6 August 2020

Ondra: No OS of the first 8a to 8b+?

Adam Ondra comes with the interesting facts on Insta that none of the first 8a to 8b+ never have been onsighted. Here is the list that Ondra refers to but as it turns out, he might be wrong.

8a: Grand Illusion trad, FA Tony Yaniro 1979. It has six ascents in the 8a database, out of which two with 8a+ suggestions and three marked it as "hard". The sixth ascent is from Alex Honnold. In other words, this one might better fit as an 8a+. Mini-doc video

A contender for the first 8a in the world, which has been onsighted by Adam Ondra could be Cosmic Debris 8a trad by Bill Price in 1980. It is located in Yosemite and Alex Honnold has actually soled it.

8a+: The Face, FA Jerry Moffat 1983 A route in Frankenjura well repeated. Mini-doc video
8b: Kanal im Rücken, FA Wolfgang Güllich 1984 A well repeated route in Frankenjura.
8b+: Punks in the Gym, FA Wolfgang Güllich 1985 A well repeated route in Arapiles.

It should be mentioned that in 1977, Peter Cleveland did (on tope rope or pre-placed gear?) and suggested 7c for Phlogiston in Devil's Lake. Today it is considered a spicy 8a trad route. Noteworthy is that Ondra has not tried any of the routes he mentioned. Interesting is also that in 1975, the first 8A boulder was established, Trice. Comparing the difficulty in between boulders and routes, an 8A boulder = an 8b route.
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