Awesome...Hazel Findlay sends 'Once Upon A Time in the South West', Dave Birketts masterly E9 6C in Devon...first E9 by a British woman and possible the first ever E9 by a woman....(in fact very probably)....anyway whatever, a fine effort!!!

James Pearson and Caroline Ciavaldini recently made the 3^rd and 4^th  ascents of the multi pitch route, Les Chemins de Katmandou, Gorges de la Jonte, 8b+ max.

It took just two day of work for James to succeed the whole route, with a further two days needed for Caroline.  Chemins de Katmandou was equipped by Laurent Triay, in 2002, who made the first ascent, followed by Chris Sharma.

James and Carloine below the very bulgy final 8b+ pitch...

Caroline reports, “James fell on an old copy of Climbing from 2003, with Sharma’s note book published, and passed it to me feeling there were interesting ideas about motivation and comp. However, what caught my attention was a picture in Chemins de Katmandou; the route seemed amazing, and also close from my home, and here we were, dreaming of trying it as soon as possible. Chemin kept its promises’ and was a wonderful adventure.  The last pitch in 8b+ is especially unbelievable; a bulging overhang, far above the gorge, perfect moves and holds, with Eagles planning just 20m from our heads!”

James has recently become more and more interested in the world of multi-pitch and big walls, and Les Chemins de Katmandou is the beginning of his next project. 
From his blog, James commented “The eventual idea is to create something very long, very hard, and very scary, but this final phase is still quite a long way off in the future.  Now is the time to begin developing the necessary skills, by attempting and repeating certain existing routes, some classic, some obscure, in the style of the separate components of the master plan.”

When asked about the crux pitch, James feels “the 3^rd pitch is simply exquisite – a contender for the best route I have climbed on limestone!”

James is a trad virtuoso and Caroline a pure comp climber, you couldn’t imagine two more different climbers. Together they teach each other skills, and Les Chemins de Katmandou is their first step to other multi-pitch adventures…

Read more about James here...

See James on some E9 and E10 routes in Pembroke here...including the first ever E10 ground up...

Caroline eyes up the objective - the line marked in red in the distance...

Adam Hocking is a strong boy, that's for sure. Coming into his own at the same time as another Lakeland master, James MacHaffie, (but a stronger boulderer than James) 'Hock' has been quietly sending hard stuff in the Lakes and Wales for the best part of 15 years.

Here's a report about some of his latest sends by Dom Bush (Land And Sky media) who be producing some great video of the event soon...(which you'll be able to see here)...

‘The Ego has Landed’ and ‘The Keswickian’

I often feel that, although we have great climbing, the Lakes is sometimes overlooked by the climbing community. Unlike Llanberis or Sheffield for instance, The Lakes climbing scene sometimes appears to lack a hub, so it is great to see small pockets of climbers taking the time to find and pick off the last great lines here. Adam Hocking has come back from Spain feeling strong and keen for hard Trad lines, and is quickly compiling an impressive list of first ascents and hard repeats all over the Lakes. I have been lucky enough to witness two of these ascents and be on hand to shoot video and stills.

‘The Ego has Landed’ was first climbed in 2000 by James MacHaffie, and although it has been surveyed by some of the most talented climbers in the area, it has remained unrepeated for 11 years. Having witnessed the first ascent, Adam has had his eye on the route since Caff’s ascent and made light work of it on the day. Hard unprotected E8 6b (considered E9 by some), the route trends right up a sheer wall at the far left hand end of Eagle Crag in Langstrath. Video footage will be out soon, watch this space!

Adam top roping the indecently bouldery arete of The Keswickian....Ph Dom Bush....

Gouther Crag in Swindale is a little known gem  of Lakeland climbing and has some fantastic lines of all grades. At it’s far left hand end is a prominent roof and slab offering a couple of E4′s which breach the overhang at the right hand side. Adam has had his eye on a line here for years, which follows an obvious corner through the roof and up the unprotected slabs above. Last week this became ‘The Keswickian’, at E8 7a it is a serious route with a steep bouldery crux section, possible only for the strong and brave! This was the most exciting, nail-biting sequence I have ever filmed and an amazing line. Nice one Adam! Photos below, video to come.

See loads more photo's at Dom's Blog here

The Hamer brothers, Sam and Ed have just got back from a pretty good trip to Margalef in Northern Spain and with Ed especially climbing very well both boys returned with pretty stacked ticklists.

Ed’s haul was more than fifteen 8’s in 10 days including two 8b+’s two 8b’s 2^nd go as well as load of 8A+ including one onsight and a bunch of 8A’s showing the level he’s it just shows the level this guy is now operating at in his last year of still being a ‘junior’.

