Purnell Climbs The Game
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Coloradan Rich Purnell has repeated The Game (M13) near Canmore, Alberta, becoming the first American to climb the world’s hardest mixed route. Purnell made the fifth ascent of the route on his third day of redpoint attempts. The Game was established earlier this year by Ben Firth in the Cineplex cave, site of several other Canadian testpieces, including Musashi (M12). Earlier in March, ice climbing world champion Harald Berger of Austria was the first to repeat the route’s crux dynos, but Berger finished his climb on a different route, Rocky Mountain Horror Show (M11+), leaving the first “official” repeat of The Game to Israel Blanco of Spain.