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HYDROTHERAPY - Britain's hardest DWS? [More]

Black Diamond athletes Nico Favresse and Adam Pustelnik made the first repeat of Orbayu, a multi-pitch line on Spain's Naranjo de Bulnes, which at 8c+/9a had been hailed as the world's hardest big wall free climb. Although the pair felt the route was not as hard as it was originally trumpeted (they graded it more in the 8b+/8c range), they had nothing but high praise for the route's quality. We had Bernardo Gimenez on the scene to capture their successful redpoint of the route and he has edited together this excellent video. At the end of the video you'll see footage of Adam as he is stabilized, rescued and hospitalized after a terrible ground-fall while attempting a new line with Nico after they had redpointed Orbayu. Adam continues to make progress in his recovery and we look forward to seeing him back cranking on the rock in 2012. BD athletes Adam Pustelnik and Nico Favresse make first repeat of Orbayu (8b+/8c) in Naranjo de Bulnes, Spain from Black Diamond Equipment on Vimeo.

Neil has reported to us that he has ".. probably had the best climbing season of my life" and considering what he has achieved to date this is quite an claim! Keep an eye out for the coming reports of what he has been upto but for now, here is quick preview.     Photos courtesy of Liam Cook.