I was reading Dave Macleod blog today and saw that he just plain crazy.On his blog Macleod writes "yesterday was the scariest day of my life, and the end of the scariest ten days of my life. The impending lead of my ‘Great Climb’ project on Hell’s Lum crag was hanging over me like a guillotine. It’s the most dangerous lead I’ve ever done, and right now, I’m not sure exactly how I feel about it."
He goes on to say that if he would have fallen of from the crux or above it would have meant death.
"In the moment of the lead, I screamed at myself twice at the top of my voice because the reality hit me of where I was and what I was doing. I think it achieved little more than spreading my fear across everyone who was there filming, Tony who was on the skyhook rope and especially Claire on the gully sprint rope running through the only good gear, 40 feet below me.
An outcome was needed to free everyone from the sentence, so I screamed away all my thoughts and uncaringly hydraulicked like a robot through the slopers and on to the belay.
When I got there I just felt guilty for engaging with this undertaking in the first place. On a personal level it’s OK I’m up for this type of experience, full on as it is. But it’s not fair on everyone else for me to be walking around for ten days consumed in my own ugly world of fear, and blind to other people’s needs. I’m massively in their debt, especially Claire’s."
Photos from Davemacleod.blogspot.com
If you continue to read his blog post he talks about how "This route overstepped the red line for me, but not in terms of personal danger, just in terms of the cost of dealing with the danger. I want to be a climber pushing my limits. But I don’t want to be a climber pushing everyone else’s limits as well, even temporarily. I’ve learned, and my next challenge is to climb something like this or harder, without my personal hell spilling beyond my own head."
I am not sure about you but as a climber I don't struggle with putting myself in personal danger. Certainly though the cost of dealing with danger is something I think about. Like Macleod I long to be constantly pushing my limits and doing new things at new heights without as he says "my personal hell spilling beyond my own head."
Climbing To Hell and Back E10 80m was great for Dave. Interestingly enough he was really preparing to do this climb for a BBC program called The Great Climb. From what it says in his blog the footage will be aired soon.
About the route:
To Hell and Back E10 6c *** 80m
The route climbs the big smooth vertical wall right of the waterfall in Hell’s Lum, crossing Chariots of Fire higher up to finish up the smooth overhanging headwall. A fall from anywhere on the second half of pitch one is unlikely to be survivable.
1. 35m Start just left of the open groove. Move up the wall on positive holds to a dyno. Follow a sloping rail rightwards to a stopping place (good cams). Climb the wall on crimps to a fragile and hollow flake (dubious skyhook and cam). Dyno left to a quartz edge, then crimp desperately to a good edge. Move up, then left along slopers to a flat and often wet hold in the hanging groove. Climb the groove (poor RP2 on right) then move left around the arête and up to easy ground in the groove, leading to the belay on Chariots of Fire.
2. 45m Follow Chariots of Fire through it’s crux then break left across an overhanging wall on flakes, to eventually gain a groove with some detached blocks. Climb it to a small ledge. Step left and climb the faint crack in the headwall past a thin move to an exhilarating finish.
After it was all over
MacLeod is most famous for his E11 (5.14c R) route Rhapsody, also in Scotland, which took him two years and many 60- to 70-foot falls to redpoint. He has repeated three other E10 routes in England, Wales, and Ireleand, and has established several E9 climbs. You can read about his ascent of the Ring of Steall Project here.
Sources
Dave Macleod's Blog, Climbing
Tags: 
rock climbing
