New Route in Remote Guyana

Greg Child, Jared Ogden, and Mark Synnott have climbed a new, mostly free route on the overhanging northern prow of Mt. Roraima in Guyana. After hiking some 40 to 50 miles through jungle to reach the base of the wall, the team climbed a 10-pitch route called Cutting the Line (VI 5.12a A2+) on the 1,300-foot prow of the sandstone tepui. “Everything was done free at least on toprope except for the last pitch, which went through a waterfall,” Synnott said. “It has some of the most unbelievably beautiful free climbing I’ve ever done, and the route overhung from top to bottom.“ The team made a film of the expedition for the Rush HD network. 

The northern prow of Mt. Roraima, an enormous flat-topped mountain that rises to over 9,000 feet along the jungle frontier between Brazil, Guayana, and Venezuela, was first climbed in 1973 by the British team of Mo Anthoine, Joe Brown, Hamish MacInnes, and Don Whillans. In 2003, Ogden, Synnott, and climber/filmmaker John Catto climbed a nine-pitch route called The Scorpion Wall (VI 5.11+ A0), starting about 100 yards to the left of the British route. Their 2006 line starts left of The Scorpion Wall, more on the eastern side of the formation. 

Date of Ascent: November 2006 

Sources: Mark Synnott, American Alpine Journal

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