Geordie lad Tim Blake has made the 2nd ascent of Wedgie Wall (8B), Danny Cattell’s much discussed Tonfedd test piece. Touted in the guide as having possibly North Wales' hardest move, it has held off a number of very strong suitors.

”In terms of actually doing it I found it pretty tricky. I’d tried it when I first got to uni and thought it would go pretty fast as on my flash go I was grabbing at the hold you lurch to from the tiny crimp. But after 3-4 sessions spread out over a year that’s about as close as I was getting doing it Danny’s way.”

Explained Tim, before adding:

”I found some new foot beta that suited me a bit better. It meant I had to really use the tiny hold to move my feet but it made the hard lurch a bit smaller and I could keep my feet on. This way worked well but I’d only get 3-4 goes each session before I’d start to spilt and that hold is just not usable with tape on (I tried, it just cuts through the tape). However, this way still took me 3 sessions to do. Luckily I managed to do it 1st go on the 3rd session. It’s a very niche problem and a fair bit harder than any of the other 8Bs I’ve done in Wales. A >70kg ascent would be a really impressive thing. Hats off to DC!”

To see footage of Tim's ascent click here

Anybody who hasn’t seen Chris Doyle’s original film, Wedgie Wall, is in for a treat – it’s one of the best short climbing films around, both very funny and, like the problem in question, very hardcore. To see it click here.

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