We are very psyched to announce that Sonnie Trotter made the first free ascent of The Prow Wall (200m, 5.14a, 8 pitches) yesterday. The line itself runs up the sweeping features of The Prow Wall. The Prow Wall, home to a number of aesthetic lines, is located to the right of Echelon Wall and left across the South Gully of the Chief from the Buttress. Sonnie has spent the last six weeks back in Squamish and he has certainly been busy.
According to his Instagram, this was Sonnie’s second ground up attempt to free the line over the past five years. The line itself has been an open project tried by many for a number of years and is considered the ‘king line’ of the Prow Wall, which is home to a number of classic lines put up in recent memory by Colin Moorhead, Evan Stevens, Jeremy Blumel and others.
Sonnie reported that he had spent about five days on the rig cleaning and re-cleaning the line. The line is made up of eight pitches in total (5.10c, 5.10b, 5.12a, 5.14a?, 5.11c, 5.13a, 5.12b, and 5.12a). Yesterday, local climber Tom Wright stepped into belay Sonnie during the day to offer his support. Tom recently got back from a trip to Yosemite where he completed a two day ascent of The Nose. Fantastic work!
UPDATE: We had a chance to catch up with Sonnie on the ascent and here is what he had to say.
Congratulations on the ascent! Can you tell us a bit about the line?
Thanks, the line itself is the original line that slices straight up the middle of the (Prow) wall. Originally investigated by Ander’s Ouram, Keith Reid, Graham Taylor, Jesse Brown and a guy named Brent (now deceased), I first tried the line from the ground up about 5 years ago with Jesse Brown. I couldn’t do it but I never forgot about its possibility!
What were you bolting this time around and how much did you work the line solo?
This month, I rappelled in and replaced or moved about 20 bolts and rope soloed the line. Haaving a kid, it’s hard to nail down partners for such an obscure climb. I had so much fun up there by myself, working moves and scrubbing the moss. We’re leaving tomorrow so yesterday was pretty much my last chance to get it done before summer temps make it too hot. It’s very friction dependent. A hard route to grade really. Maybe hard 5.13d or a soft 5.14a. When I first started trying it it felt like a V11 problem. When I sent it, it felt more like V10. I’ll let others decide on the grade I think. For now what’s important is that it’s clean, safe, and ready to be enjoyed by all! It’s a magnificent place to climb, like a mini big wall.
Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions and congratulations! I hope the trip back to Canmore is a smooth ride.
