Sweet one man! Is that the hardest solo of sport in Scotland? Or is it technically E13 if you piss it wythout clipping :-)

errr..i wouldn't have used the words 'pissed it' exactly, but aye, it passed without any major event. Still fucking demanding...Also, NO, on the E11, E12, E13 front. I know that's fishing for a comment on MacLeods route, so I'll entertain you forthwith...

All I can say is, if you asked Cubby what he would have graded 'Requiem direct' back then in 1983, had he of done the full string; I'd bet my unholy testicles it wouldn't have been E11, almost certainly he would have uttered a controversial 'E9' tops.
So my next question, in logical pursuit, would be: If that's the case, what radical change has befallen the physical geography & make-up of Requiem direct since 1983 to warrant the huge inflation? Answer - absolutely nothing. So why E11? [bare in mind Dave has proven how safe it is by taking endless enormous screamers on it without effect]. Simple: It suits the motivation of a push & shove commercial agenda..nothing more. That to my mind, is more dangerous to climbing, than climbing is dangerous to an individual falling off a fantasy E11, which is superbly ironic, since on certain still unrepeated E9s, it would take one minor slip to literally kill you...first time. Nobody seems to be asking the right questions about this ascent, but Ive heard plenty of timid mumbling...It's like they all just nod & clap when they're asked to... & that fucks me off. Logarithmics for one, predict that the maths don't work. The leaps per increment at this end of the scale are huge & I personally don't believe that Dave, a fella I have had to point out obvious winning sequences for on his own encamped V13 project, is capable of that curve in that amount of time. I believe its probably hard E9, but warrants a high sport-grade becuase the technicalities of climbing it far outwiegh the potential of death - or the E-grade symbolism. But f8c/8c+ simply doesn't stand out that much on it's own anymore aye, & it's not f9b. Ive been up close with Reqiuem & one thing that wall doesn't do is leave you speechless in the face of impossibilities. It's impressive aye, even scary in places, but now go & stand under Eaux Claires looking up at Akira & think 'trad lead'...You see, you have to look under the bed-sheets so to speak, to see whos really in bed with who these days...don't go to sleep, ask the right questions..that sorta thing.

The Power Of Two, excellent & hard as it is, doesn't stand out on the E scale if you want a reverse scenario. It's about subjective honesty in the end. How fear translates into physical trauma. To solo the thing, you have to have it in hand, but I doubt you'd die, say falling from the chain. You'd paralize yourself, break your back & legs maybe, so in that respect, it would only be E8'ish at best...sustained E7,7c with no rests maybe & f8c all in, but the Egyptians & monos will kill you before the fall does.

E11, the day will come for sure, but it ain't here yet, & when that day comes, it will be in the mountains. It will include a rack of one quickdraw, one pants wire & a Patagonian stac. They will never find the body...

These days an E9 can still kill you nicely enough, without any tinsel & fancy wrapping...

Sorry folks Im away climbing right now & have removed all comments left anonymously after '5/09/2006 4:09 AM'. If you're going to post any vaguely sensible retorts in here, -laughs-, then at least have the brass balls to use your name...this isn't Scottish Climbs for gods sake...

I'll re-open it when I get home from the wild & brilliant steepness currently at hand.