James Pearson powers The Return of the Jedi at Bank Quarry

Sometimes news travels at the speed of light, othertimes it takes time to peter through. This in the case of The Return of the Jedi, James Pearson's daring little testpiece at Bank Quarry, which he climbed at the end of December 2010. Pearson protected the gritstone arête with a couple of crashpads, and gave the route the grade HXS 7a. The Return of the Jedi is Pearson's second Star Wars addition to the crag after The Power of the Dark Side, first ascended 6 years ago and still one of his very best at E8 6b.

Pearson stated: "HXS 7a explains as much, or as little as you need to know. In other money it is perhaps F8a+ to toprope and would be a fierce little offering with a couple of bolts – from the floor to the ledge it is slap slap slap, no time to stop and chalk! With enough pads and big balls you could possibly consider the bottom section a highball boulder, but the top of the route is pretty far from the floor and still has a tricky move. I chose to take a rope and place some (bad) gear, if nothing else it kept Caroline smiling until the ordeal was over."


The Return Of The Jedi - HXS 7a, Bank Quarry, Derbyshire