New 5.14dR is First in the World Like It
This new route in the Gunks is the hardest mixed bolt/trad line in the world. A big fall could result in injury
William Moss, 18, has made the first ascent of Best Things in Life Are Free 5.14dR in the Trapps at the Gunks. It has only two bolts in the easier section, so the hardest climbing is on trad gear. There are no trad routes in the world graded 5.14d, so now this is the closest.
The route is the direct line to Friend Zone 5.14c, which Moss made the first ascent of of two years ago. It took Moss two seasons of projecting. He said it’s his proudest route to date.
On 8a.nu, Moss said, “It is the original aid line that was called Best Things in Life Aren’t Free. It was always the obvious and hardest project on the Buttress but it had been too hard and too scary in the past for me to send. It is by far my proudest ascent to date. The R is the safety rating. I gave it that because at the crux I am runout about 20 feet above my last piece of protection and the sequence requires climbing upside down which leads to the potential of hitting my head or back in a big fall. This made it scary to climb and was the reason I wore a helmet.”
Moss said he’ll be working on routes in Colorado and Yosemite this summer. Follow him on Instagram below. For a list of the hardest routes in the Gunks visit here.
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