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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
Rayu (5.14b; 2,000ft) gets flashed in a day
Some big news from two Belgians who are frequent names in our weekly news roundup: Siebe Vanhee and Sébastien Berthe have both made ground-up, one-day free ascents of Rayu (8c/5.14b; 2,000ft)—and Berthe, who got his first 5.14b onsight just a week earlier, flashed the route.
The pair embarked on the big south face of Peña Santa, in Spain’s Picos de Europa valley, on August 19. They climbed quickly up the “adventurous” first 10 pitches (often runout, up to 5.12b) and made it to the crux pitch at 2 p.m.
Both climbers knew a flash attempt was possible for them, but neither truly believed they could onsight the crux pitch without any chalk, ticked holds, or hung draws. “I knew my chances to flash the pitch were lower than Sébastien’s,” Vanhee wrote. He gave the pitch his best onsight effort but ultimately peeled off of the upper crux sequence. Vanhee then switched to efficient-redpointing mode: sorting out beta and marking all the holds to facilitate Berthe’s successful flash ascent. Vanhee sent the crux on his second go and they continued to the summit with no further falls.
After his ascent Berthe expressed heartfelt appreciation to Vanhee for his selflessness on Rayu. “Flashing multi-pitches and big walls is a complex and demanding game that I particularly enjoy. Having the real opportunity to give a flash attempt on a hard multi-pitch is rare and priceless!” —Anthony Walsh
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Laura Rogora Onsights 5.14
Laura Rogora, 20, has become possibly the third woman—after Janja Garnbret and Chaehyun Seo—to onsight 5.14b with Ajo Crudo, in Cicera, Spain. The 35-meter line is a fairly vertical endurance test piece. Rogora admitted it was her style, but that the onsight was not planned—she even hung the draws! She told 8a: “I started climbing Ajo Crudo with the idea of checking out the moves. I have not climbed on rock for a long time and there were no quickdraws on the wall. But when I started I felt well and decided to give it a try and move by move I unexpectedly made it to the top. The line is super nice … not really overhanging with crimps and partial rest between the boulders.”
During the three-day trip in the Picos de Europa, Rogora also managed a 5.14a onsight—Los Lunnis, in Rumenes. Rogora’s impressive trip report follows what’s thus far been a truly remarkable career. She became the second woman to climb 5.15b after sending Ali Hulk Sit Extension Total in 2020, and has since sent Erebor, in Arco, another of the grade. Those ascents, combined with her recent onsight, arguably make Rogora’s ticklist the most impressive of any female sport climber to date. —Delaney Miller
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You thought Everest was too expensive already?
Climbing the world’s highest mountain has always been pricey. In 2023, a low-cost guiding service would set you back some $35,000, not including travel expenses or gear, while Western guides—like Lukas Furtenbach’s Furtenbach Adventures, which charges more than $200,000 for its most deluxe Everest trips, and Adrian Ballinger’s Alpenglow Expeditions, which charges $100,000 for its North Side Rapid Ascent expedition—capitalize on the mountain’s enduring allure to cash-addled executives who want to stand on top of the world.
But those prices are poised to go up for climbers attempting Everest from Nepal, where the cost of climbing permits is set to increase from $11,000 to $15,000—a 36% hike—in 2025. (China’s permits, which get climbers access to the mountain’s less-traveled and more-rigorous Tibetan side, currently cost between $15,000 and $18,000 per person.) Following the apparently accepted rules of inflation, operators are expected to use the permit’s increase as an excuse to raise their prices by an even larger margin. Alan Arnette, longtime Everest writer and journalist, suggests that the cost will go up by more than $4,000 on average.
But the price jump isn’t the only major change proposed by Nepal’s Ministry of Culture, Tourism, & Civil Aviation this year. After the mountain’s second-deadliest season ever—17 people died there this year—Nepal plans to require operators to remove bodies from the mountain. This is a major change in a place where bodies, for instance the famous Green Boots, have spent decades serving as grisly landmarks for subsequent teams.
Nepal’s Mountaineering Association is also considering mandating that all climbers pay for insurance that, in the case of catastrophe, covers the cost of body-recovery. If this happens, it will, of course, make the game yet more expensive. —Steve Potter
Watch Bayes Wilder send 5.14c
Earlier this year, 12-year-old Bayes Wilder, armed with socks, a helmet, and the newfound ability to hand whistle [see 1:29], sent James Litz’s General Litzenheimer (5.14c), in Tensleep Canyon. It’s Wilder’s second 5.14c. He sent his first, Southern Smoke in 2021, at age 10.