Camden Sport Climb

 Singular.

My lust for hard project has ebbed of late. That's because I just climbed Puissance.

Camden is an interesting place. For climbing. Many people have climbed here, and much is unrecorded. There's no SMC Journal for Maine and I really don't know the history. I would like to.

That said, there's a route there that was bolted in the 90s and rumoured to be unclimbed. Like a bee to a jug of honey, I took a Levy flight from the boulders and gave it an attempt. Couldn't do the first move. Abseiled down and dangled on a shunt. There was a way: a tenuous leap to a sloper. The name of the route, Puissance, I glossed, meant how good a horse is at jumping.

Next try, on top rope I could make an attempt at this jump. Flailing upward the grip was not there, though I had the distance. I made a model on the Barn 45, though the actual angle is more 20 degrees. The dyno is a dyno, so just jump? No. The move is a super-crimp-throub-double-dyno. Super-crimp is where the hold is so small the DIP joints of the fingers are locked and pointing straight down. Throub is where you continue to pull up on the second hand while the leading hand moves to the next hold. Double is where both hands are needed to hold the next hold. This move is hard, perhaps V10. You tell me, please.

At this point, the conditions were too warm. In October, on a cloud day (the wall is in full sun all day), I stuck the move twice and fell off twice on the moves above. After the dyno there is a series of big burly moves (cover the distance quickly). These moves are ok. Then, there is the undercling section. Right hand to a terrible undercling with good feet: snatch a rubbish crimp. Then; bad feet. Steel yourself and stab into a finger tip undercling flake. Feet up and a jug happens. Or not. I fell off here twice.

Next time was a sunny day, but cool. With sun, the dark rock heated up and made the sloper less grippy. Although the dyno is the first move, it actually comes after a 5.9 slab called Reincarnation. If you fall off the dyno (which I did six times that day), one must lower down and climb the slab again. In some ways, this is the crux – being good enough to do the dyno reliably. You can't just stand there and have loads of attempts.

A tree cast a shadow over the sloper at about 4pm. Tom had been bouldering and stopped; it was a good time try the route. I dropped the move, lowered down, pulled the rope, and immediately climbed the slab again. Opting for a more relaxed over a maximum effort maxim, the dyno went. Engage full power now. 

A fantastic route, I'm delighted to climb it! As for the grade... well, I don't mind putting my neck out and calling it 5.14a. It might get 8b in Scotland. Perhaps similar to Fire Power at the Anvil, but with a harder finish. Hopefully someone will come and repeat it.