The Fly (climb)
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| The Fly | |
|---|---|
  | |
| Location | Rumney, New Hampshire, United States |
| Coordinates | 43°48′15″N 71°48′48″W / 43.80417°N 71.81333°W |
| Climbing area | Rumney Rocks |
| Route type | Highball bouldering |
| Vertical gain | 25 feet (7.6 m) |
| Pitches | 1 |
| Grade | V14 (8B+), 5.14d (9a) |
| Route setter | Mark Sprague |
| First free ascent | David Graham, 7 April 2000 |
The Fly is a short 25-foot (7.6 m) schist sport climbing or highball bouldering route in the Rumney Rocks climbing area, New Hampshire, USA, at the Waimea Cliff.[1] The Fly was bolted by Mark Sprague in 1995 as an open project but did not see a first free ascent until David Graham, an 18-year-old American climber from Maine, climbed it in April 2000, who graded it 5.14d (9a) or V14 (8B+). It was quickly repeated by his climbing partner, Luke Parady. At the time, these ascents were milestones for climbing in North America.[2]
David Graham made the first free ascent (FFA) on April 7, 2000.[3] At the time, David Graham and Luke Parady proposed the tentative grade of 5.14d (9a). After further ascents and fine-tuning of the beta (choreography) needed to climb it, the consensus has settled to approximately 5.14c/d using the Yosemite decimal system or 8B/+ in the Font bouldering grade.
Route
The Fly ascends a short, steep, lower portion of the Waimea wall, gaining a large ledge (the E-Ticket Ledge) and a bolted anchor about 25 feet up. The climb is very fingery and powerful. The route is quite short by sport climbing standards, essentially a rope-protected highball boulder problem, with its two protection bolts being placed before the now common use of many stacked 'crash pads' to protect the dangerous landing. Most ascents make use of the protection offered by the bolts, usually pre-clipping the rope to them both, though after practicing the moves on a rope, the climb has been 'bouldered' (sans rope), first by Jason Kehl, on November 7, 2003.