Shauna Coxsey sends Fotofobia (Font 8B+) in La Pedriza, Spain
- Monday 4th March 2024
In a week-long trip to La Pedriza, Shauna Coxsey amassed an impressive tick list, climbing six boulders within the 8th-grade range over four climbing days.
Shauna climbed Fotofobia at Font 8B+/V14, two Font 8B/V13 boulders, a Font 8A+/V12 and two Font 8A/V11 boulders. Fotofobia Sit (Font 8B+/V14), first climbed by Ignacio Sanchez Gonzalez, was climbed by Shauna in a single session.
Commenting on the ascent, Coxsey said:
“I was so excited to try Fotofobia! Big moves on tiny crimps on an overhanging wall... yes! It is such an amazing piece of rock and the moves did not disappoint! I tried to climb the original line from Nacho. It seems there are a few new bigger holds at the end to the right that have been cleaned up. I decided to avoid those and stay left of the obvious seam. As for the grade, I really don’t know. It's been a while since I have climbed this grade so don't feel I am in a position to fully comment just yet. It went down pretty quickly so I am tempted to say it may be closer to Font 8B but I also don’t think I could design a climb to suit me more than this.”
Remarking on her trip to La Pedriza, Shauna added: “La Pedriza is totally wild. With some of the best lines I have seen and seemingly endless potential, this place is a must-visit destination. Though the rock sure does bite!”
Coxsey’s week resulted in the first female ascents of the Font 8B+ and Font 8B in La Pedriza. Guidebook author, Talo Martin, showed Shauna and her husband Ned Feehally through the area and he reflected on her trip by adding:
“It's been great having Shauna climbing around here. It was really cool that she reached out to me through a mutual friend and we quickly hit it off. We went to some of the toughest boulders in La Pedriza and she completely crushed them together with [her husband] Ned [Feehally]. La Pedriza is a climbing area technically similar climbing to Fontainebleau and the holds are generally small and tricky, so the potential for hard boulders is endless. I can't wait to take her to some projects next time and I'll also take her to some of my slabs.”
The full tick list of Shauna’s time in La Pedriza includes:
Fotofobia (Font 8B+/V14)
Wild Wild West (Font 8B/V13)
Pin y Pon (Font 8B/V13)
Katalefas (Font 8A+/V12)
Penín’s Roof (Font 8A/V11)
Far West (Font 8A/V11)
Shauna was the first British woman to climb Font 8B+/V14 in 2014 with the ascent of New Base Line in Magic Wood back in 2014 but turned her attention to international competitions before quitting the competition scene after the Tokyo Olympics. Since then, Coxsey has turned her attention to outdoor climbing with two Font 8B ascents in 2023 before this trip.
Check out Shauna's ascent of Fotofobia below:
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Thanks to Talo Martin for the photographs. Talo is a climber, photographer and author of Pedriza Boulder, a guidebook for the area: https://pedrizaguidebooks.com/ He is also a co-founder of Re-equipa Pedriza, a non-profit rebolting organisation: https://www.instagram.com/reequipapedriza?igsh=YnJ5dGZhbHJtYXNq