Wild Country are proud to unveil their 2012 UK climbing team - a group of reckless and hardy individuals who help us test and promote our gear whatever the danger and cost to themselves...! Well, it’s not exactly like that, but, led by James Pearson, the Wild Country climbing team is peopled with climbers that we feel help represent the values and ideals of Wild Country across the spectrum of the sport.

So, leading the way with a slew of hard ascents in 2011, from almost flashing E10 to multi-pitch monstrosities like Joy Division and flashing 8b+ is James Pearson, now living in France but originally a Buxton lad and working with Wild Country since 2004. There’s a superb video of James in action on his E10 flash attempt here - http://vimeo.com/25140891.

James Pearson seen here on his flash attempt on Muy Caliente E10

Hot on his heels are the incredibly talented ‘Wideboyz’ team of Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker, who as well as tackling the worlds hardest offwidths – and the first ascent of Century Crack E9 (as you may just have heard about) have produced a load of awesome grit routes in the past few years filling some very cool gaps on the Peak District edges – you can see some Century Crack footage here - http://vimeo.com/35270800.  Sheffield based there’s also Ben Heason who’s been working with Wild Country for years and is still sending 8b+ and E8, and the enigmatic Miles Gibson – the quiet man of the legendary super-desperates ‘Superstition’ and Superbloc’ on the gritstone. Also Peak based the youthful Hamer brothers have both been performing superbly in 2011: Ed probably outdoing his brother Sam with his fantastic results in the youth world cup climbing comps with a  couple of 2^nd places – but Sam showing he’s no slouch winding his neck out with few E8’s on the grit to even the scales – see the Hamers’ in action here - http://vimeo.com/26593785.
Last, but not least, long term teamer, Katherine Schirrmacher is hoping to build on her hard trad and grit E7 ascents after a year out to have a baby and build a very successful guiding business and will be starring in and sharing her technical knowledge in Wild Country’s ‘how to’ video series later this year.

Then up in Lancs the super psyched Jordan Buys is joined this year by his wife and partner Naomi to make an all action team. Both are multi discipline masters, mixing bouldering, trad climbing and sports climbing to a very high standard Jordan to 8c and E9 and Naomi to 8a+ and E7.  See Jordan in action here: http://vimeo.com/34862987

Over in Yorkshire, Jenny Woodward, has an incredible resume and after a bit of a stop start year last year after having a baby and suffering a few injuries and only sending up to 8A+(!!!) has some even harder projects on the go...watch this space!

Further north, in the Lake District, Dave Birkett and Adam Hocking are both climbing at the highest level and still doing stunning new trad lines and bouldering at the highest level – there’s a great video of Adam on a new E8 here – http://vimeo.com/25808567

New team member Naomi Buys in action on Snap Decision E7 6C Ilkley...

Meanwhile in Scotland the evergreen Malcolm Smith of has been relentless on rock with a recent new 8c+ Blood Diamond, while the fearless Kev Shields simply sets new standards for his bold soloing and some great winter ascents. And across the ‘pond’ in Ireland Andy Marshall has been representing Wild Country and has also sent some pretty rad lines including E8 2^nd ascents and plenty more.

Our boulder team (thought that terms a bit restrictive as they’re more than that) is headed up by the amazing Ned Fehally who seems to be taking bouldering up a notch as well as blurring the lines between highball and routes making some very hard ascents in 2011 including Samson E8 7a, and the Prow E9 7a both solo. See Ned in action here: http://vimeo.com/33103583. Nigel Callender also manages to continually impress, sending 8b+ - http://vimeo.com/20435941 - while studying to be a doctor in Newcastle and taking advantage of the awesome sandstone of Northumberland. Then in the south east the strong Ben Read is helping  establish a new wave of sandstone desperates as well as writing guidebooks and promoting the excellent climbing around there. Joining these guys this year is year is Stewart Watson, a very strong climber who’s been competing internationally in boulder comps for a number of years and is adding 8c ascents to his pretty awesome bouldering CV.

We also have some young climbers doing well and with Tara Hayes we have one the most up and coming of the UK junior competition climbers who in her first year managed to grab an overall 6^th place in the European Youth B standings.

So a big thanks to all those I’ve mentioned and anyone else who’s been flying the Wild Country flag - and you can see more about all Wild Country’s UK team at our website here:

And to get any news from the team first and fastest you can follow Wild Country on:
Twitter - @wildcountryuk
On our Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wild-Country/97486098594
Or to watch all our videos our Vimeo page is here: http://vimeo.com/wildcountry/videos

Here's young gun Ed Hamer doing what he does best - climbing very very well on something that's very very steep!!!!!!

