T-Rex 8c (b+) by Chuck Odette (64) - Updated
"It was cold and wet yesterday (9/9/20) here in Maple. There was a skiff of snow on the trail up to the Pipedream. It was a huge change from two days prior when the temps were 75f (24 celcius) and 14% humidity. My dry skin doesn't adhere well below 20% humidity. We (Maggie & me) almost didn't make the trip up for our Wednesday climbing ritual. The warm-ups were numb-outs. Maggie offered to stay and belay but it was too cold for her to climb... :(
Temps made it up to a balmy 49f (9 celcius) with humidity at 33%... I figured I'd give it one go and wait for hopeful better conditions on Friday. T-Rex is 40 meters long... too long for cold temps. I almost fell at the 3rd bolt... not a good start for a route that's 26 bolts long! Somehow I reeled in the bad left hand pinch that was attempting to thwart my efforts for the day. Instead of monitoring heart rate and pump, I focused on how numb my feet and hands were before moving on from rests.
Taking one move at a time I passed the crux and eventually the anchors of Millennium (8b+). I felt strong on the moves connecting Millennium to the T-Rex extension and just kept knocking down section after section one move at a time. Before I knew it, I was making one last big move to a jug at the lip of the cave, a place I'd fallen on previous attempts while on redpoint. The last four bolts were totally on lock down and anticlimactic. Done... whew... I announced my retirement from climbing to everyone at the crag immediately after lowering off the anchors and touching the ground... then... I qualified it... I'm retiring from climbing until Friday. Time for a new project... something fun... stay tuned :)
PS: I know some strong climbers have started giving T-Rex a downgrade to 8b+ recently from the original long standing consensus grade of 8c. I feel that it's deserving of the 8c personally. It's a full step harder than any 8b+ I've done in the past, but I'm also a full step older than most of my previous 8b+ routes... oh well... ratings... kind of like religion... totally subjective and worth about 2-cents on a good day... lol."
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…
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…
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…