Pete Whittaker has made the first ascent of his longstanding multipitch trad project, Crown Royale, at Profile Wall in Jøssingfjord, Norway.

The route climbs the entirety of Profile Wall, the steepest part of which overhangs by ~25 degrees. The crux of the route is the second pitch, Eigerdosis 8c, which Pete made the first free ascent of just a month ago.

Sharing the news on instagram, Pete said the following:

'I must admit, I wasn't expecting to do the full line this season. But there we go, it happened!'

'Fun (and pumpy) to finally make the first ascent of Crown Royale, which is up there with the hardest bit of trad climbing I've done'.

'It was definitely the full 100m "Irish Mega Pitch" experience I was hoping for, with the weight of the rope pulling me back at the end of the steep section. Followed by another 20 metres of mandatory rope drag on the easier top out climbing. Then finally, untying at the end of the 80 metre rope and soloing the remaining 20 metres to the summit of Profilveggen'.

'I haven't fully decided on a proposed grade for the line yet, I'll have a think over the coming days. It came as a slight surprise doing it this season, due to the weather forecast and timings, so I haven't thought that far ahead yet'.

When Pete spoke to us last month, he told us that because he'd established the majority of the hard free climbing on Profile Wall in the last five years, he struggled to know exactly how difficult or easy the routes he established were, stating 'I suspect my climbs may have a "+" variation up or down over time'.

As such, it will be interesting to hear Pete's thoughts on the grade of the route. Regardless of the numerical grade that he decides upon, Crown Royale is likely one of the hardest trad lines in the world.

We'll be speaking to Pete in the next couple of days, so keep an eye out for the interview next week.