East Coast Fist Bump 8b+ trad by Brittany Goris

Brittany Goris has done the FFA of East Coast Fist Bump 8b+ trad in the Waterfall. "This route had been on my mind for years after belaying my friend Reed on the second (?) Ascent. After finding a dozen sequences that didn't work for the crux, I finally found the one that did. In a rare moment of perfect flow, I sent on my first lead attempt after a month or so of rope soloing. Feeling very grateful for the journey and all the people involved. A truly special climb." Full story on BrittanyGoris.com - The Impossible Dream

During the last year, she has previously done ten trad routes 8a and harder including the FFA of Stingray 8b, video. In other words, 180 cm tall she is one of the very best female trad climbers out there and actually not that many males could show a better annual trad ticklist. In the 8a trad ranking game she is #1 ahead of all males. Interestingly, she has focused on trad climbing just the last two years. The 28-year-old started climbing some 20 years ago as a competition climber and has gone through all stages of climbing, including sport, bad injuries, bouldering and burnout before blooming out as a world-class trad climber.

"I started focusing on trad because I wanted to grow as a climber. I felt really stagnant just chasing grades as a sport climber and wanted to find a deeper purpose than that. Trad climbing constantly pushes me outside my comfort zone and offers so many opportunities to challenge myself in new and unique ways. To really be a great trad climber you have to master so many things-- technique, strength, and mental fortitude, and there is endless room for growth in all those areas. The more I got into it the more I became interested in how connected trad climbing is to the history of climbing in general which greatly inspires me. I also started to really see the beauty in cracks in particular. I also have fallen in love with the trad community, it tends to attract really weird people for some reason, just like me."

How has your training changed since you began focusing on trad?
Well I moved into a van and started climbing outside full time at the same time I started mostly trad climbing, so my training became more about the things I can do while travelling. I mostly just climb and do workouts for antagonistic muscles to prevent injury. If I feel like something, in particular, is holding me back I focus on it for a while.