Hard New Trad Routes Opened in U.K.
Anapanasati and Magical Thinking have technical run-out climbing at the grades of E9 and E10
The U.K. has two hard new trad routes thanks to the efforts of Mat Wright and Matt Helliker, two accomplished all-round climbers.
Helliker made the first ascent of Anapanasati, an E9 6c at Doydon Point in Cornwall. After his FA, Helliker said, “The north Cornwall coast still remains an area of huge potential, where beautiful steep walls of pillow lava have been crafted by the sea, on this section known as the Atlantic Coast. Doydon Point is a wall of complexities from conditions, access and unpredictable rock.”
Wright has made the first ascent of Magical Thinking E10 7a on Pavey Ark’s East Gully Wall in the Lake District. The wall is one of U.K.’s most stacked for challenging pitches, with climbs like Impact Day E8 6c and Lexicon E11 7a – which Wright made the fourth ascent of. Magical Thinking had been a project of Charlie Woodburn’s, but he’d recently opened it for others to try.
About the name Magical Thinking, Wright said, “Regarding the name of the route – this is Charlie’s route. I may have made the first ascent, but Charlie has put endless energy and time into this project, and thus I feel like he should be the one who gets to name it. I love the name too as it certainly fits my experience.”
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