Mat Wright makes an ascent of Rhapsody

Mat Wright has done the sixth ascent of Dave MacLeod ’s Rhapsody (8c+) [E11] at Dumbarton. (c) Ryan Balharry

Can you tell us more about your journey with Rhapsody?
om My process on Rhapsody has been a rollercoaster ride. There were times when I felt on top of the world during this journey, but I experienced plenty of moments of self-doubt too. My main takeaway from it all, is that Rhapsody is just an incredibly hard route to actually do. The climbing is insecure, the conditions are fickle, and the runout is bigger than any I have experienced before.

This all began for me in the summer of 2022, shortly after doing "Lexicon" (my first E11), and Rhapsody's neighbour "Achemine". I was fairly new to trad at this stage, and whilst everything had been a pretty smooth ride up until this point, Rhapsody stopped me dead in my tracks. I knew then that the only way I would succeed on the route, was by becoming a better climber.

Fast forward to the spring of 2023, the conditions began to improve, and I began to sink my teeth into the route. I had just taken a two and a half month break off climbing to complete a cycle touring expedition with Anna Taylor, my fiancée. My motivation was the best it's ever been, and I felt a strong attraction to Rhapsody. Whilst I physically found the moves okay, my fitness was just not coming quickly enough, and the conditions just kept getting worse. By mid-May, I had spent a month falling off the same move, a slippery and insecure deadpoint to a three-finger edge mid-way through the Font 8A boulder crux.

Whilst I was pleased with my progress at the time, I couldn't help but take it personally that I didn't make any upward progress. I was no longer scared of the runout, and I was able to do the headwall clean on top rope. I think the reality was that it just wasn't the right time, and I needed to build some more experience and fitness.

It wasn't until mid-March this year, that I really began to think that I could climb this route. I returned from a winter of bouldering, doing circuits and mental training, with one goal in mind. To send the most challenging route of my life! My first impressions of the route this year went well. I was able to link the headwall on my first session, and progress just escalated from there. I made bigger and bigger links, and within only a handful of sessions, I got back on the sharp end.

Jumping back on lead was very interesting. I was excited, but my experiences from the previous year had knocked my confidence - I felt intimated, and the pressure was crippling. I knew I needed to get a few goes out of the way to get rid of the butterflies, but to my amazement, my first attempt from the ground went extremely well. I got through the crux traverse and got a new high point! I couldn't quite believe it.

Every go from that point on would see me getting a new high point. It was a smooth process from start to end. Each go, I would gain yet more confidence, and the route seemed to no longer feel so huge and scary. Every attempt demanded every ounce of my focus, and thus, I felt like I had to limit myself to only one attempt per day. The key to success was to constantly give myself a pat on the back and celebrate every small bit of progress – even if it was just a move feeling slightly smoother than the last.

On my 3rd lead attempt of the year, I found myself fighting hard, high up on the route. I did all the crux hand moves, and had a tricky foot move left before I'd be able to become secure. I desperately tried to bump my foot into place whilst climbing about 5m above the final piece of gear, a #1 half nut. I just about got my foot up, but sadly had nothing left in the tank and went for the ride of my life. The length of the route means that there's a lot of rope in the system, and I needed a soft catch so that I wouldn't hit too hard into the slab below. As I was falling, I spun slightly and hit the wall at an angle. As a result, I hit my arm hard into the slab and bruised it. At this point, I knew that every fall was going to be a game of Russian roulette. That night, I spent some time reflecting and I worried about the many times that the rope goes behind my leg on the crux moves. It was clear to me that a fall in these positions would almost certainly cause me to take an uncontrolled fall, flipping me in mid-air and risking swinging headfirst into the crag.

Upon returning to Dumbarton Rock, I felt nervous for two reasons. Firstly, I knew I could do the route as I got so close on my third attempt. But I also knew that I was no longer falling off in a safe space. As I was gaining height on the route, things were getting more dangerous. I knew that I just had to give it my all and get to the top.

My 4th attempt was similar to my third. I got to the same point, but I felt better than before. I felt that I couldn't have been any closer! The fall this time was less eventful, but still intimidating. On my 5th lead session, I woke up early and I didn't feel quite right. I was second day on, more tired than normal and struggled to feel any psyche in the morning. My home fingerboard warm up felt slow, so I decided that this session was just going to be a "putting in the hours" day. I didn't think there was any chance of me sending, but I was happy to turn up and continue chipping away. I met up with my good friend Sam Lay, who’s been trying Achemine alongside my journey on Rhapsody. He's great company and quickly helped me improve my mindset. Sam encouraged me to jump straight on lead, and to sit on the gear at the top of the crack. Then to just have a few burns of the headwall on lead to break the butterflies. I climbed Requiem as smoothly as I've ever done it and rested on the gear for 5 minutes. I then set off and lead the entire headwall clean, which is basically doing the meat of the route! I'd never done this link before, and it felt easy. Sam and I knew it was on.

The next go, I felt this confidence. I told Sam that I thought I was going to do it on this go and he was of course as encouraging as ever. I set off and as I was climbing the 6b+ slab at the start, I knew I was going to climb it on this go. I arrived at the base of the Requiem crack, placed the gear, and rested for a few minutes before setting off. Requiem felt the easiest it's ever felt. I was in the perfect frame of mind. I was focused, confident and having so much fun. When I arrived at the 2/3rds height ledge where Rhapsody breaks away from Requiem, I wasn't pumped at all. I must have climbed Requiem in less than a minute. I shook out for about 5 minutes and whilst hanging there, I took everything in. I was looking out to the mountains that surround Loch Lomond, a view I was so familiar with at this point. Whilst taking this moment in, I knew that this was the go. The first half of the headwall is about French 8b. I climbed this perfectly and before I knew it, I was entering the crux. I almost fell off every move, but it doesn't matter, as I still knew that I was going to climb the route on this go. I was in the zone. Next thing, I had completed the crux and was cruising past my previous high point. Above the crux is a final 7A+ ish boulder. I had climbed this many times and it's my favourite bit of the route. I always anticipated that I would get through this if I got there. It's the perfect level of climbing for me where it's hard, but I knew I could always do it, even whilst I was pumped. These final moves felt utterly wonderful. Moments later, I was pulling over the lip of Dumbarton Rock, having just climbed Rhapsody. I couldn't quite believe it!

I owe a special thanks to Anna, who's belayed me for dozens of sessions in all sorts of conditions. She's listened to me talk about Rhapsody for hours and hours on end, and supported me every step of the way. Sam Lay has also been a huge part of the process, and again his humour, positivity and enthusiasm has been another element to making this story so special for me (but let’s face it, nobody wants to hear about the ins and outs of mine and Sam's belationship).

How long was your biggest fall?
Around 50-70ft - This route has some huge winger potential!

Did you place the gear on the actual send go?
Absolutely, there's not much point doing trad climbing if you're not going to place the gear in my opinion! It's part of the fun.

Did you do any special training beside the 30 sessions?
Most of the training that I did was mental training. Being able to try hard whilst scared is a skill. So I did plenty of trad last year which included many bold routes.