Pete Whittaker Flashes a Splitter Crack V9
One of the world's best crack climbers gives a Font V9 a personal grade of V8
Crack climbing master Pete Whittaker has been touring around Fontainebleau, one of the world’s most famous bouldering areas. During his stay, he flashed Lueur d’Espoir, which goes at V9 but which he gave a personal grade of V8.
“Not a place I’ve been for around 20 years, despite it being on the back doorstep of the UK,” he said. “I’ve also never been on a dedicated bouldering trip in that time frame either. Too much trad climbing, big walling, soloing, and general adventuring. I wasn’t sure exactly what to expect from these ‘sandstone eggs in the forest,’ but I get it; Font is incredible. Of course, we’ve still managed to seek out a few nice splitters amongst many other classics and hidden gems.”
Whittaker, who last year established one of the world’s hardest gear climbs with Crown Royale 5.14d at the Profile Wall in Norway, rose to fame in 2012 after the release of the film Wide Boyz, which focused on his and Tom Randall’s crack climbing adventures. Since then, he and Randall have grown their Wide Boyz YouTube channel to having nearly 230,000 subscribers. Several of their videos focus on them crack bouldering in a basement.
The past year has been of the best in Whittaker’s trad climbing career. Last summer, he made the first ascents of Eigerdosis 5.14b and Crown Royale 5.14d at the Profile Wall in Jøssingfjord, Norway. In October, he repeated Tom Randall’s Pura Pura 5.14b in Orco, Italy. In November, he repeated one of the hardest cracks in the United States, Stranger Than Fiction 5.14. And this year he has climbed several E8 and E9 routes.
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