Tim Emmett and Read Macadam have sent The Path 5.14R at Back of the Lake next to Lake Louise in the Rockies. The duo had been working on the test-piece over the past few weeks.

The Path was first climbed Sonnie Trotter in 2007 and had been repeated by Ethan Pringle, Matt Wilder, Peter Kamitses, Miles Adamson and Tommy Caldwell.

Macadam sent the route on his birthday and noted the route was his hardest trad send over 5.12a.

The Path starts up Wicked Gravity, a 20-metre 5.11a, before heading into a steep wall with run-out gear in solid quartzite.


Originally bolted during the Peter Arbic-era of development at the Lake, the route had been worked by top climbers, such as Ben Firth, before the bolts were chopped.

Trotter sent The Path after about 10 days of work over five weeks. After Caldwell sent the route, he said, “Definitely one of the best single pitch trad routes on the world.”

Check out a collection of their Instagram posts below, click on the first to watch a clip.