Bronwyn Hodgins has done Necronomicon 8b (+) trad

Bronwyn Hodgins has done the second female ascent, after Mary Eden, of Necronomicon (8b) in The White Rim. (c) John Kasaian

Can you tell us more about the ascent and the route?
Necronomicon took 5 sessions. Two scoping days earlier in November to check it out. Then I went back at the end of the month to camp out there with some friends. I spent two more days dialling in my beta, gear placements, etc. Took a rest day on day 3. And then sent on day 4 (on my second redpoint attempt). I prepared before the trip for two months in my hometown Squamish, in my friend’s shed (where he has a new set-up similar to the wide boys dungeon) and on a few excellent granite roof cracks nearby. I also discovered a crack on the under side of a bridge that was the perfect training site for Necronomicon: a 25m perfectly uniform and slippery thin hands crack.

The route itself was really fun! Campus into the roof. Then climb a long section of wide hands and fists (yellow and blue cams) into the middle of the roof. Shake out in a hand jam and then launch into the thin crux (several body lengths of green cams, though I chose not to place any cams in the crux which lead to some fun big swings!). I then flipped feet first into the no-hands double knee bar rest. Then did another 360 to exit into the home stretch, a final section of wide hands/fists to the finish.

Can you say something about your climbing background?
I’ve been climbing for ten years, and enjoy a wide range of disciplines from sport to trad to big wall to alpine. I work seasonally as a rock guide in Squamish BC and travel in the winter months. The objectives I get most excited about are big wall free climbs; I love the combination of skills and mental tenacity involved. In 2018 I was the first Canadian female to free climb El Capitan (via freerider) and in 2021 I was the third woman to send golden gate (after Hazel Findlay and Emily Harrington). This past summer I spent two months in Greenland, establishing new big routes approached via sea kayak. Coming home from that wild adventure, I’m excited to get stuck into a winter season focusing on single pitch goals and some strength training, which will hopefully lead to bigger and harder cliffs in the future!