James Pearson climbs Rhapsody E11
The U.K.s James Pearson has made the fourth ascent of the notoriously run-out Rhapsody E11.
Pearson first attempted Rhapsody in 2008, but did not send the route. He also made remarks about the route which led to him being scrutinized by the climbing community. Pearson moved to France to let the dust settle and stayed there with his wife, and professional climber, Caroline Ciavaldini.
For more on the story and photos of Pearson on Rhapsody visit U.K. Climbing
Rhapsody was the world’s first E11. It was first climbed by Dave MacLoed in 2006. It has since been repeated by Sonnie Trotter and Steve McClure.
From Pearson’s blog: “The world seems a lot bigger than when I was small and the important things back then now seem rather trivial. I had moved on a lot in mind, body and soul, and as far far as I was concerned I was happy. Caroline could see differently, she could see passed the smiles and knew there was still something stuck. To her the obvious answer was Rhapsody – a route that I had tried just before leaving the U.K., had failed on, and to make matters worse had openly criticized rather than accepting defeat. It was a chumps move, the act of an arrogant immature kid, but the past is the past and there is no way I can take that back.”
Dave MacLeod on Rhapsody:
Sonnie Trotter on Rhapsody:
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