UKBouldering.com
the shizzle => news => Topic started by: remus on May 31, 2022, 11:17:13 am
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Sam Prior and Aidan Roberts have started a podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/4TmPWUyjeqtBIm9bNz2QhR?si=c0a1e3d01a644ae2) and towards the end of episode 1 there's a tantalising mention of a new problem Shawn Raboutou has put up and is likely to give 9A which would make it the third in the world after Nalle's Burden of Dreams and DWood's Return of the Sleepwalker.
Sounds like Aidan put a few weeks in to it too so imagine it's not piss.
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Sam Prior and Aidan Roberts have started a podcast (https://open.spotify.com/show/4TmPWUyjeqtBIm9bNz2QhR?si=c0a1e3d01a644ae2) and towards the end of episode 1 there's a tantalising mention of a new problem Shawn Raboutou has put up and is likely to give 9A which would make it the third in the world after Nalle's Burden of Dreams and DWood's Return of the Sleepwalker.
Sounds like Aidan put a few weeks in to it too so imagine it's not piss.
Christ! Good we have Aiden to show it's not another No Kpote
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Didn't the big island sit also get 9A?
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New 9A on the bloc, surely...
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Didn't the big island sit also get 9A?
Doh, yeah that also gets 9A (going on the majority vote), so Shawn's thing would be the fourth.
https://climbing-history.org/climb/849/soudain-seul
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Seems a bit odd they talked about this given that Shawn (ugh that spelling really triggers me for some reason) obviously hasn't, presumably for a reason. I guess it was a well known project but still.
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Without having listened to the podcast, that doesn't sound too odd to me - you can't (and shouldn't be able to) embargo people talking about what you've done, especially if it's something they've then (or already) tried! Why does it strike you as odd?
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Agree with Alex, it's not Sam or Aidan's fault that Shawn seems remarkably relaxed about reporting the new things he's done recently (to the general public, as opposed to the in crowd of elite level boulderers).
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Of course, I just assumed that there was a reason this hasn't been reported, other than just Shawn not being arsed. Guess it's more odd that if there's a new 9A, this is how the climbing public find out.
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Agree with Barrows and Badders. It'd be a shame if we end up in a situation where people don't feel like they can talk about what happened at the crag because there's some weird omerta thing going on.
Maybe there is a good reason why Shawn has tried to keep it on the down low, but it's hard to imagine what it could be.
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A quick google finds below, though doesn't add much than 'we know what he's done but aren't going to tell you':
https://www.lacrux.com/en/klettern/first-ascent-of-fuck-the-system-8c-shawn-raboutou-silently-boulders-old-dave-graham-line/
More arrows in the quiver: When will Shawn communicate his 9a boulder?
Shawn Raboutou spent a large part of his winter season in Switzerland. And it's no secret that the American is in the form of his life right now, climbing a string of difficult boulders.
From conversations with numerous acquaintances of Raboutous, our magazine knows that the American climbed a 9a boulder (!) in Val Bavona for the first time, among other things. We know the details of the inspection, but we leave the communication primeur to Raboutou. When will he let the cat out of the bag?
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Random observation based on not a lot, but I get the impression Shawn just doesn't care much for publicity on social media? In regards to this 9A, he did it months ago now. Plenty of people have known about it, I guess just the loudest voices this time didn't.
And in regards to Sam and Aidan mentioning it publicly first, there's a lot of irony complaining about that on this site when the Significant Repeats thread often has the news before any instablam post or 8a.spew report because someone heard from a mate and wanted to share...
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From conversations with numerous acquaintances of Raboutous, our magazine knows that the American climbed a 9a boulder (!) in Val Bavona for the first time, among other things. We know the details of the inspection, but we leave the communication primeur to Raboutou. When will he let the cat out of the bag?
Wasn’t the podcast talking about one next to Alphane Moon in Chironico, so is there two?!
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It just goes to show how very little money there is to be made from climbing hard. If you cannot monetise it easily why would you tell the world, unless writing or videomaking is a hobby you like? Sounds like working for nothing.
