Kai Lightner Sends 5.14d in Spain
It's his first big send since making the first ascent of Death of Villains 5.15a last month
Kai Lightner continues his recent streak of hard sport climbing sends with a repeat of Direct Into Your Fabelita 5.14d (9a) in Santa Linya, Spain. Tom Bolger made the first ascent of the route back in 2010. It’s seen repeats over the years, including one from Jorge Díaz-Rullo last November.
As the name suggests, Direct Into Your Fabelita 5.14d is a hard direct start into the Santa Linya ultra-classic, La Fabelita 5.14b. The line was established by Dani Andrada in 2007 and has been repeated by many of the best climbers in the world, including Magnus Mitbø, Jakob Schubert, and Molly Thompson-Smith, among many others.
“Psyched to have snagged the send of this cool line!” said Lightner after his send on Instagram. “The beginning of this climb starts with a [seven bolt 5.14c-ish] section that is super bouldery and pretty intense. As a more “flowy” climber that likes sustained, longer routes, this was very anti-style for me and challenged me mentally and physically…which is exactly why I picked it. I have some other goals in this cave for this trip, but this was a big step forward for my confidence.”
Lightner visited the Santa Linya cave last year, sending Fabela 5.14c. The 24-year-old recently sent two hard lines in the Hurricave in Utah: a repeat of Life of Villains 5.14d in November and a first ascent of Death of Villains 5.15a in February. He sent his first-ever 5.14d in 2015 with Era Vella in Margalef, Spain.
Jorge Díaz-Rullo on Direct Into Your Fabelita 5.14d
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