“I NAMED THE ROUTE AFTER THE ARCH-RIVAL OF OUR FAMILY CAT. THE TIGER CAT LIVED NEXT DOOR, IT WAS A WHITE, ORANGE AND BLACK FORMIDABLE BEAST THAT WOULD TORMENT OUR VERY SMALL AND GENTLE PUSSA.”
8c – to revert to the slightly exclusionary shorthand that climbers often use – has always been one of those milestone grades: if you can climb 33 you’re really good (unless you’re Austrian, in which case you’re just average). Although in this inflationary age, when 33s are being climbed by the very old and the very young, perhaps it no longer has quite the cachet it used to.
The first Australian route to be given the mighty grade of 33 was Spermies (the original name was recently changed to be less offensive) at South Central
