New Routing and a First Ascent on Sun Seeker

ssthumb_00000Everybody has their own idea of what makes a perfect holiday, for some it’s lounging by the pool or a sunset on a tropical beach. Francis Haden, who has collaborated with CMRCA in the development of Crazy Horse for many years, has his own idea: Hanging from a rope, inside a cave while establishing new climbing routes.

When Francis visited Chiang Mai recently, CMRCA armed him with several hundred meters of static rope, a brand new drill and haul bag ofclimbing bolts and headed for Crazy Horse Buttress. He spent the next few days hanging in a harness, dealing with all the difficulties of bolting a new route, all the more complicated by being onthe roof of a cave. A day later than planned due to a broken drill bit he emerged victorious, dirty, covered in resin but grinning from ear to ear and in his own words “happy for getting to spend time in a place that has touched his soul like no other”. We made a short film to show Francis equipping and climbing the first ascent of the new route Francis has named ‘Sun Seeker.’

What kind of adventure will you create?

Climb On!