← On the seventh pitch of the Betrayer of Hope, a new route on Newfoundland's Blow Me Down. Photo by Bayard Russell. September 30, 2015 - Sam Bendroth and Bayard Russell have climbed a 12-pitch new route on Blow Me Down, a nearly 1,300-foot granite cliff rising directly out of Devil Bay on Newfoundland’s southern coast. Also known as Jabo, this south-facing wall was first climbed in 1994 by Jeff Butterfield, Chris Kane, and Joe Terravecchia (Central Pillar of Aestheticism, IV 5.10 A2), and now has about 20 established routes. Bendroth and Russell started their new route last fall, free climbing the first four pitches ground-up. This year they decided to go top-down to figure out the best line through the roofs guarding the top. “After a few days of work we had it put together and cleaned the fixed lines,” Russell said. The two then freed the entire route, with a crux at →
