Steve McClure:Is 9a Real?

自由的风

http://www.freakclimbing.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=212


Is 9a Real?
Story by Steve McClure

Originally in Gripped Vol.6 Iss.1 Feb/Mar 2004

Right now, 9a is the magic grade in the crazy world of hard redpointing. It sounds so much harder than 8-something. But does anyone really care about what’s happening up there?





The only magic thing about it is that large doses of magic would be required to get 99.999% of the climbing public up a route that hard. Climbing is like running: thousands do it, some for pleasure, some to get fit, some to go fast and some to be the best, but very few will be in the Olympics breaking records. Still, some of us are interested in who’s going the fastest and just how fast. If the 100 m World record was broken I bet you would ask what the new time was. It’s the same with 9a. If redpointing was in the Olympics, this would be the grade. Or would it? Actually 9b+ is the new standard and there are a few 9a+ routes around and even a 9b from ages ago. 9b+ is a whole 3 grades harder than 9a. Its like comparing 8b+ to 9a, relative to 9a, 8b+ is a piece of piss! What’s going on? Can 9b+ really exist?

It is exactly 12 years since 9a was born, though then it was UIAA X1 or 8c+/9a. Legendary Wolfgang Gullich pulled his finger out of the hideous shallow monos to climb Action Direct in the Frankenjura. Having had only had a handful of sends (five reported in total) and having been tried by the world’s best, the route is generally accepted to be benchmark 9a. If 9a is 12 years old then surely we must be way above this by now. Apparently there are about 60 routes between 8c+/9a and 9b+ with over 60 climbers cranking this level. Of these only nine or so have climbed three or more 9a routes with the usual suspects like The Bindhammers, Rouhling, Ramon and Dave Graham regularly doing the business. Still the number of 9a dudes keeps on going up, but are these routes really that hard?

The problem with climbing is that ratings are subjective. Sponsorship and ego compete with the desire to avoid looking like a grade inflating self-worshiper. This can influence the final number either way. At the cutting edge you don’t really know how hard it is either, except that it is a bit harder than your last route. Or maybe it’s miles harder, but is that a full grade, or two grades or just half a grade? You could compare by going on another cutting edge route, but knowing how long these things take, the last thing you want is spend half your life on someone else’s route half-way round the world that probably won’t suit you anyway. Not to worry, you won’t go to jail for getting it wrong, just a bit of a slap for over-grading, especially if it’s in Britain. One person’s 9a will be another’s 8c+ or 9a+. This makes for great arguments, which is of course, why grades were invented in the first place.

One thing for sure is the time and dedication taken to break these routes. Hubble, the world’s first 8c+, took Ben Moon a long time and involved specific training from a man cruising French 8c at the time. Hero Jerry Moffat dismissed the Big Bang, Britains first 9a, as impossible. Neil Carson had to move house to succeed. There is no wonder that standards are pushing up. Strength and tenacity have evolved beyond what was ever thought possible and the epics involved these days are legendary. Two years ago we had the first ascent of Realisation. Sharma, undisputed climbing god with the ability to dyno his way up just about anything, spent four years travelling half way round the world to try the Biographie extension. At hard 8c+ Sharma could cruise Biographie before breakfast. Completely natural and a line to die for, this was regarded as the hardest route in the world. And then we have Ramon Julian on Rambla Extension. This guy is just a climbing machine, a block of muscle with Technique thrown in unfairly. Watching him at a World Cup competition he cruised to the top, lowered off and turned to his mates and shrugged as if the walk from isolation had tired him out more. Ramón has cruised other 9a climbs in just a few tries but this took 40 attempts. Despite 300 attempts this same route was to defeat Spanish hero Daniel Andrada, yes I did say 300, and Dani has climbed other routes at 9a. These routes just have to be 9a+!

And now we have 9b+ by little known Bernabe Fernandez. Just like way back in 1995 when Fred Rouhling claimed 9b with Akira, the World has sat up and cried bullshit. OK, so you can see why: Fernandez should be able to onsight 8c easily and crank 9a after lunch. And is he so much better than Sharma and Ramon? Well who knows –yet. Personally I’d like to think it is 9b+. The amount of time and effort he has put in is incredible; the route is on his home ground and in his favourite style. Maybe the route suited him perfectly. Maybe to him it’s only 9b, but to everyone else it will be 9b+? From what I hear it’s like running a marathon in 400 m sprints with no rest in between. This route is 80 metres long with 400 moves – try building that in your cellar! Whether its 9b+ or not you can be sure it’s not your average jog around the block.


Route   Location First ascensionist Year  Repeated  
Flatmountain
9a/+ Fugato. Japan Yuji Hiriama 2003   
Chilam Balam
9b+ Málaga, Spain Bernabé Fernández 2003   
Rainshadow 9a Malham, England Ste McClure 2003   
Desafiando/ Tsunami
9a Alquézarin, Spain Dani Andrada 2003  Y  
Il Domani 9a Baltzola, Spain Patxi Usobiaga 2003   
La Rambla extension
9a+ Siurana, Spain Ramón Juliá 2003   
Sanjski par extension
9a Misja pec, Osp Uros Perko 2003  Y  
Flex Luthor
9a Rifle, Colorado Tommy Caldwell 2003   
Ground Zero 9a Italy Alberto Gnerro 2003  Y  
Especie olvidada en el tiempo
9a Teverga, Spain Pablo Barbero 2002  Y  
Im Ameriketan 9a Baltzola, Spain Rikar Otegui 2002   
Martin Krpan 9a Misja pec, Osp Jure Golob 2001  Y  
Papirovy Mesic 9a Czech Rep Rosta Stefanek 2001   
Kinematix 9a Gorges du loup A. Bindhammer 2001  Y  
Realization 9a+ Ceuse, France Chris Sharma 2001   
Logical Progression 9a Japan Dai Koyamanda 200?   
Tysiac Kotletow 9a Roznow, Poland Tomasz Oleksy 2000   
The Fly 9a Rumney, USA Dave Graham 2000  Y  
Robi In The Sky 9a Goudes, France Francois Legrand 2000   
Im Reich Des Shugun 9a Tufleten, Swiss Eric Talmadge 2000   
Northern Lights 9a Kilnsey, England Ste McClure 2000   
Underground 9a Massone, Italy Manfred Stuffer 1998   
Vakuumgeist 9a Hinkelstein Klem Loskot 1998   
Mutation 9a Tor, England Ste McClure 1998   
Orujo 9a+ Malaga, Spain Bernabé Fernández 1998   
Intermezzo 9a Plom. Austria Klem Loskot 1997   
L’autre Cote de la Ciel 9a Eaux-Claires Fred Rouhling 1997   
The Big Bang 9a LPT, Wales Neil Carson 1996   
Open Air 9a Schleier, Swiss Alex Huber 1996   
Akira 9b Charente, France Fred Rouhling 1995   
Bang De Saing 9a Saint Loup, Swiss Fred Nicole 1993  Y  
Hugh 9a Eaux-Claires Fred Rouhling 1993  Y  
Om 9a Triangel, Austria Alex Huber 1993   
Action Directe 9a Frankenjura Wolfgang Gullich 1991  Y  

Steve McCLure is one of the top climbers in England.