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Rhapsody is a 35 m long traditional climbing route up a thin crack on a slightly overhanging vertical basalt rock face on Dumbarton Rock, in Scotland. When Scottish climber Dave MacLeod made the first free ascent in 2006 it was Britain's first-ever E11-graded route, and at the grade of, Rhapsody became the world's hardest traditional climbing route. Almost two decades later, Rhapsody is only one level below the world's hardest traditional routes.

Rhapsody shares the same central crack-line as another traditional climbing route called Requiem (the two routes deviate for the last 10 metres near the top). Scottish climber Dave Cutherbson made the first free ascent of Requiem in 1983. It is now regarded as Britain's first-ever E8-graded route and at the consensus grade of E8 6b or, Requiem is also regarded as being one of the world's hardest routes when it was first ascended, of any format (i.e. traditional or sport climbing).

History
In 1983, Scottish climber Dave Cutherbson climbed the thin central crack on the northwest face of Dumbarton Rock in Scotland and called it Requiem. It was speculated at the time that the technical grade could be British 7a — or international — which would have been a new global grade milestone in rock climbing after 's 1979 ascent of Grand Illusion at. With repeats, the consensus grade of Requiem became E8 6b, or, making it the first-ever British E8-graded route, and in 1983, one of the hardest climbing routes in the world of any type (i.e. sport climbing or traditional climbing), as it was only in 1983 that Jerry Moffatt set a new global grade milestone with his sport climbing route, The Face, at.

In 2006, Scottish climber Dave MacLeod completed a 2-year project to continue Requiem's thinning central crack to the top, creating Rhapsody. MacLeod's route featured a large runout, and he took several 'bone crushing' 20-metre falls from its crux at the top, onto tiny wire nuts for protection. Rhapsody was the first-ever British E11-graded climbing route, and at the international grades of, was a new grade milestone in traditional climbing making it the "world's hardest traditional climb". In 2008, Canadian climber Sonnie Trotter made the first repeat of Rhapsody and added a variation between it and Requiem called Direqium that he graded. A few weeks after Trotter, British climber Steve McClure made the third repeat.

In 2014, British climber James Pearson made the fourth ascent of Rhapsody. Pearson had caused controversy in 2008 when he dismissed MacLeod's proposed grading despite not being able to complete the route. MacLeod in turn repeated Pearson's Walk of Life that he had proposed at E12 7a, but which MacLeod downgraded to E9 6c. After the controversy, Pearson left for France, but his wife, French climber Caroline Ciavaldini, urged Pearson needed to return to Rhapsody. Pearson said of his ascent: "I couldn't take it back, but perhaps I could do something to make up for it? A gesture of goodwill, or perhaps even a peace offering to the UK climbing community?". Just after Person's ascent, Ciavaldini made the first female free ascent of Requiem.

In 2016, Italian traditional climber Jacopo Larcher made the fifth repeat of Rhapsody, while his partner Barbara Zangerl made the second female ascent of Requiem, and the first repeat—and first female ascent—of Dave MacLeod's 2001 route, Achemine at E9 6c.

While in the years after MacLeod's first ascent, other traditional routes at the grade of were established (e.g. Beth Rodden's Meltdown),  Rhapsody only relinquished the title of "world's hardest traditional climb" with the 2019 ascent of Tribe by Jacopo Larcher, which is considered to be at, and at the British E-grade of E11 to E12, and also with the 2024 ascent of Bon Voyage by James Pearson, which was also considered to be at the technical grade of , and most likely at the British E-grade of E12.

Route
Rhapsody is essentially a crack climb that barely accommodates any fingers, and which breaks into three parts. The first is an easier circa E3 5b graded 10 m slab that gets to a ledge shared by several routes on the face. The second part is a 15 m narrow left-leaning diagonal graded crack up the centre of the face that both Requiem and Rhapsody follow. The climbing protection is considered to be thin (e.g. small wire nuts) but with solid placements, which is important given the potential falls to come.

The final section starts from a jug just 10 m from the top where the crack starts to peter out. From here, the line of Requiem moves directly right to another crack system that leads directly to the top. Rhapsody moves directly left on delicate holds before following the diminishing line of the original crack and a 14-move bouldering problem near the top. There is no additional climbing protection available in the third section, and with the hardest moves just before the very top, any fall will be a 'swinging fall' (i.e. because the climber moved left or right of the main crack depending on route) of up to 20-25 m in length. Jacopo Larcher had falls that sent him below the ledge of the first section.

Sonnie Trotter noted that Rhapsody felt like an eliminate, and that there was a more direct line between Rhapsody and Requiem that he called Direquiem at, which he felt was a more natural finish. Trotter noted that a climber on the final stages of Rhapsody had to deliberately keep themselves from reaching out to grab the arete that was on their left side, and which Trotter dubbed The Cop Out, and graded 5.13b/c (or 8a/a+).

Legacy
Requiem and Rhapsody have made Dunbarton Rock an important place in rock climbing history, with two routes that at the time of their first free ascent, were the hardest traditional climbing routes in the world, receiving media attention outside of climbing.

Ascents
Rhapsody has been climbed by:


 * 1st. Dave MacLeod in April 2006.


 * 2nd. Sonnie Trotter in June 2008.


 * 3rd. Steve McClure in June 2008.


 * 4th. James Pearson in September 2014.


 * 5th. Jacopo Larcher in May 2016.


 * 6th. Gérôme Pouvreau in September 2018.


 * 7th. Mathew Wright in April 2024.

Requiem has been climbed by:


 * 1st. Dave Cuthbertson in July 1983.


 * 1st female ascent. Caroline Ciavaldini in September 2014.

Filmography

 * Documentary on MacLeod's 2006 ascent:


 * Documentary on Pearsons's 2014 return: