9a FA by Cody Roth

Cody Roth, #6 in his Lead World Cup debut back in 2003, has done the FA of Me I Eat Dust 9a in Texas. "I'm not at liberty to give the name or location of this secret spot, but if someone is interested in trying these routes, access can likely be arranged" (c) Kilian Fischhuber - This route does the crux of I, Me, Mine, (downgraded to 8c+ which Kilian actually did second go and he also flashed an 8b+) then carries into an 8A+/8B boulder problem with no rest in between. It's basically a 20 move sequence where only one hand can be chalked. Time wise, last year after I did I Me Mine, I started trying this thing but tore a pulley three days in. I recovered and made some progress in the Spring, but then Summer arrived. I resumed trying it in October or November before suffering the breaking hold set back. Hard to say how many days I put in, for sure more than anything else I've done, but I have little to zero interest in grading anything harder than 9a, I'm old school! A few weeks ago I did my first 8b+ flash and red pointed two 8c+ in a handful of tries, although I downgraded one of them. I guess I'm in a good vein of form. I'm now 33 and climbing maybe better than ever mainly because I know it's fleeting. In my 20's I wasn't very good at prioritizing, I'd stay up until 3 partying and wake up at 9 to go climbing. I never wanted my climbing to be forced or planned. I didn't want to overthink it. I owe a lot of my recent success to my girlfriend and my community here in Austin, they keep me grounded and motivated.