Britain’s Steve McClure has made the first ascent of GreatNess Wall, the long-standing trad climbing project at Nesscliffe, England. Graded E10 7a, this checks in as one of the most difficult trad climbs in Great Britain.

Steve: „The Nesscliffe Headwall project goes down. A fluke window of opportunity taken. I’d convinced myself it would be OK, running it way out there on the top wall. After all, the maths looks acceptable; gear at about 12m, potential fall from 18m. But on lead it was all just a little harder and that final stretch was horrifyingly close. Just about recovered today and got my heart back in the right place after it ended up in my mouth. GreatNess Wall. E10 7a, or something like that, but total three star. Thanks to Ed and Adam Booth for the catch and Nick Dixon for the inspiration.“

Bild: (c) Keith Sharples