Steve McClure repeats Mission Impossible (E9 7a)
- Saturday 25th May 2024
Steve McClure has repeated the steep north Wales test piece Mission Impossible (E9) at Gallt Yr Ogof in the Ogwen Valley.
First climbed by Neil Carson on the 23rd of July 1997 it waited until 2009 for a repeat by James McHaffie. Since then the route has seen repeats over the years by Oli Grounsell in 2016, Angus Kille and Hazel Findlay in 2020 followed by James Taylor and Dave MacLeod in 2022.
Mission Impossible is protected by old pegs and small protection including a crucial size 0 cam to protect the run-out 7m or so crux section and the potential for a 15m fall. It features very steep technical climbing at around F8b in difficulty. Not only is the route hard but the walk-in up the steep hill to the crag situated high on the Skyline Buttress area of Gallt Yr Ogof makes it a leg pumper just getting there.
Writing on Instagram Steve said; ‘Awesome evening cragging with Caff [James McHaffie] after a day at RCI Training. Mission Impossible tick. Been on my list for years but I never expected an opportunity. This super steep E9 trad route is mostly protected by pegs so F8b makes sense too. I had a look on abseil by myself a few days ago and found it nails and was kind of put off, but Caff was keen for some climbing and I found myself tied in and going for it!’
Commenting further Steve wrote; ‘First go a foot slip denied me right at the top after all the hard climbing. Second go, with light fading and not expecting much I somehow found myself on the mini-rest before the last hard section, wishing I’d remembered the cam and facing a monster lob! Spicey. But what a route, made even better to squeeze in when not even expecting to go climbing, and in some of the most beautiful weather I’ve seen in Wales for years.’
Finally, he added; ‘Big up to @caffinspain for the psyche (and pic). @teambmc @petzl_official @marmot_europe.’
You can catch up with Steve on his Instagram feed at https://www.instagram.com/ste_mcclure/