This last week has been a very strange one indeed. It’s been hectic, frantic and surreal – I’m not really sure if any of it has happened to be honest….
 

Dreaming of wide again?

Since coming back from the USA last year, there’s been loads of great feedback from mine and Pete Whittaker’s trip and it’s amazing to see (and hear) of some people that are now inspired to climbing some offwidths. God help your souls! Mostly, it’s been reassuring to be back in the climbing community talking the same old banter and getting grief off everyone for how bad my grading on routes is.

This week though, things took a turn for the more weird as an interview that I did with a journalist a few weeks back seemed to slowly seep from the woodwork. The London Metro said “Jammed in a Crevice” the Daily Mail said “They’ve Cracked It” [ha, ha, ha] and the Star stated “It’s Tough at the Top”. What made the popular media interested in this obscure niche of climbing, I really don’t know. Within just a few hours I was asked to do an interview with BBC Radio Sheffield and one for BBC News 24 – crikey, I thought – do they actually know what an offwidth is??!!

Daily Mail antics http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2098610/Theyve-cracked-Two-British-climbers-conquer-160ft-fissure-Utah-national-park.html

All in all, it was pretty good fun and I had an interesting insight into some TV and radio studios. I also found out that the Daily Mail comments pages are much funnier than UKC and that climbing forums are proper friendly bunch really. The fun hasn’t quite ended though, as both Pete and I have been asked to do something with Channel Five TV and I have a slot on BBC Sheffield this coming week at 10.35-10.55am (22nd Feb) if you’d like to hear about decisions that changed my life. Makes me sound old and past it?

Here’s the programme’s interviewer http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p001d7gs

Finally……………

Pete and I are very honoured to have been awarded a Golden Piton Award for crack climbing. I’m not totally sure what it all means, but with any luck I might be able to melt down the piton to make some ultra-soft RPs???

http://www.climbing.com/exclusive/features/2012_golden_piton_awards/index2.html

 

The Final Count and What's Next?

Now that we've finally settled back into the dampness of England and unpacked 42kg of size 6 Friends, it's time for some deep reflection, pondering and musing.........

Right, who needs a big friend? Going cheap.....

IS IT 'ECK!

Let's get the tick list out (for the geeks amongst us) and then work out what's next?

63 Days in the Wide Wilderness
Below is a list of what Pete and I climbed during our trip to the States, which includes some boulder problems (some of which were actually longer than other routes at Vedauwoo!). I've written it down in grade order, as making it chronological would require some level of organisation. I've left the original grades of the routes on, rather than the new suggested grades, for the sake of diplomacy.
(B) Denotes boulder problem - long or short and whether I felt like I would pass out or not // (Sb) Denotes major sandbag - Scarpelli Style.

Century Crack                                                                    5.14b
Army of Darkness                                                               5.13d
Gabriel                                                                                5.13b
The Price of Evil                                                                  5.13b
Eight Ounces to Freedom (B)                                              5.13b
Simiantics (B)                                                                      5.13b
Angry Pirate Finish                                                              5.13a
Monsters Inc (B)                                                                 5.13a
Belly Full of Bad Berries                                                      5.13a
Lucille                                                                                 5.13a
Spatial Relations                                                                  5.13a
The Vag                                                                              5.13a
The Warden (B)                                                                  5.13a
Trench Warfare Extension                                                   5.13a
Witness The Wideness                                                        5.12d/5.13a
The Brad                                                                            5.12d/5.13a
Trench Warfare                                                                   5.12d
What the Big Boys Eat                                                        5.12c
On a Wing and a Prayer                                                      5.12c
New World Order (B)                                                         5.12c
World's Hardest (B)                                                            5.12b
Trip Master Monkey (Sb)                                                    5.12b
Squat                                                                                   5.12b
Brother from Another Planet                                                 5.12a/b
Big Baby                                                                              5.11b/c
Worm Drive (Sb)                                                                 5.11b
Big Pink (Sb)                                                                       5.11b
Torpedo Right (Sb)                                                              5.11a

There's probably a few I've forgotten there - and I'll have got a few of the grades wrong. It's all good though, because if anyone out there gets really psyched, all you need to do is print off this list, buy your self 7 pairs of shoes and 37metres of athletic tape!

