Robbie Phillips Flashes Bold 5.13+ Trad in U.K.

Robbie Phillips has made the first flash ascent of Divided Years (E9 6c) on Buzzard’s Roost in the Mourne Mountains, Northern Ireland, calling it “possibly the biggest fight I’ve ever had on a climb.” The route, first climbed by legendary trad climber John Dunne in 1995 after projecting the route, has become one of the U.K.’s most iconic trad testpieces. Later ascents came from Dave Birkett, Dave MacLeod and Ricky Bell, with its grade eventually settling at E9. Estimated at around 5.13c, Divided Years had seen only two previous ground-up ascents, both by James MacHaffie and Ryan Pasquill in 2015.…