Mike Doyle Sends Shining Uncut 5.14 on Mount Louis
Mike Doyle has made the third ascent of The Shining Uncut 5.14 on Mount Louis in Banff National Park. Watch him attempt the big line below. Doyle has been based in Canmore for the past few months, working on projects in the Rockies. Earlier this year, he sent Castles in the Sky, a six-pitch 5.14 on Castle Mountain.
Doyle climbed The Shining Uncut in 16 hours car to car with Blake Cason on Aug. 14. He had recently joined Sasha DiGiulian for her second ascent of The Shining Uncut.
“Clocking in at a full 80 metres, this was probably the longest pitch I’ve ever done! I don’t know if I was just more mentally prepared, more rested or just sick of the hike but the climbing felt smooth and relaxed,” said Doyle. “Definitely a big confidence booster. Sadly, the dense smoke rolled in, so I didn’t get any summit views.”
There is limited visibility and poor air quality in the Rockies due to local wildfires, which makes climbing even more difficult. The Shining Uncut is a 5.14 version of The Shining 5.13c which was first climbed by Sonnie Trotter and Tommy Caldwell in 2011.
Doyle has been climbing for over 20 years and is one of Canada’s most accomplished hard climbers with a number of difficult routes to his name. Doyle has been climbing 5.14 for 20 years, one of his first was Pulse 5.14a back in 1998. One of his proudest climbs was Necessary Evil 5.14c.
He’s climbed a number of hard 5.14 routes, including Southern Smoke 5.14c and Golden Direct 5.14c and made the first ascent of Lucifer 5.14c, which was the hardest route at Red River Gorge at the time, and made the first ascent of ADATO 5.14a at Horne Lake.
Watch this short video about his projecting of Necessary Evil:
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