The Big Bang 9a by Emma Twyford

Emma Twyford, one of the best female multi discipline climbers out there, has done The Big Bang in Lower Pen Trwyn opened by Neil Carlson in 1996 as the first 9a in the UK. Emma did the second repeat of the vertical crimpy route and she comments. "Big Bang (9a) has been a long term project for me. Inspired my James McHaffie's ascent I decided to give it a try unsure of what would happen. Needless to say initially I was a bit off the mark but with some training I was soon linking the hard crux at the top together. That was when I knew it was possible. The hard part was finding the time to be fresh enough for the route between route setting. I came very close at the end of last year falling from the last hard move, then I got injured setting at the beginning of this year. So many doubts hit me, earlier this year I came close again. The mental battle kicked in, I was climbing the route in 2 sections with no rest but my head wasn't translating this to success. On Tuesday just myself and Angus Kille were the only people at the crag, the conditions weren't ideal but there was no pressure. I set off and just climbed it. Emma, who is working full time as a route setter and coach, is currently the best British female trad climber and this summer she did some hard multi-pitches in the Dolomites. Today she is setting their national championships. (c) John Bunney