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In an attempt to make space for the newsworthy ascents that occur with ever-increasing regularity, our weekly news roundup tries to celebrate a few outstanding climbs (or interesting events) that for one reason or another caught our attention. We hope you enjoy it. —The editors
Amity Warme repeats Tainted Love (5.13d R) in Squamish
It’s been a busy year for the desperate stemming corner Tainted Love, which is located at the top of the Stawamus Chief. Brent Barghahn and Connor Herson made quick work of the 80-foot pitch earlier this summer, and now Amity Warme has added her name to the all-star cast of repeaters.
Tainted Love is nearly all friction palming and stemming in a steep, 90-degree corner. “The crux is extremely insecure and feels like either your feet or hands will slip at any second,” Warme told Climbing. “And you are doing the whole crux sequence above tiny RPs!”
“There is one rest in the middle where you can shake your calves out before resuming the power stem,” she continued. “[But] after the [hour-plus] uphill hike, part of the crux is just keeping your calves from getting too pumped and losing tension on the smears.”
Warme sent Tainted Love on a sweaty, 85-degree day—less than ideal for a highly friction-dependent climb, she said. “Part of the [pitch’s] insecurity came from the fact that my palms were sweating and felt slippery but thankfully a breeze came up right before my send go!” —Anthony Walsh
Access Fund is expanding its stewardship program to the Red
Access Fund has teamed up with the Red River Gorge Climbers Coalition to raise $30,000 and create the Red River Gorge Climbing Conservation Initiative. The money will go toward supporting an Access Fund Conservation Team, which will “install sustainable climbing infrastructure, fix eroding access trails and base areas, and mitigate climber impacts,” Access Fund says. It will also allow Access Fund to expand its Climber Steward program to the Red. First piloted in Yosemite, Joshua Tree, and Indian Creek, the Climber Steward program puts Access Fund educators on the ground at popular crags to help make visitors—many of whom, at the Red, are new to outdoor climbing—aware of crag etiquette and leave-no-trace principles. For the next two weeks, all donations will be matched by the Blue Ridge Charitable Trust. Read more about the Climbing Steward program here. Donate here.
Seb Berthe accomplishes a life goal: the coveted 8c (5.14b) onsight
Best known to North American climbers for his bright lycra tights and his heroic effort on The Dawn Wall last year, Sébastien Berthe, one of the world’s premier all-around rock climbers, has onsighted his first 8c [5.14b], Ajo Crudo, in Cicera, Spain. Having previously onsighted 5.14a and flashed 5.14b, onsighting 5.14b was one of Berthe’s main goals for 2023. During his trip to Northern Spain, he gave efforts on four other routes of the grade, and though he found himself “quite far” from success on each one, he made enough progress, route over route, to realize it was possible.
“Ajo Crudo was a really good candidate for an onsight attempt for me: long, crimpy, okay rest[s] between the section[s], slightly overhanging,” he wrote on Instagram. “I took all the info I could from the ground, I climbed well, took some risks, had some [luck], and fought hard. I took the opportunity and truly didn’t let it go even if my body wanted to quit multiple times during the ascent!”
After his send, however, Berthe found himself questioning the grade, so he got back on the route to see how it felt. To his surprise (and relief), he struggled far more on his second attempt than on his first, so he hesitantly accepted the fact that he’d accomplished something that had always seemed to him like “one of the biggest” achievements in climbing.
The real question, however, is whether it’s a blessing or a tragedy that he wasn’t wearing his lycra?
—Steven Potter
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Owen Whaley does Resisting Arrest (5.14d)
Owen Whaley, a 19-year-old Las Vegas native, has done his fifth 5.14d, Resisting Arrest at Mount Charleston, which was first climbed by Joe Kinder last summer. “It is a very fun route consisting of bouldery sections separated by mediocre rests,” he told 8a.nu. “I tried the route intermittently throughout the summer, but the heat and trips away prevented me from sending. In the end I was able to do it on one of my last days before leaving home and heading back to college, which was very rewarding.”
Whaley, who’s currently a Business major at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, grew up climbing at Mount Charleston, where he did his first 5.14d at age sixteen. Earlier this year, he left his mark on his home crag by making the first ascent of Man-Bod (5.14d), a linkup between two Andy Raether 5.14d’s: Dad-Bod and Manphibian. —SP
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Support the global climbing community’s fund for Maui fire victims
The Aloha Rock Gym and the Maui climbing community have organized a fundraiser to support Maui residents impacted by wildfires. As of this writing, 114 have been declared dead and 850 more are missing, making these the deadliest wildfires in modern U.S. history. Donations will be administered by the Hawai’i Community Foundation (HCF) to provide critical assistance and care, including shelter, food, and financial assistance to those who have been most severely afflicted. The Fund also bolsters on-the-ground partners to dispense services and supplies, including diapers, clothing, first aid, animal care, and more. The Fund organizers write:
“Climbers, outdoor athletes, and friends of these communities have always been among the best stewards of the land and our communities. This is a way for everyone to come together and express our love and support for this devastated island community that has, over the years, given the world so much ALOHA.”
Support here.
Lattice tackles “the most controversial question in climbing”
Calling on the testimony of Dr. Tyler Nelson, a frequent contributor to Climbing and the author of “Are Most Climbers Getting Fingerboard Training Wrong,” and Jason Hooper of Hooper’s Beta, Lattice has made a convincing defense of hangboard use for beginner climbers… and everyone else.