Emma Twyford has made the ninth ascent, and second female ascent, of Mission Impossible (E9 7a), at Gallt Yr Ogof, in Gwynedd, Wales. 

The route, first climbed by Neil Carson in 1997, is well protected by a number of in-situ pegs as well as small runners or cams, but offers hard climbing at around French 8b.

It took more than a decade for the route to receive its first repeat, with James McHaffie stepping up to the mark in 2009 to make the second ascent.

A further seven years passed before Oli Grounsell made the third ascent in 2016. Since 2020, however, ascents have been relatively regular, with six in the past four years, kicked off by Angus Kille and Hazel Findlay in 2020.

The route is well known for being not only relentless in its steepness, but also hardly ever fully dry, meaning that opportunities to climb the route are few and far between.

Speaking to us after her ascent, Emma said:

'I had a proper look at Mission Impossible in 2022 but with my best friend Charlie's car accident happening that year, I really struggled to commit above a bolt, let alone gear, but I sometimes went up to go through the motions and take controlled falls. Last year I was getting close in June and then it stayed wet for most of the season with too much rain'.

'For some reason the crux just turned into a bit of a nemesis move for me, I'd do the first hard move but just get shut down on getting through the next repeatedly'.

'On my previous session I arrived at the crux with damp hands and the crux hold was seeping. In anger I changed my beta to the supposedly harder method so I could use a hold that stayed dry. Honestly I think it suited my style so much better this way. On my first lead attempt it went down this way, I'd been longing for a try hard fight but it somehow went in cruise mode, I just found this surreal dreamlike flow'.

'It's my first E9 post covid, it feels pretty sweet to find that form and headspace again. In terms of the grade, it feels more sporty as a substantial amount of the gear is pegs but some are pretty rusty. It also has a trad feel to it too with the start feeling a bit funky'.

'It's physically the hardest I've done at this grade, but probably not the most mentally taxing in terms of scare factor just in terms of perseverance. Sometimes the challenge is staying positive when you know you're on form and it's not quite equating'.

Mission Impossible is Emma's fourth ascent at E9. She broke into the grade with her ascent of Rare Lichen (E9 6c) in 2013, becoming the second British woman to climb the grade in the process, before climbing both Once Upon a Time in the South West (E9 6c) and The Big Issue (E9 6c) in 2018.