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| This was truly "epic it was snowing and -30° and planes crashing"...(c) Inigo Taylor |
It is with great pleasure that I report Magnus the magician onsight/flash of a route. Routes of this grade have only been claimed to be onsighted by a few, anyway well done. I was frantically searching for a decent report yesterday, but only succeeded in reading anything good on the Magnus Blog itself, along with some great photos. Anyway the ascent was described as epic in some places, which is a stupid use of this fairly precise word. Being a man who grew up under the influence of more than coug syrup, and having hung around with some dodgy characters who took fun in butchering the English language, I hesitate in being pedantic, but epic this ascent probably was not. It seems very straight forward for a young man fit beyond most mortals dreams. In fact some of these 'epic', ascents are very boring to watch, its more the internal struggle and experienced viewers knowledge of the accumulating pump that make them gruesome to watch. The best silliness was in UkC, were Magnus was reported to have heroically swum in -10degree water, a feat that may be a first, a feat that has never been done before, and up till this 'epic ascent and swim' was infact thought to be impossible. I am no physics expert but water I thought freezes at O degrees, but grades are like water in the incorrectly reported world of climbing, and you can just do with them what you will.
Anyway Magnus, nice skills as usual. And obviously shame on you Mr reporter or should that be Distorter, I really don't know anymore. A very big Gold Crayon is winging its way to UKC from me, hope you enjoy it, please don't sit on it, although not chocolate it might melt.
I have been told that the symbol for the minus might mean around 10°, but I don't believe it. Just like I don't believe that a big American Jet liner can disappear into a 15 foot wide hole in the Pentagon. Alice in Wonderland is alive and well, in both main stream reporting/distorting and climbing scribble.
