most of the routes that are not the most popular ones are still really good,” he said.
In South Africa, trad climbing ace James Pearson has completed a free solo of Legacy 5.14d in Rocklands, just days after climbing The Finnish Line V15. Originally envisioned as a highball by Dave Graham, Legacy was first climbed with a rope by Giuliano Cameroni in 2019 before repeats by Fred Nicole, Paul Robinson and Paige Claassen. Pearson is the first to go rope free. “It felt like finishing a sentence that someone else had started,” Pearson wrote.
And in the U.S.A., Austin Hoyt sent Creature From the Black Lagoon V15 in Upper Chaos, his second ascent at the grade. “It feels like a new hard style unlocked for me,” Hoyt said.
The post Quinn Mason Sends in Squamish, Plus a New 130-Metre Pitch, and a 5.14d Free Solo appeared first on Gripped Magazine.