Belgian climber Anak Verhoeven sends the first repeat of the route „Patxitxulo“ 9a/+ at the Spanish climbing crag Oliana. With the first repetition of Patxitxulo 9a/+ at Oliana in Spain, Anak Verhoeven celebrated her successful comeback after rupturing a pulley over a year ago. With the route, Basque Patxi Usobiaga was able to connected the cruxes of „Joe Blau“ 8c+ and „Papichulo“ (9a) in 2017.

„So glad to be back to trying hard routes! This one is a linkup between an 8c+ and a 9a+, creating a nice line with cruxes of both routes, no big rests and cool moves all the way.

It was first imagined and climbed by @patxiusobiaga_pucseries in 2017. As far as I know this is the first repetition, so the grade is just a proposal. 9a/+ seems acceptable to me, after having reflected on my past experiences with the 9th grade.

The day after the send, @ezra_byrne and I managed to fit in an impromptu filming session right before I had to go back home. So, stayed tuned – we’ll be working on a video that involves some climbing and chatting about the process.“

The 25-year-old Belgian climber had her best year in 2017 with ‚Joe Mama‚ in Oliana, her new route ‚Sweet Neuf‘ (9a+) at Pierrot Beach in France, ‚Ciudad de Dios‘ 9a/+ in Santa Linya, climbing three routes at grade 9a+ and 9a/+ respectively. Shortly before she injured herself, she was able to claim the most difficult sport climb in Belgium with her route ‚Kraftio‚ (9a).

„So glad to be back to trying hard routes! This one is a linkup between an 8c+ and a 9a+, creating a nice line with cruxes of both routes, no big rests and cool moves all the way.

It was first imagined and climbed by @patxiusobiaga_pucseries in 2017. As far as I know this is the first repetition, so the grade is just a proposal. 9a/+ seems acceptable to me, after having reflected on my past experiences with the 9th grade.

The day after the send, @ezra_byrne and I managed to fit in an impromptu filming session right before I had to go back home. So, stayed tuned – we’ll be working on a video that involves some climbing and chatting about the process.“

Photo: (c) Ezra Byrne