Cedric Lachat on Southern Smoke Direct (5.14d/15a). Photo courtesy 8a.nu

11/2/12 – Daniel Woods and Swiss climber Cédric Lachat each climbed Southern Smoke Direct (5.14d/5.15a) at the Bob Marley Crag, Pendergrass Murray Recreational Preserve, Red River Gorge.

Red local Adam Taylor redpointed Southern Smoke Direct in 2011 for the first ascent, and it went unrepeated until Adam Ondra flashed it earlier this week. The Direct line adds a difficult boulder problem start (V11 to V13) to the original Southern Smoke, first redpointed by Joe Kinder. Taylor hesitantly graded it 5.15a after his ascent, but both Woods and Ondra have suggested 5.14d. Said Woods on his 8a.nu scorecard, “Amazing route. Boulder to resistance climbing. Felt like a different route in perfect conditions.”

Woods and Lachat had previously climbed Southern Smoke. Lachat also redpointed Pure Imagination and The Golden Ticket.

Date of ascents: November 1, 2012

Source: 8a.nu