Ryan Pasquill frees major new route at Ilkley, England

On 10 January Ryan Pasquill carried out the long-awaited first ascent of the line to the left of the symbolic The New Statesman at the gritstone quarry Ilkley. Although no grade or route name has been put forward as yet, the climbing is comprised of a highball Font 8a crux, which is followed by slightly easier moves protected by three pieces of gear.

The route in question was widely regarded as one of the last great unclimbed gritstone problems and local expert John Dunne, one of Britain's most talented climbers in the mid '80's and author the the nearby New Statesman, watched the ascent and commented on ukclimbing: "Ryan made the climbing look effortless and in typical Pascal fashion shrugged it off as no big deal. Having climbed for almost 30 years this stands out as the most impressive piece of climbing I've seen."

25 year old Ryan Pasquill has slowly but surely been making a name for himself in the British climbing scene. In 2002 he flashed Countdown to Disaster E8 6b at Ilkley 2006, while in 2006 he dispatched with End of The Affair (E8 6c) at Curbar in identical fashion. In September 2008 he proved his talent abroad with a repeat of David Graham's Baa Baa Black Sheep (F8c+) at Ceuse, France.

For a more detailed report check out www.ukclimbing.com

UPDATE: the route has been called Gerty Berwick