Michaela and Paige Send Necessary Evil 5.14c

Michaela Kiersch and Paige Claassen are highly accomplished American rock climbers with a number of big sends. They both reported on Instagram that they sent the famous Necessary Evil 5.14c Kiersch noted that she grabbed the first female ascent.

Like a?Necessary Evil was a prickly process (but cool to see). I was too excited to write a longer post after sending, so here it is: I would be lying if I said that this process was easy and without it’s own unique struggles. While I have climbed at this level before, NE is a completely different style for me- and honestly not one that I think I am particularly good at. I excel on steeper climbing with less powerful moves (like in the Red River Gorge, KY) and I am not used to focusing so much attention on my footwork. To my surprise, the beta and sequences on NE came together very quickly. However, the send felt anything but. It became an emotional battle with myself, I have a habit setting my expectations very high. I began to fall on the upper crux moves 4 times a day over the course of 2 weeks. I was disappointed and frustrated with myself for not being able to close on this project- I was just punting! Ultimately, what led to my success was realizing that I needed to relax and be patient. The combination of internal and external pressures made me feel like I was in a hurry to send, but actually there was no deadline, it was just me. I am still figuring out how not to be a serial stresser… but each new challenge teaches me something new. . STAY TUNED FOR THE ? WITH @digitalstokephoto @johnloellong @adidasterrex @petzl_official @fiveten_official

A post shared by Michaela Kiersch (@michaelakiersch) on Feb 8, 2018 at 8:54am PST

The route is in Virgin River Gorge in northern Arizona and was bolted by Boone Speed in 1989 and first climbed by Chris Sharma in 1997.

The 11-bolt route has a number of hard cruxes and Adam Ondra, considered the world’s best climber with a number of 5.14c onsights, couldn’t onsight it.

Claassen said on Instagram, “A life goal achieved! Finally held that little coin stack long enough to slot my hand in that crackie chan and hold on for the ride to the top.

“After working Necessary Evil three years ago and bailing because it got to warm, I spent the last two months of 2017 moonboarding and weight training according to my training program written by Justen Sjong.” Continue reading below.

Everyone always leaves the photo cred til the end, so I’ll just slink this one in. @tarakerzhner, way to manage those painters poles! ? A life goal achieved! Finally held that little coin stack long enough to slot my hand in that crackie chan and hold on for the ride to the top. After working Necessary Evil 3 years ago and bailing because it got to warm, I spent the last 2 months of 2017 moonboarding and weight training according to my training program written by @justensjong. I asked Justen to write me a training program to prep for NE during the harvest season in Namibia. I had a lot of very picky constraints: 14 hour work days in the pack house meant I only had an hour to train each day, maybe 2 on Sunday, and basically zero mental or emotional energy. The only equipment I had available was my moonboard, a BeastMaker, rings, a trx, and dumbbells. I was not willing to do cardio because I knew I would be too tired from work, and who wants to run or do much of anything when it’s over 100 degrees outside? I stuck to my program, enjoying the hour of physical relief each day after work, without having to put in the mental effort of choosing workouts or deciding whether to commit to another set (also air conditioning, yay). I followed what the program said, and came out on the other end with more power than perhaps I’ve ever had. I rocked up to the VRG having not tied into a rope or climbed outside in 3 months. But that meant 3 months of pent up excitement. My fitness was pretty low, and I got pumped between every bolt, but I climbed a bonus route each day after trying NE to build up my fitness. After 3 weeks, I sent my fitness proj (Dude), rested for 2 days, prayed for confidence, and ate a bunch of sweet potatoes, and voilá, the magic concoction worked. Here’s to not needing the fanciest gym in the world, or even a gym at all to train for your goals. Motivation is sometimes all you need. Thanks to @emilyaharrington for all your support and pump up songs. And @arjandekock for helping me stay confident and psyched ?and also to my parents for coming out at the beginning of my trip to support and belay me! The end.

A post shared by Paige Claassen (@paigeclaassen) on Feb 7, 2018 at 5:02pm PST

A number of Canadians have climbed Necessary Evil, including Mike Doyle and Sonnie Trotter.

After Trotter’s ascent, he said, “Two days ago I finally climbed what I think is the hardest route I have done yet: Necessary Evil 5.14c. First Climbed by Chris Sharma at age 16, it has seen few ascents and is regarded as one of the most serious lines in the US.

“I have climbed roughly three other routes in the 5.14c range but this was for sure the most challenging. It took a total of 12 days. It’s funny how life changes, three days ago I looked at the route as a goal, a place where I wanted to be, today I look at the route and I see a stepping stone.

“I’m proud to be the first Canadian to climb this route, but now all I can think about are the new challenges and projects which lay before me.”

Watch Doyle projecting the hard line below. In 2017, Doyle did a presentation about his send at Trotter’s Canmore Climbing Festival.