Edu Marin has made the first free ascent of Valhalla on the Getu Grand Arch in China at 5.15a. He describes it as, “The largest roof in the world.” The complete route is 450 metres with 305 metres weaving through the roof in 14 pitches of steep climbing.
Marin freed all of the pitches earlier this year, but had to redpoint the entire route in one go. On March 3, he got close, but broke a hold on pitch 12. “It was a serious setback falling like this, but setbacks just made us stronger,” said Marin.
On the send day, he started at 4 a.m. and put in the “the fight of my life.” The climb took nine hours to complete in a push after a two-year effort. “We climbed the largest roof in the world,” he announced online. “At last, after many, many months of struggling, effort and thousands of adversities, we’ve done it.”