Christmas is a time for getting together. And so a few long journeys thrown in. Plenty of time to ponder over the last year, and all the amazing climbs. Someone had asked me what was the best route I'd done this year and off the cuff I struggled to come up with an answer...

It wasn’t the question while I was trying Rainman. The grade was unimportant, it was about just trying to do it. But after success, suddenly it was the question. Though the answer was simply assumed; surely it was 9b.

Way back in May this year, whilst out in Manikia in Greece, Alex Huber took me to one side and insisted I studied the images on his phone. They were amazing, pictures of Alex throwing wildly exposed moves through a massive roof with incredible views behind. “This is my route La Bavarese, it’s one of the best I’ve ever done, it has to be one of the most outrageous and hardest of its style anywhere”.

My ultimate route. Not sure it gets any better, or any harder! The very first time I visited Malham Cove I stood at the base of the cliff and stared up into the future. An unclimbed line of immeasurable difficulty, right in the centre of the Cove, soared directly towards the finishing ledge 40 meters above. It crossed the most difficult terrain and the blankest of rock; impossible for me to comprehend.

127 days on one route. You must be joking right? I kept a diary of the progress. I keep a diary of all my climbing. Sometimes it’s good to look back.

Silence: The story of the world’s first 9c. If you have not watched it yet, stop whatever you are doing and watch it immediately. This is a film that cannot be missed; it is both brilliant and moving; a rare opportunity for us to share in one of the most important moments in the development of climbing.

Success - The accomplishment of an aim or purpose.

Failure - The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends.

The UK’s three best sport routes, on the UK’s three best sport cliffs. All 8a+. Quite a challenge. I guess I earned my crown a while back, but when I heard Andy Mitchel had climbed all three in a day, moving between them under his own steam (he ran!), I began to think this was the ‘real’ triple crown.

Its been a few years since I climbed this route, but it still stands out as a highlight in my entire climbing life.
This route has to be top of the list for anyone capable, a contender for one of the best routes in the world!