Second Ascent of 15-Pitch 5.14 by DiGiulian, Harrington and Söderlund
The route involves run-out climbing between small gear on difficult vertical pitches
Matilda Söderlund, Sasha DiGiulian and Brette Harrington have repeated Rayu, a 15-pitch 610-metre 5.14b, on Peña Santa in Picos de Europa, Spain. DiGiulian and Söderlund sent the 5.14b crux pitch, Harrington sent everything but the crux – it would’ve been her first 5.14.
The route was established by Iker Pou, Eneko Pou and Kico Cerdá over five weeks in 2020. It follows several hard pitches that involve bold climb, tricky gear placements and spaced bolts. The first half of the route is mostly 5.12. The crux pitch is high on the wall.
“Second ascent and first female ascent,” said Söderlund. “This also marks the hardest graded big wall achieved by a female team… The route is mainly trad climbing, making it very adventurous and exposed at some places.”
Söderlund, DiGiulian and Harrington are one of the best big wall teams in the world of climbing. DiGiulian and Söderlund are hard-rock-climb specialists, while Harrington is one of the world’s leading alpinists and big mountain skiers.
Rayu First Ascent
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