Sam’s haul was pretty impressive too with more than ten 8’s sent including the famous Photo Shot 8b and an 8A onsight as well, and he sent us this report:

We have just returned home after an amazing 10 days in the pocket paradise that is Margalef in Northern Spain. Along with Rodellar, this is the best place we have climbed at. It really is that good (as long as you like pockets!). It is that awesome that we want to make a pilgrimage back out there every year from now on! The climbing conditions were pretty much perfect, being cool in the shade and bright and sunny when you needed it with only the odd shower and one very heavy down pour, luckily it dries mega fast!

So anayway, we were staying at the chilled out Refugio in the village of Margalef run by Jordi and Miguel. From there we then visited all the best crags and tried tick off some of the incredible routes out there.

Here are the amazing crags we visited and the awesome routes ticked:

Cova Soleida - Ment en Blanc 8a (Me 1st Rp, Ed flashed it) / Dr Feelgood 8a (Ed onsight, me 1st redpoint after falling from top!)  Esau Diresta 8a+ (Ed 2nd go)  Anarkoreta 8a+ (Ed 2nd go) Un-named groove 8a+ (Me Rp ard!

Espadelles - The Ceuse of Margalef! - Telemaster 8a (Ed onsight, me redpoint) / Transilvania 8a (Me 1st redpoint, Ed flash) / Brageutasso 8a+ (Ed 2nd go)  Batuka 8b (Ed 2nd go) /7c and 7c+ onsight from Ed.

El Laboratori - aka The Lab! - Dawin Dixit 8b+ (Ed Rp) / Photo-shot 8b (Me Rp) / Zona 30 8b (Ed Rp) / Sarau Nocturn 8a (Me Rp) / 7c and 7c+ onsight from Me -Tenebres - Sativa Patatica 8a (Flashed me and Ed!) / 2 7c's onsight.

Finestra - Flash Over 8b+ (Ed 3rd go) Nina Mala 8b (Ed 2nd go) Cubata+chupito 3euros 8b (Ed Rp) Sargantana Killer 8a+ (Ed onsight!)El Fustigador 8a+ (Me 1st Rp) Dando brea 8a (Ed and I 2nd go) Aeroplastica 8a (Me Rp) 7c+ (Me Rp) 2 7c's, 3 7b+ (Me onsight).

Edand Sam are both sponsored by Red Chili as well as Wild Country.

Read more about Ed and see him on video here....

HELIUM FRIENDS ARE IN STORES in the UK NOW!!!!!! -

After a few final tweaks and pokes and pushes and pulls (we DO value your safety more than anything else) the much anticpated next generation of Friends are for sale.

You can buy them from V12 and Joe Browns now and from Needlesports, Rock and Run and Outside from later today...Cotswold and hopefully some more stores will also have them from the end of next week.

And for everyone who buys one in the next two weeks if you post a photo with your new prized possesion on our Facebook page (http://on.fb.me/euLZzU) we'll pick the best photo to receive a special Wild Country prize....which may or may not be another Helium Friend!!!
Prices are from £52....
And remember there's a great deal on a set of three where you'll get a nice juicy bit of discount set of three from: £143

See all about Heliums here: http://bit.ly/lXCneK   //  And you can read the first Helium review (in case you missed it) here: http://bit.ly/lbFrWl

Download our Helium Friend catalogue here: http://bit.ly/k4natt

Helium Friends Overview...
Redefining ease of use, the Helium’s reworked ergonomics have made placement and retrieval a cinch with a longer stem, lowered trigger and thumb loop, while their increased length has meant much less need to use an extender, saving time, weight and critically, energy. Equally significant is that each Friend’s individual range has increased and importantly so has the overlap between units, both adjacent and alternate. Simply put, this means there’s a better chance each unit will fit the placement you need it to - more placements with less units! And although chock full of new features that help give them their appeal it’s important to point out that the Helium has stayed true to many of the original, key concepts that Friends demonstrated first and that have been proved time after time: that a constant cam angle, single stem and single axle combine to give a stability and predictability when loaded which is hard to beat.
Inspired and confidence inspiring the Helium has an unrivalled combination of utility, durability and ergonomics that makes them the first choice for the next generation.
New Features: Hot forged cams, New trigger, New Thumb loop, New 12mm Dyn sling. Trigger stop, Nine Sizes. New springs, New stainless axle, All units 12kN, New stem cover. More reach, Up to 6% lighter per unit, Up to 20% more range per unit, Bigger overlaps.
Classic Features: 13.75 cam angle, Single axle, Single stem, Scaled head width, Full floating trigger with independent cam triggering, Full strength cam stops, Colour coded.