Johnny Dawes

The first half is a highly technical slab that stays on you, and then you reach the last half-decent piece of gear, a nest of small wires equalized on a screamer and a decent rest stance, followed by a 50 or 60 foot run out through the technical crux where a fall would likely kill any climber who takes the whipper.

After its first ascent in 1986 by Johnny Dawes, it was the first E9 in the United Kingdom and has essentially remained the benchmark standard for that E grade ever since.

It also helped kick off the committing style of climbing called head pointing, in which a climber rehearses the moves of a technically difficult but poorly protected climb before attempting a red point.

Our primary guest today, Rachel Pierce, tried the route about 10 times on top rope before attempting a lead, finally sending the 150-foot pitch over the course of about 30 minutes, placing all gear on lead and completing the first female ascent of the route, and only the 10th ascent by a climber of any gender.

We've got a bit of Welsh grit stone.

Yes, so people are climbing a lot in Wales.

That's Johnny Dawes, the first climber to complete Indian Face and a legend in the UK climbing scene and beyond.

The peak scene in Wales.