Last September, Sasha DiGiulian, along with two other climbers, succeeded in climbing one of the world's most difficult routes. The film "Rayu" retraces this epic journey.
Rayu is an ultra-technical route rated 8C and located in the Picos de Europa, a massif of the Cantabrian mountain range located in Spain between the provinces of Asturias, Leon and Cantabria. It was there, in September 2022, that three climbers pushed the limits of female climbing. Sasha DiGiulian, Matilda Söderlund and Brette Harrington became the first female rope party to climb this route. The film Rayu (visible below in its entirety), produced and unveiled by the American climber's sponsor, looks back on this achievement by the three women.
Rayu was opened in 2020 by Iker Pou, Eneko Pou and Kico Cerdá, who spent five weeks on site to reach the end of this south face of the Peña Santa de Castilla. No one else managed to do it afterwards, leaving the three Spaniards as the sole authors of this feat. The idea of becoming the first women's team to do it came from Sasha DiGiulian, who asked the Swedish Matilda Söderlund (who has already climbed 9A) and the American Harrington (who is a specialist in long routes) to try this adventure.
After a spectacular first half of the climb in 6C, the three women reached a ledge with enough space to spend the night. They then moved on to more technical and steep passages up to a succession of cruxes in 8C. At the top, the view of the Atlantic was the reward for this great first and only second ascent on Rayu.
However, the sharp rock (to the point of making Brette Harrington's fingers bleed) and capricious weather were a struggle for several days. "There were some incredible storms when we were there," explains Sasha DiGiulian. "A huge hurricane hit off the coast of Portugal and we experienced the aftermath here. Some days it was foggy, some days it rained, and there were thunderstorms..." Nothing, however, that could prevent the three climbers from reaching the summit of Rayu.
