What are the hardest trad climbs ever onsighted/flashed?

Nerding out on a sunday night.

What is the hardest traditional route ever done first go?

Peter Croft FA on the Shadow? (my pick)
Alex Honnold on No Way Jose?
Yuji Hirayama on the Sphinx Crack (or El Nino)?
Stevie Haston on Greenspit (maybe some gear preplaced)?
Some British E8 route, but who really knows how hard they compared to the rest of the world?
Beth Rodden on the Phoenix?

many people have flashed 13b or c on el cap but maybe those routes are mixed or fixed.

Feel free to flame away, I know you will anyway...

Sonnie trotter has had some pretty impressive onsight/flashes. I remember a video where Honnold gave him the beta of some Squamish climb and he flashed. Hard 13 I think. Couldn't find the video though.

This list has several instances of 13a cracks being onsighted, so here are a few more:

-Peter Croft also onsighted The Phoenix, well before Rodden
-Mason Earle flashed the 13a roof crack in Quebec "Le Toit de Ben."
-The Wide Boyz did several 5.13 OWs first go (Belly Full of Bad Berries, etc)
-Alex Honnold flash-free soloed Heaven (5.12+)

But if you look around even on route descriptions for hard Indian Creek splitters, you'll see that flashes/onsights of 5.13 cracks there happen occasionally; certainly more often than we can report about it. Optimator, Ruby's Cafe, Less Than Zero, Winner Take All, Learning to Fly, and Six Star have all been flashed once or more.

I think that hard onsights/flashes of sketchy gear protected faces are a much more rare occurance, and without a doubt more badass. Todd Skinner and later Steve McLure on "Survival of the Fittest" at the Gunks, Ben Heeson and Alex Honnold on the gritstone, but beyond that I can't think of many others.

I think it's Lake of Fire 13c, the direct start of 69.

Aleks?

Big Red Roof 13b (Pinkpoint)
rockandice.com/video-galler…

I thought Honnold didn’t actually flash Heaven, admitting later he had Jimmy or one of the other people there hand him a rope on the mantel move at the top? I’m fairly certain I read that in Mark Synnott’s book?

Ryan Wood wrote: I thought Honnold didn’t actually flash Heaven, admitting later he had Jimmy or one of the other people there hand him a rope on the mantel move at the top? I’m fairly certain I read that in Mark Synnott’s book?

He came back to film it with Jimmy Chin, initially he tried it when Mason Earle was working it several years earlier.

Wouldn't be surprised if it some British guy, they are obsessed with onsighting. Just watched a video about the first E9 he was like yeah you would die if you fall, but the real prize is still out there the onsight. But yeah who knows what british grades are.

Concepcion / Acromaniac
Adam Ondra onsighted this Dean Potter mega line, at least 5.13

I would actually say Pete Cleveland’s onsight of Son of Great Chimney was one of the more impressive trad onsights.  Although only 5.11, it was one of the hardest climbs at the time (may have been the first 5.11), done on pins (they’re still there) and not much else (he essentially soloed the top, harder half of the climb).  No sticky rubber or modern pro.  When was the last time someone attempted to ONSIGHT a tricky gear route at the technical limits of the day?  This would be like trying to onsight an R/X rated 5.14+ today, unbelievable.

Alex Megos on the Path (5.14R).

Ryan Wood wrote: I thought Honnold didn’t actually flash Heaven, admitting later he had Jimmy or one of the other people there hand him a rope on the mantel move at the top? I’m fairly certain I read that in Mark Synnott’s book?

That may of happened while filming the Squarespace commercial. No photog when Honnold did it the first time.  I shot him on Cosmoc Debris (13b solo) that morning.  After we were done he said he was gonna go to Heaven and asked if I wanted to go with.  I was mentally cooked and said no.  And who knows what the books says but I believe one of Marks favorite lines is “100% of 80% percent of what I say is true”

Since I started this thread, I had the opportunity to give some cursory beta to Mikey and see him climb Compleat Angler at Trout Creek first go.  What really impressed me was his pacing, he knew when to hit the gas and when to rest.

Glad we can focus on  some climbing 

Nice Jon, I don’t think I ever saw that.  I hadn’t been crack climbing or placing gear at all when I did that thing.  I think I had the sport climbing jitters up there!  But at least I could hold on for a long time!  I am so slow.

Ondra on Salathe'?  Didn't he almost onsight the entire route a few years ago?

Key word: almost. ;)

Steven Sheets wrote: Alex Megos on the Path (5.14R).

I’d put money on this being the answer

Mikey Schaefer wrote:

That may of happened while filming the Squarespace commercial. No photog when Honnold did it the first time.  I shot him on Cosmoc Debris (13b solo) that morning.  After we were done he said he was gonna go to Heaven and asked if I wanted to go with.  I was mentally cooked and said no.  And who knows what the books says but I believe one of Marks favorite lines is “100% of 80% percent of what I say is true”

Edit:  maybe what Mark says is 100% of most of what I say is true...

Hah, that’s awesome. Thanks for the color Mikey. For those of us just getting into climbing, the books are the main portals to the climbers and their feats of the past, it’s awesome to hear stuff from the horses mouth, so to speak.

City park index, for sure. 5.13d sandbag. I think it’s only seen 6 or 7 assents 

lucas funkhouser wrote: City park index, for sure. 5.13d sandbag. I think it’s only seen 6 or 7 assents 

Definitely hasn’t been flashed or onsighted yet.  I’ve heard rumors the great Allen Watts almost flashed it for its 2nd ascent but his tips were bleeding so bad he slipped out.  Besides that attempt there is nothing even close.  My guess is no one has even sent in less that 15 tries or so.