🧗 Superstar Honnold is back 📽

Howdy. FlashPumped here. It’s time for the only climbing newsletter that makes you wanna jump up, jump up and get down!

Here’s what we got for y’all today:

• One of England’s Hardest Trad Lines Sees a Repeat 

• 2024 is NOT Sleeping on Sleepwalker with Two More Repeats 

• Mr Honnold Returns to the Silver Screen

• How and Why to Add Pinch Blocks to Strength Training 

• How Many Types of Rock Climbing Are There?

James Pearson Makes a Second Ascent of One of England's Most Technical Trad Lines

James Pearson recently made the second ascent of Immortal, originally graded E11 7b. 

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Immortal is a highly technical trad line, remarked as one of the most difficult established in England, and was first climbed by Franco Cookson. 

Alastair Lee’s film Fall Theory documented Cookson's ascent of Immortal. 

Pearson reflected on the grade of Immortal after his ascent, stating: 

“An E grade is a combination of a lot of elements, and like Franco has already said, Immortal is a tricky one to grade. It’s very short, very morpho, and almost, but not quite a slab. It has very odd, hard to quantify protection, that if good, could make it ‘safe,’ but if bad is almost a solo. All of these variables give eGrader a hard time, but if we go back to my gut feeling (totally trustworthy, right?), I feel like I simply climbed it too quickly, and felt too chilled for it to be E11.”

Pearson is renowned as one of the world’s best trad climbers and has made first ascents to some of the hardest trad climbs in the world, such as The Walk of Life (E9) and Bon Voyage (suggested grade of E12).

Is Sleepwalker Due for a Downgrade?

One of Red Rock’s most well-known boulders sees two new repeats from Will Bosi and Noah Wheeler. 

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Sleepwalker (V16) was established in 2018 by Jimmy Webb and has since become one of the most repeated V16s in the world. 

In the last few months alone, Sleepwalker has been repeated by: 

• Zander Waller

• Kai Whaley 

• Zach Galla

• Andy Lamb

While most climbers agree on the V16 grade, there is some debate on the line’s grade. 

Zane Waller and Will Bosi suggest a soft V16 or a V15/16. While Wheeler’s initial downgrade was met with skepticism due to his wingspan and ability to skip standard beta, Bosi did complete the boulder using the standard beta. 

Regardless, Sleepwalker continues to see repeats, and more climbers will likely weigh in on the grade. 

After both recent repeats by Bosi and Wheeler, they’ve moved on to working the sit start, Return of the Sleepwalker, V17.

Alex Honnold’s New Movie, Arctic Ascent, Premiers on February 4th

Our favourite Mr Honnold returns, again, to the big screen to show us a unique look at climbing into the remote corners of Greenland. 

This time, Honnold is joined by a line-up of world-class climbers and adventurers, including: 

• Hazel Findlay

• Mikey Schaefer

• Dr. Heïdi Sevestre

• Greenlandic guide Adam Kjeldsen

• Aldo Kane

The three-part series brings viewers on a quest to ascend unclimbed walls in an area that is the frontline of the climate crisis. 

While epic adventures are not new for Alex Honnold, Arctic Ascent brings the environment and the impacts of climate change to center stage. The changing climate and temperatures added new challenges to an already difficult journey. 

Throughout all three episodes, viewers can expect a mix of adventure with scientific research in a part of the world most of us will never have a chance to experience. 

All episodes will premiere on February 4 on National Geographic and stream on Disney+ and Hulu the next day.

Improve Pinch Strength With These Technical Training Tips

It’s no secret that pinches are a difficult hold to master. Many climbers may find themselves avoiding them or trying to find ways around them simply because they require specific strength. 

The good news is that there’s an effective way to make moving past a pinch easier: pinch block training. 

A pinch block is a tool to train grip strength on pinches. The typical pinch block is a wooden rectangular block, sometimes with a few different grips and an eye bolt attached to the opposite side.

Most pinch block training comes from maintaining the hold and training the movement. Pinch blocks isolate finger, wrist, and forearm movements to improve strength where you need it most and stop you from engaging other muscles like your biceps or back. 

There are several variations to how you can hang and train on pinch blocks, which we overview in detail in our recent article on training pinch technique. 

Which Type of Climbing to Try Next?

As you become more skilled and familiar with rock climbing, you may want to expand your knowledge and experience of the sport. 

One of the best places to start is learning about each type of climbing, and so we’ve put together a quick list detailing these.

Not sure what all of these types of climbing could be? 

Bacon & Waffles

🤣 🤣

That's it for today. See y’all next week!