1st March 2025 @ Stony Edge, 6A+ (6A-6A+)

Beta seen on videos beforehand on vimeo, but not referenced to do the climb. The send seen in the video is probably the 2nd or 3rd time I’d climbed it.

I first did this at the start of the year, and got a decent clip which stayed a part of the video for most of the year. However, I wanted to tidy up the mantel the best I could, and ended up repeating it along with Gritworm, which I wanted to do a true sit start on, having done a low start from the same holds earlier in the year.

But… as the video was being finalized, the clip had been moved to part II, and was amongst clips filmed in the Spring. The Autumn colours on that day gave a cool feel that was more appropriate for part III, but that was already full. So I went back to the original Spring version at the last minute. As time went on, I kind of preferred that version anyway. The mantel has some minor leg flailing, but it seems like I actually get through it quicker. The Spring clip is a second or so longer, but that is because I do a fair number of matches on the way up, which I skipped in the Autumn.

The story of wanting to tidy up the mantel starts with a really fun rockover mantel move at Blochaus during the Summer (which just went perfectly when you got it right, it’s on my Instagram, but I hesitate to link it here as it was a really warm day so I’m topless). I wanted to see if I could do something similar. The bottom line is that I couldn’t! However, I did tidy it up a little.

The problem is that I’m pushing myself over into the mantel with my thigh, and it doesn’t give a massive amount of leverage. The leg flailing works because although the thigh is pushing you over the foot, it’s also pinned to the rock. So the flailing allows a momentary release of the friction so you can move up and over a bit at a time. However, I still feel like you could do it really nicely – like the mantel took no effort at all. Probably one I’ll revisit. Apart from that, the opening consists of easy overhang moves which will suit most beginners, the sit start is not hard at all, and the only real difficulty is in the mantel. A lovely easy-ish problem.