Molly Thompson-Smith flashes Verna (8A)

Molly Thompson-Smith, who was #10 in the Led World Cup in 2023, has done her first 8A flash, Verna in Mardale head. During the same trip she also sent Downstairs Mixup (8A) and Eagle Huntress (Stand) (8A)

Can you tell us more about these ascents?
It’s been a challenging time recently so my partner Sam and I wanted to go to the Lake District for a couple days just to get away. I didn’t really intend on trying particularly hard during this trip, but friends of ours were keen to visit Mardale Head which is a small venue with a fair few hard boulders, and we ended up joining them there. I’d seen my friend Aidan flash Verna (used to be 7C+ but then a hold broke apparently making it harder) in a Wedge video recently, so the possibility of flashing it was in the back of my mind. It’s a pretty straightforward line of small crimps on a small boulder so it was an easy one to suss out from the floor, and didn’t take too much figuring out - just hard crimping! I’ve had sore fingers for a little while so flashing this, and it feeling pretty steady, was a really nice reward for all my patience and rehab lately!

We then moved up to the boulder that the group had come for, but with patchy rain and a big grey cloud coming in quick we didn’t have much time for us all to try Eagle Huntress. I’ve recently developed a new super skill of sending the boulder on the last possible attempt before the rain comes in, and that’s exactly what happened on Eagle Huntress stand! This was another small win for me as although the landing is safe, you end up climbing over a downward sloping boulder meaning you could have an awkward fall. Although I’ve made lots of progress mentally and physically with my confidence since I fractured my ankle last September, I still get spooked fairly easily when bouldering outside, so this one was a test of braveness for me and I was happy to not let my fear hold me back!

On our second day we headed to Sour Milk Ghill - a small but beautiful location near Scafell Pike. I wanted to try Downstairs Mixup - a pretty ratty 8A - as well as some easier classics. It took some figuring out and really small crimping, but I was psyched to walk away with another 8A send with some alternative beta for little people! It’s always an enjoyable challenge figuring out beta that’s better for short people so it was fun to play on this one!