Crown Royale | First Ascent of a Huge 9a Trad Climb

Pete Whittaker climbs one of his hardest trad routes at Profilveggen in Norway, Crown Royale.
🎥 Massive thanks to Aaron Wahab for shooting this one. Check out his other stuff here https://instagram.com/aaronwahab?igsh...

A note from Pete about the grade:
"It’s always tricky to grade climbs towards the upper end of your level, as every increase in perceived difficulty feels like a huge step, when in reality you’re not actually progressing in grade that much. However I do think it’s good to try and suggest something for new climbs as it helps with a consensus over time.

I took in two considerations when grading Crown Royale. 1 being a subjective feeling in comparison to other hard established trad lines, and 2 being a more objective perspective using the Darth Grader app.

1. The obvious route that I have to compare Crown Royale to is Recovery Drink (suggested as 8c+); Same wall, similar features, and a route I climbed back in 2019. To me CR felt harder overall than RD, but not by much, which is why my initial feeling about the route has been 8c+/9a.

2. I’ve seen a few other climbers using the Darth Grader app to help as a guide when grading new routes, so gave it ago and it algorithmed ‘soft 9a’. Of course using the app is still quite subjective, and the boulder/route grades I gave to individual sections of the climb could in fact be incorrect. However, again I used the ‘general consensus’ boulder grades of RD, plus other crack/boulders to help grade the sections of CR (i.e. this is easier than that… that is harder than this, etc).

All things considered I’ll suggest 9a (very low end), and look forward to see what future repeats think. It would seem harsh to suggest 8c, as to me it certainly feels harder than Cobra Crack (considered benchmark 8c) and Stranger Than Fiction (tough 8c imo), yet incredibly over generous to suggest 9a+ (cos that's just really hard isn't it). So I know it sits somewhere between those grades.

Either way whatever it settles at is all good, because if you like crack climbing, a few crimps and 100m pump fests, then you’re bound to have a jolly good time on this one"

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WORCESTER – Huntingdon Hall
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SHREWSBURY – Theatre Severn
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BUXTON – Pavilion Arts Centre
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LEEDS - Carriageworks Theatre
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SALE – Waterside Arts
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INVERNESS - Eden Court
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STIRLING – The Tolbooth
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PENRITH - Rheged
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NEWCASTLE – Gosforth Civic Theatre
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NOTTINGHAM - Squire Performing Arts Centre
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