Nolwen Berthier Onsights an RRG 5.14a
Earlier this year she climbed her first 5.15a. She'll be in Kentucky until the end of the week
Nolwen Berthier from France has onsighed the famous Omaha Beach at Red River Gorge (RRG) in Kentucky. The monster 39-metre pitch climbs to the top of the Madness Cave. She was visiting RRG with her sponsor Patagonia.
The classic 5.14a was first sent in 1999 by Bill Ramsey and graded at 5.13d, but upgraded after holds broke. It’s long, steep and has a few in-your-face cruxes with some good rests. The V5 boulder problem has small holds, it leads to 5.11 climbing to a 5.12 traverse on slopey holds and a pumpy finish.
Berthier is the third woman to onsight Omaha Beach, after Katie Brown and Sasha DiGiulian. “With feet everywhere and thousands of crimps, I have to admit that the climbing in RRG suits me well,” said Berthier here.
This spring, Berthier sent Alex Megos’s Super Crackinette 5.15a, becoming the sixth woman to climb 5.15. She’d previously climbed 5.14c, but skipped 5.14d. Berthier is staying at RRG until later this week, and said that the other test-piece routes, such as Pure Imagination 5.14+ are on the list if the weather improves.
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