The American climber Dave Graham has repeated Action Directe, the thin, vicious overhanging route first done by Wolfgang Gullich in the 90s and once memorably described as „like a terrorist attack on the fingers“. Graham´s success puts him into a very elite class who have got up any of the world´s very few 9as. His own CV is pretty impressive, though it has usually concentrated on bouldering and speed solo ascents – including a high-speed free solo of one of Yosemite´s easier (5.10, or E1) routes. We´re still waiting to hear what grade he´d give it, but any time someone gets to the top of Action Directe, a little piece of history has been made. And it also goes to show how far ahead of his time Gullich was; he died young, in a car crash. ( Source: 8a.nu )
