Vertical-Life
Flex Luthor 9a+ (b) by Matty Hong
Do you know how much it has been tried over the years and how much it has changed since the FA?
Only a couple other people have tried. Dave Graham (one try), Sam Elias (one try) and Jon Cardwell. That’s all I know who have tried it. Jon Cardwell and I were the first to get to the anchors after Tommy. That was in 2015.
The rock wasn’t very clean, so a lot of stuff has broken, that’s what Matty is referring to. After talking with Tommy though, everything that broke was things that Tommy didn’t really use. The core of the route that he climbed is the same as what we are trying today. At least that’s what I think.
So why has the first 9a+ in the USA not been tried more?
It’s heinously hard. The weather is really difficult and it’s a long way from the car. About an hour of steep walking. In the last section, you are pulling yourself up a steep slope with ropes. Also, there are no easy routes at the cliff so it’s hard to find partners. The altitude is roughly 2 000 meters. Today it is snowing.
Jernej Kruder sends Martin Krpan (9a) sans knee pads
Jernej Kruder, who won the Boulder World Cup in 2018, has done Martin Krpan (9a) in Mišja Peč. “I would like to expose something here: I spent many tries on t…
Welcome to Vertical-Life Web
Six years after partnering with 8a.nu, we’re excited to announce the unification of the 8a.nu website and the Vertical-Life app into a single platform: Vertical…
Will Bosi repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (9A)
William Bosi has made the second ascent of Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Black Velvet Canyon, after projecting it for 12 sessions. This was th…
Flex Luthor 9b by Carlo Traversi
Carlo Traversi, who did his first 8C out of ten in 2011 and first 8C+ last year, has done Flex Luthor 9b in The Fortress of Solitude, after some 15 sessions. "D…
Matt Segall sends Kryptonite, 9a
Matt Segal, world-class trad and big wall climber, has done Kryptonite (8c+) at The Fortress of Solitude. He first tried it in 2003 and then started working on it last year. Matt took a little time to answer a few questions we had. So basically, you came back 19 years later and started to project K…
Flex Luthor 9a+ (b) by Jonathan Siegrist
Jonathan Siegrist has repeated Tommy Caldwell’s testpiece from 2003, Flex Luthor (9a+) in The Fortress of Solitude. Last year, it got its first two repeats and …
Flex Luthor 9b by Carlo Traversi
Carlo Traversi, who did his first 8C out of ten in 2011 and first 8C+ last year, has done Flex Luthor 9b in The Fortress of Solitude, after some 15 sessions. "D…
Matt Segall sends Kryptonite, 9a
Matt Segal, world-class trad and big wall climber, has done Kryptonite (8c+) at The Fortress of Solitude. He first tried it in 2003 and then started working on it last year. Matt took a little time to answer a few questions we had. So basically, you came back 19 years later and started to project K…
Flex Luthor 9a+ (b) by Jonathan Siegrist
Jonathan Siegrist has repeated Tommy Caldwell’s testpiece from 2003, Flex Luthor (9a+) in The Fortress of Solitude. Last year, it got its first two repeats and …
Katie Lamb makes history
Katie Lamb has become the first woman to climb 8C+ by completing Box Therapy (8C) in RMNP. Daniel Woods made the FA back in 2018, and only Drew Ruana and Sean B…
Schubert sends Project Big during his 6th Live attempt
"It was dramatic to the very end." On the 8a finish of Project Big in Flatanger, Jakob Schubert explains that a horn broke and he was close to falling. The last three minutes of the video show just how much this climb means to him."This horn could have ended my career... This was the biggest mental …
Will Bosi repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (9A)
William Bosi has made the second ascent of Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Black Velvet Canyon, after projecting it for 12 sessions. This was th…