David Mason climbs Mortal Immortal (8B+)

Watch Moon Climbing athlete David Mason battle with Mortal Immortal (8B+) aka Sean's Roof Sit Start in Blackwell Dale, Peak District.

I first started trying this a few weeks after climbing the 90's classic Sean's Roof, at that time it was a project. I fell off near the end just before going to Norway for two weeks.

By the time I had my next session on it Dawid Skoczylas had done the first ascent and Alex Barrows had repeated it. Dawid had been trying it on and off since 2015, Alex with his fabled knee bar shenanigans and mad aerobic capacity took just 4 sessions! They both climbed it as a micro route but for me it was a boulder and I had even brushed up the end, making it possible to top out instead of dropping off at the jug.

After a further 4 sessions I had fallen off the last move 5 times and on a particularly warm and humid day I decided to try a method I had previously discounted, surprisingly enough this time I found I could reach the jug off a toe lock in the pod and then take an almighty cut. This method is definitely a little easier than what I was previously trying but the key was I could try hard in that position and potentially stay on. My other way seemed to come down to whether a foot popped or not, which was frustrating.

I rested, prepped the climb and went from the bottom. On my 15th session I managed to battle the encroaching power out and lurch my way over the finish line and into the foliage at the top. I felt relief, pride, a tinge of loss but mostly a surreal mixture of surprise and happiness.

Grade wise it is definitely the toughest battle a problem has given me and took double the amount of sessions that I have put into anything else. For me it feels like 8A into 8A+ with the redpoint crux being right at the end. I think the movement mostly suits me but the number of moves certainly doesn't ;)

Thanks to everyone who spotted, listened to my ramblings about it and cheered me on.

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