Anak Verhoeven climbs Planta de Shiva for a second time, now sans kneepads

Less than a week after sending her first 9b, Anak Verhoeven has repeated Planta de Shiva at Villanueva del Rosario in Spain once again. This in itself would be newsworthy enough, but what makes her redpoint even more interesting is the fact that she did so without kneepads. Her previous ascent is obviously just as valid, but evidently the 27-year-old Belgian climber was intrigued to see whether it would be possible without the pads which, on many occasions, can provide significant benefit.

Describing it as a "personal challenge", she explained that she was motivated "Because I knew I could" and also "because the first ascent of ‘La Planta de Shiva’ in 2011 had also been done without pads. So I just wanted to try!"

Verhoeven is only the fourth woman to climb 9b after Angela Eiter - who climbed the same route in 2017 without kneepads - Laura Rogora and Julia Chanourdie. Making the most of her amazing run of form and having the route completely wired, Verhoeven sent the route shaking her head in disbelief. After her redpoint she stated "This send means even more to me than the first one." Now that's food for thought!

Link: anakverhoeven.be, Petzl, La Sportiva

 

 

 

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