It’s been a fantastic year for Wild Country and Red Chili and it’s also been a great year for our climbers who between them have managed to post a host of incredible ascents on the national and international scenes. 

So in case you missed any of the action we’ve compiled a bit of a ‘hitlist’ of some of these fantastic achievements (and for bit of fun put them in order) to make an end of year round up – and to toast everyone who climbs for us.

But after a lot of deliberation it ended up being too difficult to separate three outrageous ascents by some quite different climbers: so instead there’s a joint first place for three different but equally amazing and inspiring ascents. So here are our top 8 ascents from our Uk team in 2011....

# 1a. Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker for Century Crack 5.14b/8c/E10 6c? ‘They said it would never go free’ – well they didn’t say that exactly but it did seem a preposterous proposition, 100+ feet of horizontal offwidth, that can be seen on Google maps, which had repulsed ‘the best’, out in the desert a 4hr drive from anywhere....well the rest is history...

You can see the Century Crack video - here: http://vimeo.com/31873646

And there's a Wideboyz Interview here: http://vimeo.com/34089389

One of the ascents of the year - James Pearson on Muy Caliente E10 7a, Pembroke.

#1b. James Pearson for Muy Caliente, E10 6c, Pembroke, Wales, UK. One of the Uk’s most talented climbers went away, thought about it, trained like a demon and applied his new found skills to upsetting the applecart again with a skin of the teeth failure to flash a UK E10 route. Once again pointing the way forward as he has since the age of 17 James has used the adversity of some grading ‘setbacks’ to make him a stronger climber once again. See the Muy Caliente video – here: http://vimeo.com/25140891

#1c. James McHaffie - Big Bang, 9a, Lower Pen Trwyn, North Wales, UK. In some people’s minds the strangest conversion since St Paul on the road to Damsacus was James McHaffie becoming one of a very small number of Brits who’ve climbed 9A as well as getting the second ascent after 15 years of this ‘rat crimp’ nasty. However, to those who have watched his career for many years this is a guy who simply doesn’t know limits and constantly invents new ways to surpass himself on rock.

See the Big Bang video - http://vimeo.com/28107941

#2. Ed Hamer – 2nd place at the World Youth Cup Imst, Austria as well as a second in his last ever European Youth Cup. And I know these aren’t strictly ascents but it seems worth celebrating a first podium finish for a Brit in a leading championship for a very long time as well celebrating the fact that Ed’ll be as the fact that Ed will be around for a very long time to come.

Read more here: http://bit.ly/skHYQR and here http://bit.ly/u0eofk

See Ed Hamer interview video here: http://vimeo.com/26593785

#3. Hazel Findlay – Golden Gate, 5.13a, El Capitan, Yosemite, USA. In becoming the first British woman to free El Cap Hazel simply cements her status as an amazing talent and maybe just theone to watch in 2012 for something truly special.

Read more here - http://bit.ly/rrTHCr Hazel video here - http://vimeo.com/26106509

#4. – Jordan Buys - 2nd ascent Loaded E8 7A, Ilkey, Uk. after a very long time. No video but a great spread in Climb magazine in Jan 2012. Jordan’s had a great year and his ascent of the very hard and not often repeated sports route Controversy 8b+at Malham earlier this year was simply the precursor to some more hardcore grit action from this Lancashire hotshot. I predict more amazing things this winter.

You can see more about Jordan here - Other Jordan videos - http://vimeo.com/16885645

#5. Ned Fehally - Samson E9 7A, Burbage South, Peak District, UK. Now this is probably not Ned’s hardest ascent this year, the man is a veritable machine, but by ground up highballing this classic Jerry Moffatt ‘route’ Ned seems to have caught the zeitgeist by showing how some amazing climbers are changing the game on gritstone by blurring the lines between routes and boulders. We’re expecting great things in 2012.

Samson video here - http://vimeo.com/33103583

#6. Adam Hocking – Return Of The King E9 7a 2nd ascent, East Buttress, Scafell. Following his first ascent of ‘The Keswickian’ E8 7a, in April (http://vimeo.com/25808567) Adam does the unlikely and becomes the first person to repeat one of Dave Birkett’s many E9’s – and it’s a big one, taking an impressive line up the very overhanging east Butress of Scafell. All caught on film it’s a very impressive bit of climbing from a very underrated climber.

