Women
Speaking of the 13 year old
ninja Ashima Shiraishi, earlier this March,
she conquered two incredibly difficult,
border line impossible climbs in Spain –
‘Open Your Mind Direct’ and ‘Ciudad de
Dios’. ‘Open Your Mind Direct’ was firstly
climbed by Tom Bolger, who gave the
route a grade of 5.14d. However, recently
a hold broke off, leaving the route even
harder – if that’s possible – making
locals believe it is more of a 5.15a
(9a+). So what does this mean? If the
new grade sticks, Ashima could be the
first female and youngest ever climber
to complete a route of this grade. The
climb was so hard, at some points she
had to hang upside down. Thought she
was done there? Less than a week later,
the youngster crushed 9a/+ ‘Ciudad de
Dios’ which proved to the critics that her
previous send was no fluke. No climber
has ever reached this level before – male
or female. For any climber to achieve this
is unforgettable, but to have this done by
a 13 year girl is outstanding. It’s seems
inevitable we will be seeing much more
from the climbing legend in the future.
Not forgetting team GB captain
Molly Thompson-Smith, continuing
to inspire young climbers across the
country. Despite being in the middle
of her GCSEs, she won gold in the
European Youth Cup of 2014, ranking her
number one in the world. At 16 years old,
she is - arguably - the best junior climber
in Britain.
Now with women climbing
harder than ever, hopefully, it won’t be
long before they start to give men a
serious run for their money.
Girls versus boys?
Bring it on.
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quit chasing podiums and focus on some
real outdoor rock, Mina Leslie-Wujastyk
climbed ‘Mecca Extension’ at Raven Tor,
making her the first women to climb an 8c
on home soil.
Then there was the ‘Summer of
Shauna’. Shauna Coxsey and Micheala
Tracy made climbing history, when for
the first time two British females made it
to the world cup finals. Shauna finished
4th in the world cup medals, placing
her second in the world, and Michaela
finished 6th. But Coxsey didn’t stop
there. After sending ‘New Baseline’ in
Magic Wood, Switzerland, she became
the third female to boulder an 8b+ (V14)
- after Tomoko Ogawa and 13 year old
Ashima Shiraishi. This incredible climbing
proved Coxsey to be a force not to be
reckoned with. After her ascent she
said:”Psyched doesn’t even come close”.
The bouldering world cup returns this
year, kick-starting in May 2015.
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