Weekend Whipper: Bold Arete Leads to Harsh Deck

Readers, please send your Weekend Whipper videos, information, and any lessons learned to Anthony Walsh, awalsh@outsideinc.com. 

In April 2013, Ethan Walker was gunning for the fourth ascent of a bold James Pearson route: Return of the Jedi (HXS 7a) or, if you don’t speak E grade, a “very high V9/10,” said Walker.

Return of the Jedi is found in an abandoned gritstone quarry in the Peak District and is an unmistakable line: a sharpened prow that is intimidatingly tall and “that requires quite a few pads to make safe.”

Relatively high off the deck, Walker doesn’t quite latch a left-hand crimp and makes an airy return to earth. “[There was] no injury in the fall,” he recounts. “If I remember correctly I got straight back up, had a rest, and then thankfully sent it with no more drama.”

Good thing, too: Once above the crux “there is some poor-but-okay gear available,” Walker described, although he really hoped he wouldn’t test it. “It might hold. [But] you shouldn’t be falling off the top section. … Falling [there] would be horrific!”

Happy Friday, and be safe out there this weekend.

Also watch:

• Clipping Ledges By the Sea
• Jumping Off 5.13 R—“I Wasn’t Ready Yet!”
• This Gear-ripper Is Good, Clean Fun

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