The Naked Edge (6c+), 200 m up and down in 37 min

On March 28th, Boulder local Kate Kelleghan and French climber Laura Pineau broke the speed record on The Naked Edge (6c+) in Eldorado Canyon. The 200 m classic climb was simul-climbed, using 18 pieces of gear, getting back to the base in just 37.08 minutes. (c) James Lucas

The Naked Edge is a historic and storied route. Because of its short cruxes and relatively straight line up the formation, it has attracted a subset of climbers who ascend 200 meters in a single pitch with a short rope and a handful of micro traxions, and time themselves. Kate has spent several years honing this climb and previously established the female speed record at 37:40 with Boulder Guide Becca Droz in 2021. With Laura visiting from Europe, the two women decided to have a go at breaking the record. On their 4th speed attempt, the partners shaved off 32 seconds, ringing in at 37 minutes and 8 seconds.

The Speed Tactics: Warm-up Lap: Climbing the route without any running, trying to keep heart rate in Zone 3 or less, which the athletes can see on their Coros watch thanks to the arm bands they can wear while climbing.

Speed Lap: From the moment the clock starts, Laura and Kate are sprinting. They maintain Zone 3 or 4 for the entire effort, never stop moving, and never take breaks. They barely chalk up. From the summit, the pair runs/crawls down 5th class slab and then flat out sprints back to the bridge, where the clock stops. On March 28, the warm-up lap went smoothly. However, on the speed lap, some shoelace issues and a loose rope coil landed the duo 10 seconds too slow. In an unorthodox decision, they decided to try a third lap, max effort. After taking a few hours to wait out the hottest part of the day, Laura and Kate returned to the bridge and gave a third attempt to everything they had. They sprinted across the bridge at 37 minutes and 08 seconds, slicing 32 seconds off the previous record. The real secret to beating the record? For Kate: 80 laps on the route. For Laura: The willingness to run down 5th class slab in TC Pros.

”The climb itself took us 20 minutes and we simul-climb the whole route in one pitch. Kate and I only meet at the top but never on the route and we used 3 micro-traxions. We used a total of 18 protections on the whole climb (a mix of camelots and QuickDraws). And I was the one following her and I collected everything on the way up. We came down with everything on us, gear and rope, we also free climb the whole route. There is no pulling on gear.”