Weekend Warrior - Videos to get you STOKED!!!

On a recent holiday to Spain, 13 year old climbing phenom Ashima Shiraishi completed "Open Your Mind Direct" after just 4 days of projecting.  The original route was 8c, but this more popular direct line was 9a until just recently when a hold broke off.  Ashima was the first to climb it since the broken hold, and thinks it might be even harder now.  If so, she would be the first female and the youngest person ever to climb the 9a+ (5.15a) grade.  Needless to say, she continued on with her holiday by crushing another 9a, Cuidad de Dios!



This next video is a little different than most of our usual ones.  Sometimes we feature videos that don't just show great climbing, but also a great sense of artistry in the video itself.  This is one of those.  Hit "full-screen" and sit back to watch Stefan Koechel send "The Power of Goodbye," a V13 in the hills near Matatal, Austria.



And finally for this weekend, we have another awesome female climber showing how it's done.  Here's Caroline Ciavaldini making the first female ascent of "Requiem," (E8 6b) which was the first UK route to receive the E8 Adjectival grade back in 1983.  The Adjectival Grade system not only refers to the technical difficulty, but encompasses the danger and aura of the climb.



Have a great weekend! - James