Traditional Climbing

First ascent of Iron Monkey 5.14- by Matt Segal

Matt Segal completed a long project by redpointing Iron Monkey 5.14-, an old aid route in the Eldorado Canyon (Colorado) overhanging Kloof Alcove, listed in the guidebook as Lycra-Clad Donkeys.

Segal placed gear when he sent the route, which he reports to be 5.14 with a vicious boulder-problem crux — a good candidate for the hardest climb in the canyon.

First Free Ascent of Cobra Crack by Sonnie Trotter

June, 2006, Squamish, B.C. Patagonia climbing ambassador Sonnie Trotter climbed the first free ascent of Cobra Crack (5.14).

Sonnie worked the overhanging, thin-finger crack 30–40 times over the past few years, often rope-soloing the route to dial the moves, before completing it all-free. Sonnie said, “It's very rare to find a climb that is both overhanging, and so aesthetic. The fingers fit inside, but barely – if the crack was any more shallow, it would be just another impossible wall, if the crack was much steeper, it may be impossible – so I consider that route a gift for climbers. I've spent the better half of 10 years looking for a climb like that. It's perfect.”