Video of One of the Most Dangerous Climbs in U.K. is Now Online

James Pearson made only the third ascent of the bold climb in two decades

Gripped December 13, 2021

James Pearson climbed a bold gritstone testpiece called Harder, Faster at Black Rocks in England last year. He became only the third climber to send the E9 7a. It’s considered one of the most dangerous climbs in the U.K. A video of the repeat send has just put put online by Dark Sky Media.

Harder, Faster climbs a direct line next to the classic Gaia, which was first climbed by Johnny Dawes in 1986. It’s a run-out climb on technical slopers. A fall could be deadly.

The first ascent was by Charlie Woodburn in November 2000, belayed by Tim Emmett, and was repeated only once, back in 2003 by Toby “Lucky Chance” Benham. Australian climber Chance died in 2015 in a rope-swing accident.

After the first ascent, Woodburn said, “As I flow through the sequence of moves, I am only partially aware of what I am doing. My thoughts are hazy, in a self-induced state of obedience. The body leads and the mind follows, always one step behind, always in a state of humble acknowledgement, registering the present as it flows, unaware of future or past, free from the savage responsibility of thought. Fear and thought are synonymous and consequently the most frightening part of the ascent coincides with the only moment of dominance my mind has: the decision to go. Concentration is of the essence, the act of forcibly stupefying the senses and allowing myself to follow the drift of my own body. As I climb, I feel as though I am leaving myself behind, and by giving myself up to the movement of the rock, by concentrating myself into the subtle tensions the moves require, I am able to escape the obligation to think, and this, more than anything else, brings me a measure of peace.”