Brazil

Down in the southern hemisphere a team of UK renegrade trad. masters comprising Messrs Greive, Gresham and Robertson popped up in Rio, Brazil in search of rock and a good time. In the end they left a bunch of scary routes of which Grieve’s Fuzzy Logic (E7/8) and Gresham’s Boiling Point (E8 6b) were the hardest and scariest. They should keep the locals in Itataiai National Park busy for a wee while. Apparently local, Ralf Cortes, was so impressed and inspired with this visit from such trad. cognoscenti and Gresham’s lead of Kryptonite (E7 6b) on the sea cliffs at Itacoatiara, that he upped his own game to add Mulheres Exoticas (E7/8 6b).

Sweden

Magnus Lindstedt did what is reckoned to be Sweden’s hardest trad. route, Puss Pa Morfar in Ronninge, Sweden. And with 8b+ climbing it sounds to be proper ‘ard and somewhere up in the E8/9 area. The 15m crackline had previously been abbed by Neil Gresham and pronounced impossible. Agh well – just shows that it’s probably best to keep stum.

Canada

Canadian climbers have also proved themselves up for a bit of trad. action, Andrew Boyd and Mike Mott seemingly leading the show. Their chosen target was an old 1969 aid route that followed a 30+ metre thin and overhanging crack in Murrin Park, British Columbia. Boyd got the first lead followed sometime later by Mott. As for the grade, 5.13c (or E7/8) was their conclusion which makes it Canada’s hardest trad. route to date.