Mystery Wad soloes Messiah (E7 6c), Burbage South
- Wednesday 17th May 2023
A mystery climber has soloed Messiah (E7 6c) on Burbage South today.
Messiah, a 1984 Jerry Moffatt test-piece, doesn’t get a lot of attention and many that do try it end up just top roping it. Climbing a gently overhanging sharp-angled arête, hard boulder moves are needed to get to the first protection, a small cam, more metres above the ground than you’d want. From here, more hard moves follow.
In instances like this it’s almost impossible to be definitive but this could well be the first ever solo of Messiah. Paradoxically, Jerry Moffatt’s other hard near-by test-piece, Samson – originally given HXS/E9 7b by Moffatt after he made the first ascent in 1997 leading it with protection from a large cam in the prominent pocket just having left Goliath, has been soloed a number of times – firstly by John Welford in 2006 and most recently by Billy Ridal earlier this spring. This one was written up along with a suggestion that it had the hardest move on the Edge at the time.
Anyways, it appears that said solo of Messiah was witnessed, snapped and duly posted on Insta by @etchd_climbing. Excellent sleuthing sir! All that remains now is for mystery wad to come forward and take the praise!