Escalatamasters (9a) by Leo Bøe

Leo Bøe 🍄, who did his first 9a in January, has sent his sixth, Esclatamasters (9a) in Perles & Canelles. "MY CRAZIEST SEND EVER! Last possible climbing day for me, and when I was belaying we had thunder and rain… It was a «now or never» moment so I gave it a shot anyways. Although it was humid I managed to hang on to the crimps feeling like I was sliding on every move. I was lucky enough to have my friend Pino at the anchor to cover the last few holds with his hands… Team send." The picture by Jordi Rullo is from La Novena Enmienda (9a)

Can you tell us more about the rain experience?
My friend Josh made a redpoint try as the rain and thunder started. I was strongly demoralized and thought it impossible to climb the top slab while it was being rained on… Still, for the sake of the last-effort mentality, I gave a burn that turned out to be one of my craziest experiences in climbing. I barely clawed my way past the crimps and found myself at the final rest looking up at the slab. The rain was hitting the chalkbag so I rotated it into my lap to keep it dry. Weirdly enough it felt good to climb in the rain temperature-wise, but the longer I rested the wetter the holds got. In the end, I was forced to continue as the jug I was resting in filled with water.

I left the jug with a wet left hand and the slab felt 3 times more unsafe with all the humidity. When I reached the final part I was lucky to have my friend Pino to cover a key hold with his hand. Without his help, I’m not sure it could have gone! Felt like a team send!

How hard is the final slab?
It’s so hard to grade a slab, but I can tell you I fell there several times when practising it when dry. You can then imagine the pressure I felt when it was raining.