Return Of The King is the middle part of the film ‘Islands’ – see it here - http://vimeo.com/33813853

Anyway thanks to everyone who’s pulled on a Wild Country t shirt this year and stuffed our gear in cracks or clipped up a route and to those wearing Red Chili shoes as well – A BIG THANKS. See you all in 2012!!

And here's some footage of Tom and Pete on the amazing Century Crack...

Well it happened after two years of work and a lot of amazing ascents the 'Wide Boyz' (Tom Randall and Pete Whittaker) finally realised their dream and sent their project....Tom Randall takes up the story...

Tom Randall:

Yesterday, Pete and I completed a 2 year long journey – a mission to make the first ascent of Stevie Haston's infamous Century Crack project in the Utah Desert. This route has been touted over the years as the ultimate wide crack monster and the potential first free ascensionist would grasp a prize beyond their wildest dreams.

Tom Randall on Century Crack © Alex Ekins - No reproduction on other media without permission

Century Crack was first located and climbed by 'Desert Rat' Crusher Bartlett in 2001 when on the way to climb a new desert tower. He aided across this monumental roof crack solo, employing a back rope only for the final barrel and lip turn. This in itself was a considerable achievement considering the committing nature of the area and the horrendous exposure on the final section. Crusher gave the aid line the name of Chocolate Starfish, A1.

Some years later, Stevie Haston (a climbing partner of Crusher's) started the odyssey that Pete and I hoped to complete. With his partner Laurence Gouault he started work on freeing the 120ft roof crack and at the same time coming up with the working project title of 'Century Crack.' After a number of days attempting this line over successive trips, he'd still not found success, but was kind enough to write about his endeavours in On The Edge Magazine. Stevie talked of abs of steel, dodgy cams in sandy rock and of course immense levels of difficulty. His estimation on grade at the time was 9a or harder...

As Stevie's focus shifted elsewhere over recent years it opened up a door for others to try this line. Whilst Pete and I were slowly shuffling our way through Europe's hardest offwidths, the well publicised Pamela Pack was ticking off and establishing many of the USA's hardest wide cracks (UKC News item). Only this year both US and UK teams started to really focus in on Century and for Pete and I stuck back in the UK doing endless laps in my cellar offwidth, the wait was unbearable.

Pete Whittaker hanging around on Century Crack © Alex Ekins - No reproduction on other media without permission

This week however, Pete, myself, Crusher, Alex Ekins, and Chris Alstrin (film maker covering our trip in the US) headed down to the White Rim in the monument basin to start work on the project. We had just 2 days in the area, so we set to work immediately. After only the first day we had all the moves completed and some good sections climbed in one. What really stood out from that day was how this route was almost an exact copy of my cellar – we'd absolutely hit the jackpot and in fact it almost felt like we'd been working on the route for 2 years already!

On the second day with threatening clouds in the sky and with the clock ticking we both ticked the route on our first go – OH MY GOD!!! We honestly couldn't believe it. We just wondered about in a daze for ages afterwards just shaking our heads... how on earth had we managed that? How perfect could it be that we'd both climbed it within an hour of each other and both of us had pulled off the effort of our lives.

On the style

We both climbed the route on preplaced friend 5s and 6s we'd put in our working attempts. Whilst it would be ideal to have placed the gear on lead during each of our attempts, the practicalities of it made it almost impossible. The mere cleaning of the route would waste one person so much that they'd have to sacrifice a whole day's high level climbing, which wasn't possible as we were down there for only 2 days. If we had more than 2 days down there I'm 100% certain we'd do it in that style too.

In addition, we found the pre-placing of friends actually somewhat balanced out the difficulties of the climbing, as each one presented a new crux as climbing round the cam was so tricky. It's always difficult to say conclusively how different it all is, but I'm certain we've taken no short cut here!

The Grade

So, the big question on many peoples' lips will be "how hard it is?" Stevie Haston, the legend that we all know and love made his guess at around 9a and thought that it might be the most attractive route in the world. We're not quite sure about the grade at the moment, so Pete and I have decided to spend a little more time climbing in the States and perhaps make a more informed opinion in a couple of weeks. What we do know is that it's massively harder and bigger than anything else we've ever done before and that Stevie was no punter...

Tom Randall finishing off Century Crack in Utah © Alex Ekins - No reproduction on other media without permission	Pete Whittaker on Century Crack © Alex Ekins - No reproduction on other media without permission
Tom and Pete stare on in awe at Century Crack. © Tom Randall / Pete Whittaker	Chris Alstrin filming the ascent © Tom R