Adam Pecan and I met in Li Ming (Liming) and spent October and November establishing free routes to the tops of impressive walls in the main valley described in AAJ 2012 and 2013. The highest wall in the area, at just over 200m, is dubbed the Primitive Buttress, after the first route to reach the top of the formation: Back to the Primitive (8 pitches, III 5.11 A0, Dobie-Rasmussen, 2012).

We began work on a line left of Back to the Primitive known as the Lost World (5 pitches, III 5.11), which was likely one of the oldest rock climbing projects in the world. More than 100 years ago, locals pecked holes into the chimney 60m above the ground, and then evidently bashed in sticks to create a ladder, probably to access honey. Modern climbers Eben Farnsworth and Sarah Rasmussen pushed the line past the locals’ high point in 2012, but they retreated after a 35m run-out squeeze chimney. When Adam and I showed up, only pitch four remained unclimbed—the best on the route but also the hardest, at 5.11, with a 15cm (6”) crack through a roof. Above this the line joins Back to the Primitive, which it follows to the top.

Next up was a line started by the Chinese climber Griff, who called it Dawn Chimney. Acting on reports of loose rock in the flake system, Adam and I prepared the route from the top. The last two pitches were cleaned of enormous quantities of dirt and vegetation, exposing bomber rock. We also placed bolts to protect sections where natural gear might be suspect. On our first attempt we were successful in freeing what is now the tallest and most committing line in Li Ming: Dawn Chimney (8 pitches, IV 5.10+).

Brandon Gottung, USA