We are pleased to announce that Island-based climber Elan Jonas McRae sent Ciudad De Dios (9a/9a+) in Santa Linya, Spain. Elan is no stranger to climbing hard outside, but over the last last year, he turned his efforts towards training and the World Cup circuit. In Oliana and Santa Linya for the holidays, Elan put all his strengths into a few outdoor goals and it has certainly paid off! I am sure in the coming days, Elan will turn most of his attention to Papichulo, as he had tried it earlier in the week. Stay tuned to Squamish Climbing Magazine for an update on how Elan is doing!
UPDATE
For those looking for a little more information on Elan and how the trip is going, we spoke to him the other day. Elan was initially working a different route off the same start but kept getting shit down by a mono on that route. After working the original route for the first week, he ended up switching to Ciudad De Dios and sending the day after making the switch. Elan described the route as a ‘hard bouldery start followed by a few decent rests and then a pumpy hard end section that doesn’t let up until right at the chains’.
Although working Papichulo earlier in the week, Elan indicated that he only has a week left, which he doesn’t think is enough time for the send and may turn his attention towards some of the classics at the crag not to miss out on some great routes.
