Evan Hau Establishes Honour and Glory, Canada’s Second 5.15
Evan Hau makes the first ascent of Honour and Glory (5.15a) at the Coliseum, Echo Canyon—Canada’s second 5.15.
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The Canadian climber Evan Hau has made the first ascent of Honour and Glory (5.15a) at the Coliseum, Echo Canyon, Canada. The 31-year-old from Calgary, Alberta had cleaned, bolted and worked the climb for over 16 months, and the route is now Canada’s second 5.15, after Alex Megos’ Fightclub (5.15b) at Ravens Crag near Banff.
“Can’t believe it’s done!!! … The name comes from what gladiators fought for in the Roman Coliseum,” Hau reports on Instagram. “What an incredible journey!”
The send came when Hau didn’t expect it. The climbing conditions were “amazing” he reports, but he felt tired on his warm up and didn’t think he had a chance at topping the route that day. “Maybe that took some of the pressure off,” he reports. “I passed my highpoint and then I didn’t fall off the final move like I thought I would.”
In the post, Hau also explained his logic behind the grade: “Long-term projects like these often don’t feel that hard on the actual redpoint go, and it’s hard to assign a grade on a route I have totally wired and can rehearse in my sleep so I will stick with my initial thoughts earlier this year that
it is on par with the few 15a’s I’ve tried in Europe and definitely harder than any 14d I’ve been on so I’m going with 15a.”
Honour and Glory is Hau’s first 5.15 redpoint. He has also climbed Seleccio Natural (9a/5.14d) at Santa Linya, Spain and Bunda de Fora (5.14d) at Acephale, Canada.