Steve MccClure

Cry Freedom

‘Cry Freedom’. An appropriate name, probably screamed by all that have succeeded. freedom from the clutches of this mighty route. The second 8b+ in Britain, or maybe even the first 8c in the world? Probably not, but it feels it, especially for the short. The last bouldery move being a huge span from jug to slopping crimp. Pinned against the wall at full stretch it’s a major effort to even hang on, never mind move the feet into all the right places. The lower wall is 8b, a tough one, and the key to freedom is in getting through it and up to the crux without being tired, and the shorter you are the fresher you’ll need to be. For those less than 160 cm you’ll probably need to feel like you have just climbed a VS.

One of the best routes at Malham and rarely repeated. This year Drew Hague and Neil Mawson also climbed it. Unfortunately all three of us didn’t top out. The last section is easy but utterly covered in moss. It’s a drainage route. I don’t think many people have topped it properly, opting instead to drop off after all the hard climbing. So we didn’t really get freedom, or even the full tick.

Sometimes topping isn’t what it’s all about. The same day I onsighted ‘Idefix’, an amazing 8b, bouldery and intense. It ends in the middle of nowhere just before a world of slime. Another top route at the best sport cliff in Britain.

October 20, 2009 06:39 PM

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