Stevie Haston frees Descente Lolitta 9a

52 year old British climber Stevie Haston has made the first ascent of Descente Lolitta 9a at the Grotte de Sabart in Ariege, France.

Along the lines of climbing which has no limits, here's another great piece of news. According to dmmclimbing, Stevie Haston, one of the undisputed pioneers of dry tooling and mixed climbing has carried out the first ascent of Descente Lolitta at the Grotte de Sabart in Ariege, France. The 30m route is an extension to an ultra steep 8c+ which Haston had sent last year and the new route now weighs in at an incredible 9a. After sending the 8c+, Haston commented dryly: "Talent didn’t get me up this route, hard work did and in December '08 I deserved the redpoint."

Haston is evidently on great form - a few weeks ago he carried out the first ascent of Bam Bam, a psychological and loose E8 at Craig Dorys in Wales, proving once again that he is one of Britain's most polyvalent climbers. It's worth noting that Haston is 52 and, like Manolo, he shows no signs of slowing down. On the contrary, the Englishman has already set his sights on a new project, possibly 9a+...


Stevie Haston explaining the 9a project which has now been freed