The two women Margo Hayes and Paige Claassen made the first and second female ascent of the Kryptonite route (8c + / 9a) at Fortress of Solitude.
The climbing route Kryptonite was from Tommy Caldwell First started in 1999 and is considered the first 9a route in North America.
Kryptonite is the perfect sport climbing route with exciting movements and interesting grips.
Tommy Caldwell
In an interview with Mountainzone.com in 1999, Tommy said that he was not sure whether the route could be rated 9a or not because he had never climbed a route of this level before. Since then, the route has mostly been traded as 9a. The first two female climbers on the route are now undecided.
9a or not?
Während Paige Claassen says the route has become much more difficult after a breakout, says MargoEven after a breakout, the route was much easier than other routes in the 8c + / 9a range that she climbed in the past.
Whether 9a or not, Paige Claassen and Margo Hayes are among the strongest female climbers. Margo was the only woman to climb the famous 9a + trilogy Biography, La Rambla and papichula. Paige has climbed 9a routes twice before Kryptonite (Algorithm and shadowboxing).
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Credits: Cover picture Matty Hong