Franco Cookson adds Immortal E11 7b to Maiden's Bluff, UK

Despite his impressive list of first ascents, Franco Cookson is very much an underdog of British trad climbing and, having flown well beneath the radar over the years, is certainly not as well known as he should be.

This may in part be due to the fact that he often climbs off the beaten track, on lesser-known crags in Northumberland and on the North York Moors, but his April 2021 first ascent of Immortal at Maiden's Bluff on the Yorkshire coast must certainly be regarded as one of the most important trad climbs full stop. Cookson has suggested E11 7b and, as such, it stands as one of the most difficult and dangerous in the country. 

The route is, in Cookson’s own words "good but not a king line", that pretty much adds a direct finish to his own Sky Burial; where this trends left, Immortal tackles the headwall direct. It is protected by trad gear only and sports, below the soft sandstone crux, a bunch of "rubbish skyhooks". It is "a fabulously aggressive micro route, with the difficulties being fairly short lived, all hinging on a handful of desperate micro crimps, super sketchy feet, exact body position, as well as timing for the lateral lunge."

According to Cookson, the result is a line that is "as physically hard as any of the safe outcrop E10 Trad routes in the UK, but with obvious far bigger consequences if you fail."

Cookson initially worked the route on toprope and as early as 2018 made a series of clean links, but was unsure he’d ever summon up the courage for the lead. After putting things on hold due to the pandemic, in April 2021 the time finally came. Belayed by two friends - one holding the skyhook half ropes and the other the single rope to stop him if the skyhooks failed to hold - he took to the live end and, placing all gear on lead, edged his way faultlessly upwards.

Commenting after his monumental climb, he stated "Right up to the point of commitment, I had no idea whether I'd summon up the required cocktail of courage and madness to actually go into the one-way tunnel. It was one of those life-defining moments."

Cookson’s previous hard ascents include the hitherto unrepeated Nothing Lasts (E11 7a) climbed in 2017 at Sandy Crag in Northumberland and Divine Moments Truth, first ascended in 2015 at Kay Nest. Immortal, he believes, is a step up compared to these and the climb is now "sitting and waiting for potential suitors, casting its murderous gaze out across the North Sea, laying down a hilarious gauntlet of death. If you want to go and find out a little bit about yourself, go have a look!"

As mentioned, E11 is the upper echelon of British trad and apart from Immortal and the aforementioned Nothing Lasts, is currently attirbuted to Lexicon at Pavey Ark (Neil Gresham 2021) and Rhapsody at Dumbarton Rock in Scotland (Dave MacLeod 2006) only.

The first ascent was documented by Alastair Lee and features in this year’s Brit Rock Film Tour.