We are very psyched to announce that Annie Chouinard has made an ascent of Pure Imagination (5.14c) at the RRG. This is the second time 5.14c has been climbed by a Canadian Female and may be one of the hardest ascents by a Canadian Female (depending on where the route falls in comparison to ASDATO climbed by
Here are the words of Annie Chouinard in instagram.
📷 @tiffany_nardico_photography
JUST SENT PURE IMAGINATION (5.14C / 8C+) this morning at Red River Gorge, my first of the grade! It’s really hard for me to express how I feel right now! I have a hard time believing this is real! THIS IS CRAZY!
During last year’s trip in RRG I tried Lucifer, a route of the same grade. Once back home in Quebec, I trained really hard for it until I left for this year’s trip at the end of October. On my first week here in Kentucky, I walked by Pure Imagination at Chocolate Factory, and was immediately inspired by the line. I gave it a go and loved it, and decided to work that one instead.
The route involves a series of boulder problems separated by gradually worsening rests. The first boulder problem is the hardest, on thin and sharp edges, and it took me a while to stick it. Then the route carries on with several look-offs on crimps and pockets. Towards the top, there is a long section of uninterrupted hard climbing, which ends with the redpoint crux, a reachy and shouldery lock-off. The route ends with a series of pockets and (more) long moves.
My biggest setback while working this route has been to strategically manage the skin of my fingers. I could rarely give the route more than one burn a day and after 2 days on my fingers were bleeding, which was frustrating. After 4 weeks of this, it went! It’s going to be REALLY HARD to go back to work full time at the hospital in Montreal in the snow in a couple of days😕 📷 @tiffany_nardico_photography
