Supported by BMC and MEF expedition grants, Sam Fansworth and George Ullrich joined Mason Earle (USA) and Siebe Vanhee (Belgium) in putting up a new route on Venezuela's Amuri Tepui.

A major feature on the south face of Amuri, three days jungle trek from the Indian village of Pemon, is the Salto Tuyuren, a waterfall dropping free from the rim of the summit plateau.

Behind it the 500m wall is estimated to overhang around 100m.

Dedicated Venezuelan activists, Anne and John Arran, who climbed the first route on this Tepui, did not have time to try a line directly behind the fall, but felt it had the potential to be the hardest and most overhanging big wall free climb on earth.

Earle, Farnsworth, Ullrich and Vanhee chose a line starting just left of the waterfall, accessing it via a convenient catwalk, avoiding initial vegetated pitches for which the tepuis are well known.

The team then spent 15 days establishing Kids with Guns (5.13a or E6 6c, and A3).

The route was completed in 21 pitches, nearly all on immaculate and wildly steep quartz-arenite, a type of old hard sandstone.

Technical face climbing and short sections of loose rock made route finding difficult and after 12 days they'd only reached half-height.

However, crossing the major roof system boosted moral and, above, they made faster progress, traversing right across the upper face, behind the waterfall, to an exit on the rim.

Portaledges were used, and every pitch required an impressively exposed abseil and a bracing start each morning, swinging out 20m before beginning the jumar to regain the previous day's high point.

Lack of time, food and water meant that the initial project, a totally free ascent, had to be shelved, though the climbers feel the entire route would go free. The team had plenty of talent for their ideal: Ullrich leads E9, Earle 5.13+, and Vanhee 8c.

As mentioned above, the Arrans made the first ascent on the tepui in 2008, climbing a steep line well left of the waterfall, which they named Amurita (E7 6b).

Last year another route was added closer to the waterfall. Wacupuro Amuri was put up over 13 days by two Venezuelans at A4 and 5.12+.

Both routes are so steep they stay dry until reaching the summit.



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