Bridge project number two – After The Great Rift, Tom Randall has found a new challenge in Berlin on an artificial crack structure. There is a catch: the 60-meter rope length is too hard to carry enough cams for adequate protection. Accordingly, a single one will have to suffice.
Our preview of The Great Rift (7b+ to 8a+), a 60-70 pitch crack route on the underside of a motorway bridge, underlined the Wide Boyz 2021 her penchant for bizarre challenges. In Berlin, Tom randall found a new artificial crack project. However, since the crack specialist is unable to climb the 60 meters horizontally with a heavy rack with 5-cams on his harness, he chooses an unorthodox strategy:
Basically you climb free solo and you are careful. If you want to do a short bathang rest, you put a cam down and take it out again after the break.
Tom randall
Video: Tom Randall demonstrates the “Quasi-Free-Solo” system
1 cam on 60 meters of horizontal crack climbing
Tom Randall hadn't actually expected this challenge to be any riskier than others. But: "Desperate times call for questionable methods." And so he came up with the strategy of only taking one cam with him to make the breaks, from which he only hangs upside down in the crack with his feet, a little more mentally pleasant.
In terms of risk, Tom Randall is fairly confident that he will be able to cushion a fall into the shallow water on the middle 30-meter section. The situation is somewhat different for the 15-meter sections at the entry and exit, where you climb over concrete.
These passages are definitely a bit nerve-wracking.
Tom randall
It's been a while since he had to be in a good mental state for a project, so it's a good challenge to be really relaxed, even if the consequences are getting more serious.
Difficulty level 8b
Rom Randall estimates the grade of his latest Urban Crack project to be mid-8th French grade. "The current link was about XNUMXb/+, but foot pain will probably be more of a limiting factor than a pump on the hand clamps."
The Lattice founder is currently training for his project in the notorious Wide Boyz basement. Since this strategy has already paid off several times, we are confident that we will soon receive news of success from the German capital.
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Credits: Cover picture Wide Boyz