Adam Ondra makes historic first-ever flash of E11 trad route, 'Lexicon' in England

Last Friday, Adam Ondra completed the historic first-ever flash of an E11 trad climb by making a first-go ascent of Lexicon at Pavey Ark in England’s Lake District. Widely regarded as one of Britain’s hardest trad routes, Lexicon was first ascended by Neil Gresham in 2021 and combines 8b+ sport-climbing difficulty with trad protection, including a potential 25-30-meter fall from the crux headwall which, if not managed properly, could prove extremely dangerous indeed. Prior repeats were made by Steve McClure, Dave MacLeod, Mathew Wright, and James Pearson who, notably, attempted to flash the line in June 2022.

In the past, Pearson has been one of the main driving forces in pushing the boundaries of hard flash ascents in the UK. In 2011, he became the first climber to attempt a flash of an E10, Muy Caliente at Pembroke, Wales. Though unsuccessful, his effort highlighted the potential of blending sport-climbing fitness, bouldering power, and bold trad experience. In 2014, Pearson achieved Britain’s first E9 flash with Something’s Burning at Pembroke, while E10 was flashed for the first and so far only time by Seb Berthe on Le Voyage at Annot in France in 2023. Ondra with his faultless ascent of Lexicon has now taken things to the next level.

Ondra told planetmountain.com a few hours ago that he was "still buzzing" from the achievement. On Instagram, the 32-year-old detailed his preparation: “I watched all available videos, but focused mostly on Neil Gresham’s footage. Neil rappelled the route first, cleaned it, and added chalk. I then rappelled 8 meters to the right of Lexicon along Astra while Neil explained gear placements and crux beta for the headwall.” After warming up on nearby routes, Ondra went for the historic send: “I tried hard, my heart was pounding, but I made it to the final ledge without testing that massive whipper.”

While Ondra has previously repeated trad E12 - James Pearson's Bon Voyage at Annot in 2024 - this is his hardest trad climb on UK soil. Interestingly it comes after only a handful of other hard trad climbs in the UK, which include a flash ascents of Master's Edge at Millstone, Balance it is and Messiah, and a rare repeat of the burly Ray's Roof. All great routes, but all significantly easier than Lexicon.

Ondra is obviously a master of all trades and after establishing the world's first 9c, Silence at Flatanger in Norway in 2017, in 2018 he became the first person to flash a 9a+ sport climb, Super Crackinette in Saint-Léger du Ventoux.

Lexicon flash requires a rare combination of physical fitness and mental fortitude and as per usual his groundbreaking ascent has been documented by his team. The footage should prove fascinating to say the least.

 

 

 

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