McMillen Climbs 5.14b

Jared McMillen of Las Vegas redpointed his first 5.14b, Legend of the Overfiend at Mt. Charleston, on September 8. The route is an extension to the 5.14a climb Legend, which McMillen redpointed 13 times before succeeding on the longer version. He fell from the second-to-last move on the extension five times. “I worked on the route on and off for a while due to a very painful, finger-wrecking pocket that caused blood every time I grabbed it,” McMillen said. “With tape on, my finger wouldn’t fit.”McMillen, a 28-year-old photographer, climbed his first 5.14a four years ago in the Virgin River Gorge and has since climbed many more at that grade at the VRG, Rifle, Smith Rock and Charleston. He has been making good progress on Necessary Evil (5.14c) in the VRG, and plans to return to the climb as soon as temperatures drop this fall.