Tim Emmett, 51, completes Era Vella (9a) on day 130

Tim Emmett has posted a very emotional Instagram video where he says, “I just did it!” and then starts crying. The 51-year-old refers to his eight-year-and-130-day project, Era Vella (9a), in Margalef.

” I can’t believe it ! Last day, last go, + 1

. I’ve never been emotional with a climb, but this one has had me in tears for the last few hours ! So happy, I can’t believe it’s actually real. ❤️🙏🥲😃”

What he means with the ”+ 1”, is that he fell in his last attempt but then got one extra try as Rob Wilson offered to drive him the 2.5 hours to the airport.

Few climbers can match the range of terrain Emmett has mastered. From sport and trad to mixed, ice, big wall, alpine, mountaineering, and deep-water soloing, he’s spent his career exploring nearly every corner of the climbing world.

Two decades ago, Emmett helped shape the modern era of deep-water soloing by establishing new lines in Spain and across the globe. He and his partners went on to rewrite the standards of waterfall ice climbing, achieving the world’s first sends at WI10, WI11, WI12, and WI13—all at the wild amphitheater of Helmcken Falls in British Columbia. His ambition carried him even farther afield, joining the team that completed the first ascent of the east face of Kedar Dome in the Himalayas.