17th November 2025 @ Blackstone Edge, 6C (6B-6C)

No beta. First climbed it a couple of times in April, but the camera shake was severe. Repeated in November. Probably the 4th or 5th time I’d got up it.

I started looking at this after sending Patiopia, as it shares a couple of the holds, and I knew I could hold the middle position. However, the hard bits are getting into that position, and then getting to the top!

The opening move is one of my favourites of the year. The start position is a little awkward to get into, but I found it fairly comfortable once in it. However, many a time I fired upwards to grab the thin right hand hold, but slipped off as my hips dragged me out from the wall. The remedy to this was to start that move with my hips a little farther out from the wall, making the movement more vertical. This is more strenuous to start from, but of course makes latching the hold much easier.

Another beta modification I had to make for this move was to stop using my left thumb. The start pocket for the left hand is a little slopey, and I was pinching the underside of the wall with my thumb. It took me far too long to realise that I could not hold the pocket in this way in the end position of the first move, and I was unknowingly being shorted by it. I ended up using the pocket as a side pull without the thumb, and this meant I could hold it reasonably well through the entire move.

After gaining the thin right hand and the decent left hand, the hands need to go up somewhere (and not to the pocket used on Hand Holed). The only other option for me really was an OK slopey rail. I could just about reach this with my feet out left. I’m not sure how less reachy climbers would do it. Using the slopey rail effectively is probably the crux for me, and I found that in warmer conditions, I couldn’t stick to it. However, I could usually predict whether or not I’d make it to the top depending on how good it felt.

Moving the foot to the pocket included a subtle kick to provide the momentum to do the move, but unfortunately in the video I struggled to get the foot in! I had done the move previously almost perfectly which was very satisfying. However, climbs don’t always go exactly the way we want. Moving off the rail is just done by instinct and my right leg seems to have a mind of its own for this move. However, if the rail felt good, I’d usually make this move and top out the problem.

Some really satisfying moves for me on this one, and I prefer it to the starred Home Improvements (which I’m a little tall for). Not sure about the 6B vote on UKC. It could definitely be that with the big pocket. 6C all day for how it felt to me! I don’t normally disagree strongly with the UKC low votes!