F8a

Focusing before a red-point attempt on Marihauna.

The fingertips of my right hand were nestled hard into a sharp crimp, my left foot on a sloping edge and right toe smeared. I reached up high and scrunched my left-hand finger tips into a poor, flared finger slot. With a high right foot I bumped my right-hand to a poor 2/3 finger crimp. Now for the crux move… I shifted my hips right, flagged the left leg pushing my left toe hard into the wall. This forced my body in and allowed me to snatch for the small, flat side pull. I grabbed the right hand side pull, my tiring core clenched hard to hold my arse in! I had the hold, repositioned my fingers to the best spot, pulled hard and twisted my body in to lift the left foot. After three powerful foot moves (with my left fingers still jammed into a poor finger lock and right fingers on the poor side pull) I reached easily into a good side pull. It wasn’t over yet – I’d fallen off this point before! I continued to concentrate on keeping my body tension and reached for the small, but good undercuts. A chance to shake and clip…

I’d done the crux of Marhauna - my 8a project - but still had work to do. Only yesterday had another climber (looking super solid) fallen from above the crux. I was quite pumped (but not stupidly so), and had to climb the three bolts of 7a+ climbing to the top. From the undercuts I positioned my feet and made a big throw to a ledge. Now for the awkward bit… The last hard sequence was a teetering mantle onto the ledge! I reached high for a poor left hand side-pull, threw my left toes high onto the ledge and teetered on using tiny holds for balance. A small respite – I was in balance on the ledge! Just some technical moves on small crimps to finish. It’s not easy climbing and I was a little pumped; however, I knew I could finish the route and stayed calm. A few minutes later I clipped the chains on Marihauna – my first 8a!

The route went on the 7^th go. I was particularly pleased to get it because I’d felt like giving up on the 5^th go! I’d given it everything on the 5^th try and got so pumped and fallen from the end of the crux. It felt so hard to link, and I couldn’t believe I’d have the power endurance anytime soon. However, I decided to come back a day later and try to climb with a very relaxed attitude. I realised I’d been trying to hard; I needed to climb with full commitment, but stay relaxed and not over-grip. It sounds obvious, but it’s hard to do when climbing right on the limit. It worked… on the 6^th and 7^th (successful) attempt I felt relaxed and arrived at the crux feeling calm and confident. A slight error in body position threw me off the crux on the 6^th go, but I didn’t make the same mistake on the 7^th!

It was such a great feeling; I’d climbed my first F8a. It didn’t sink in straight away, but I’ve been really pleased ever since.