5.14 Trad Route Sees Another Ascent
Le Voyage in France sees another repeat after Ignacio Mulero sends the pocket-riddled line
Ignacio Mulero has repeated Le Voyage, a 38-metre 5.14 trad route in Annot, France, one of the hardest trad climbs in the country. Mulero had been attempting Bon Voyage, an ungraded variation to Le Voyage that Steve McClure suggested might be E12 – 5.14+R-ish.
James Pearson made the first ascent of Le Voyage in 2017, grading it E10 7a in the British system, which roughly equates to spicy 5.14- in the Yosemite Decimal System. It starts with a 5.14 crack before moving into a good rest position. A traverse on tiny holds follows, with the finishing moves in an upper crack with lousy jams. Throughout the route, there is just enough protection to keep it relatively safe. In 2021, Babsi Zangerl, Jacopo Larcher and Siebe Vanhee all repeated the route. McClure climbed it last month.
In 2017, Mulero made the first ascent of Territorio Comanche in La Pedriza, a 5.14c slab that used bolts and trad gear. In 2018, Mulero made the coveted second ascent of The Meltdown, a 5.14d sport climb in the U.K. “The truth is that the movements [on Meltdown] are very crazy,” says Ignacio. “You have to have a lot of imagination to understand the sequence.”
Earlier this year, Mulero made the first ascent of El Boulder del Pedal, a 5.14c trad route in La Pedriza, Spain. He is now planning on visiting Norway to attempt Recovery Drink, one of the world’s hardest trad routes at 5.14c.
World’s Hardest Trad
Empath 5.14d/15a? in California by Connor Herson
Tribe 5.14+? in Italy by Jacopo Larcher, James Pearson
Bon Voyage 5.14+? by James Pearson
El Boulder del Pedal 5.14c in Spain by Ignacio Mulero
Blackbeard’s Tears 5.14c in California by Ethan Pringle
Meltdown 5.14c in Yosemite by Beth Rodden, Carlo Traversi, Jacopo Larcher
Pura Pura 5.14c in Valle dell’Orco by Tom Randall
Into the Sun 5.14c in Switzerland by Bernd Zangerl, Jacopo Larcher
Recovery Drink 5.14c in Norway by Nico Favresse, Daniel Jung
Rhapsody 5.14c in Scotland by Dave MacLeod, Sonnie Trotter, Steve McClure, James Pearson, Jacopo Larcher
Magic Line 5.14b/c in Yosemite by Ron Kauk, Lonnie Kauk, Hazel Findlay, Carlo Traversi
Bladerunner 5.14b/c in Squamish by Ben Harnden
Brozone 5.14b in the Gunks by Andy Salo, Sam Elias
Century Crack 5.14b in the Canyonlands by Tom Randall, Pete Whittaker, Danny Parker
Cobra Crack 5.14b in Squamish by Sonnie Trotter, Nico Favresse, Ethan Pringle, Matt Segal, Will Stanhope, Yuji Hirayama, Alex Honnold, Pete Whittaker, Tom Randall, Ben Harnden, Mason Earle, Logan Barber, Said Belhaj, Stu Smith
Echo Wall 5.14b on Ben Nevis by Dave MacLeod
Family Man 5.14b in Skaha by Sonnie Trotter, Ben Harnden
Lapoterapia 5.14b in Italy by Jacopo Larcher
The Bull 5.14b in Squamish by Jeremy Smith, Ben Harnden
The Dawn Wall 5.14b (trad) 5.14d (sport) in Yosemite by Tommy Caldwell, Kevin Jorgeson, Adam Ondra
McClure on Le Voyage
The Meltdown Repeat
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
