Iker Pou: First ascent of "Big Men"

In April 2015, Spanish climber Iker Pou made the first ascent of Big Men, a 20-year-old project in Mallorca. Carlos Raimundo bolted the impressive line, but it sat unclimbed until now. Pou has proposed a grade of 9a+ (5.15a), positioning it amongst the hardest climbs in the world. Check out the exclusive full-length video and interview with Iker below.

What drew you to Big Men in the first place?

"The first thing that drew me to the route was the line, the location, and, after trying a little bit, the aesthetic and fantastic moves.
I learned a lot from Big Men, especially the need to be patient and wait for the right conditions. Be calm and try to maintain the skin…"
 

Can you describe the process of projecting it?

"I saw the line for the first time two years ago and was impressed by the beauty of the route. Before I started trying Big Men, I did some nice climbs nearby, to get used to the style of the area. In the spring of 2014 I tried Big Men for the first time. In the first days, I couldn't do two of the cruxes, but I saw that it was possible. I needed to be in better shape. I climbed a lot that summer and returned in the autumn in better shape—I could do all the moves. After that, the motivation was up and I tried to link the two hard sections together, but couldn't. I fell again and again at the second crux. Autumn came to a close and I decided to leave the route for next season and train more on the campus board.
In the beginning of 2015 I returned in better shape than ever before and sent the route after a few weeks of attempts.
Big Men has two main cruxes; the first one is a one-finger pocket dyno (very hard for me) and the second is a section of small crimps. For me, the most difficult was to link the two sections, you need a good power endurance… and good luck!"
 

What was the most difficult part about the climb?

"To link the two hard sections and wait for good conditions (low humidity and cool temperatures). Good climbing conditions can be rare on an island; they depend on the direction of the wind. Sometimes you can find the rock totally wet, and this is mentally tough."
 

Big Men was bolted nearly 20 years ago by Carlos Raimundo.
Did he understand the difficulty of the climb he was creating? Or did it turn out to be much harder than intended?

"At the time Carlos bolted Big Men, it was more or less the last obvious line on the cliff. He tried it a little and realized that is was a project for the next generation."
 

Why has it taken so long to see a first ascent?

"Maybe because it's not a typical endurance route. Recently, people have focused more on long endurance routes and Big Men is more like an old-school power route. People don't look too much to the short and powerful routes these days."
 

Have you spoken to Carlos? How does he feel, after waiting so long to see this project climbed?

"I was speaking with Carlos and he was very happy for the ascent. After many years, the project that one day he dreamed could be a reality finally was climbed.
Before the ascent, Carlos helped me to re-bolt the line, as the bolts were old and dangerous. from the moment I said I wanted to do the climb, he was with the plan."
 

How far do you think sport climbing has come, or not come, in the last 20 years?

"Sport climbing constantly evolving. It's a young sport and I hope that in the coming years we'll see growth and maturity."

What does it feel like to take the FA of such a long standing climb?

"I'm happy to do the FA of this fantastic project. I think it goes to show that by working hard and exploring, you can do things you once believed to be impossible."

The video shows you training on a hangboard. Is that how you prepared for the climb? 

"This year I did a lot of onsight climbing. And after a good day of climbing outside, I decided to do more training and finished with the campus board. I felt good after hangboard sessions, always to keep my fingers in good shape."
 

Were you concerned about finger injuries on this route?

"I didn't have any problems with injuries on the route, but you need to be careful because the crux is a very small mono."

What was it like being filmed by drones? 

"It's not the best to have a drone flying over you, but when you're focused on the climb you forget it's there and don't hear the noise that the drone produces. More or less it's the same whether you have someone hanging over you or you have the "big fly"!"
 

You've spent a lot of time climbing hard routes on big alpine walls. Which do you prefer?
When you're preparing for a redpoint or a FA on a big wall does it require similar mental preparation or are they totally different?

"I prefer alpine walls. I always climb with my brother Eneko when we have an alpine project, but I like sport climbing a lot, too.
When you're climbing alpine walls, you need a good base of sport climbing; you need to be in a good shape. But for sport climbing you only need to be in good shape; it's not as hard mentally. 
I think you can only win the mental aspect by doing a lot of alpine climbing, starting from the lowest levels and improving slowly to the highest."
 

What message would you like people to take away from your ascent and this film?

That nothing is impossible!

Pou brothers in Mallorca.