Tom Bolger makes first ascent of E.L.L.I.E (F9b)
- Thursday 21st March 2024
Tom Bolger, the British ex-pat who has lived in the Spanish region of Catalunya for the past decade or so, has made the first ascent of his project E.L.L.I.E (F9b).
E.L.L.I.E is a hybrid route combining a Font 8A+/B boulder into a 7C+/8A boulder and then into an F8c+ route. He named the route after his pet dog, Ellie. The route is located in a cave in La Bisbal de Falset, a town near Margalef, Spain and is the last remaining project in the cave. Tom and his friends started developing the venue during the pandemic in 2020.
He had this to say on Instagram after the ascent:
‘Every lesson learned is evolution…. A mantra I made out of the name of my loyal companion š¶ Ellie. I’m a true believer that embracing and learning from failure is the only way to grow …. Mastery of our skills is a beautiful journey of constant learning.
This route made me learn to trust the process, to maintain positivity no matter what and embrace a beginner mindset willing to learn and improve wherever possible. It brought emotions of excitement, confidence and pride but not without doubts, nervousness and frustration. It tested me to the point of injury. It broke me but it also made me stronger. I learnt my lessons.
It was a full circle process from the seedling of bolting the very first line in this unique cave to the fruition of this mega pitch. One that at first I thought I would never climb. Climbing here Pink Patatas (F9a+) with @alexandermegos he really planted the seed to keep on trying the last project of the cave.
This hybrid route of both boulder with pads into a route (where I low-level decked a bunch of times ) has its own unique character. For the mathematicians out there it works out at 8A+/B boulder - into a 7C+/ 8A boulder into an F8c+ route … it’s a lot of steeeeepppp climbing. As it is with all routes it’s my opinion, I’m well-psyched for people to try this thing and see what they think!
I couldn’t have done this without the many friends that helped with crash pads - spots - belays and of course to @gabiliii, we’ve been working hard each on our own projects and it’s been awesome to see her grit and determination, she inspired me to try hard when I was coming back from injury in summer and really work for the goals, now it’s your turn to crush Washita.’
Tom did his first F9a back in 2011 and only made his first F9a+ in 2022 when he made the first ascent of The Journey. You can check his Instagram reel here
