Billy Ridal does Rhapsody (8c+) trad

Billy Ridal has repeated Dave MacLeod’s Rhapsody (8c+) in Dumbarton. ”E11. Took the whip and snapped a nut. So much fun to climb on that head wall though, a special route.

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the process behind?
I went up to Dumbarton last month, the idea being to scope Rhapsody out, ready to train for it in the Autumn. It was obvious from my initial play on top rope that I got on with the style. The route has two distinct sections, the initial crack (shared with the Iconic E8 Requiem) that comes out around f7c+, a decent rest, and then the sustained headwall. For me this was 22 moves, split in the middle by a couple of holds good enough to chalk up on. The first half is extended punchy moves on open handed holds. I really like this section, it suits my style really well and I can pace through it without feeling I lose much. From here is the redpoint crux, 11 moves of positional crimping, no move is totally stopper, but it keeps coming at you right to the lip. I think this is really special. The route builds in tempo to this perfect crescendo, unrelenting as the lip gets closer and the gear further away.

After a couple times up on top rope I managed to link the headwall, and though we didn’t have much time, there was no excuse to avoid getting on the sharp end and seeing what it was all about. I was nervous that first go, climbed the crack quite poorly, was pumped at the rest, but figured I should give it my best and get to grips with being above the gear. I got up into the final crux section and after a few moves of whimpering, took the whip. It was hefty, and the swing in is heavy on the ankles, but it’s not toooo bad. This gave me confidence, I was up fighting in the final moves despite there being lots to refine, and the fall had been okay. I could do it.

Coming back this time had a different feel, I knew I could do it, the cameras were on and the pressure to perform felt acute. Last trip, one of the key wires (a No1 half nut) had got stuck in the head wall from taking the fall. I’d had to really yank on it to get it out, and had discussed if this could compromise the cable. Naively, I didn’t really think it would be a problem. Eager to get on with it, I put it out of my mind.

My I felt good on the wall and found myself climbing all the way through to eyeing up the lip, then, all of a sudden I was airborne. As I fell I heard a bang above me. No time to process in the moment other than an instinctive feeling of terror. The rope came tight and whilst the impact with the wall was pretty heavy, I was fine. Then a nut cable, minus the nut head, tinkled down the rope to me. The cable had snapped, right by the head, exactly where I had wondered if I had damaged it.

The first thing to note here is that there’s a second, larger nut, right next to it. Having two good bits of gear next to one another is what gave me the confidence to try this route in the first place, there’s a back up for exactly this kind of thing. Nonetheless, I’d thought the route was totally safe and that these two nuts amounted to whipping on to a bolt. Not quite. A small half nut like this is rated at 4kn, a small enough force that you could definitely generate in extreme situations, especially if the piece is slightly compromised… Slightly shaken, we went in to Glasgow to buy some new gear. Having two fresh nuts, and adjusting my quick draws so that the larger, stronger nut weighted first, was enough to calm my mind to get back on lead. The next morning, everything came together and despite feeling the nerves in the last couple moves, I found myself on top of the crag.

It came together faster than I anticipated, but it was still an intense experience for me in to unfamiliar ground. Rhapsody demanded something new, and that’s always a special thing.