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It’s all on his Flickr. You guys are useless .
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Just to be clear, I have absolutely no objection, to it getting mentioned, and don't think anyone should have to avoid talking about it! But doesn't anyone else think it's odd that a new 9A gets done and no one knows for months, it's not like Shawn and the rest of that group aren't active on social media, so I assumed there was some reason.
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Maybe this is the new climbing marketing hype, allow the rumour mills of the internet to buckle under the anticipation..
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdtbtv0Jhtf/
From the instagram..
shawnraboutou
Last summer I climbed an old @dave_graham_ project in Fionnay, Switzerland. This dude climbs like he’s from 2030 .. ahead of his time. Thanks DG for always inspiring!
Fuck the System (V16/8C+)
📸 @clem_lechap
felipe.camargo
Verified
Dude you should've posted this months ago...theres two more that u need to post...hurry up!
brookeclimbs
Verified
If only they knew
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It just goes to show how very little money there is to be made from climbing hard. If you cannot monetise it easily why would you tell the world, unless writing or videomaking is a hobby you like? Sounds like working for nothing.
Most do it for GLORY but the only men with glory are dead men.
Exhibit A posted above illustrates he’s not above posting his ascents on Evilgram.
Which rules out any authentic attempt of positioning himself as a DarkHorse and gaining some inner smugness or perhaps even enlightenment.
The fact it’s months down the line pretty much rules out the ‘wanting to enjoy it for myself for a while before posting ‘ angle. People only keep that shit up for a week max.
So something else is going on. I know not what that is but it’s certainly a stark contrast from people posting their 7Bs before they’ve got back to the car.
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Just to be clear, I have absolutely no objection, to it getting mentioned, and don't think anyone should have to avoid talking about it! But doesn't anyone else think it's odd that a new 9A gets done and no one knows for months, it's not like Shawn and the rest of that group aren't active on social media, so I assumed there was some reason.
Yes, it is odd in the context of everything else on social media. Maybe that's a good thing though? Avoiding the immediacy of social media's tendency to devour whatever the latest thing is and then move on in 10 seconds flat?
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I kind of like the word of mouth stuff. Makes it feel a bit more mysterious, underground, whatever you want to call.
I'd rather he do it and not bother mentioning it other than to his mates than I would him do it with a can of Tenzing or whatever at the bottom of the camera picture for the gram, you know? Like I'm not blaming people for that, people are offered sponsorship, fame, social media income etc they take it, but I prefer this more chilled, reserved way myself
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This makes me think there could be potential for a new type of media to cash in on this new ‘delayed gratification’ way of reporting hard climbs - someone could come up with a method of mass communication technology aimed at the climbing community which is engineered to be slow release.. could make it, say, paper-based, and only release it once per month, and then only to physical shops so that people have to travel to a building to purchase a piece of paper with the latest climbing news written on it. If it took off it might even pay enough for an editor to fact check stuff. Would make climbing all mysterious. Call it ‘on the ledge’ or something.
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It reminds me of Sharma's phase of not grading any of his new routes claiming that the grade didn't matter, which he later admitted was just a bit of a flex. I don't know whether or not this is the same.
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Didn't the Mellow guys do the same during their 2020 trip to Switzerland? I'm pretty certain they delayed the news of Jimmy and Woods repeating Off the Wagon Assis for a few months until they dropped the trailer to their video edit.
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It's like these guys are playing the media to maximise exposure and promotion rather than just doing it for our immediate benefit.
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It reminds me of Sharma's phase of not grading any of his new routes claiming that the grade didn't matter, which he later admitted was just a bit of a flex. I don't know whether or not this is the same.
I like that though. What's the point of being thr best unless you can have some fun with it? It's boring if they're all wholesome and humble and post it all on Instagram. There's a reason people like Jerry and it ain't cos he's all sweetness and light
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It's like these guys are playing the media to maximise exposure and promotion rather than just doing it for our immediate benefit.
I feel a strong need for Adam L's insider info on how much North Face will pay Shawn R for them.
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there's a lot of irony complaining about that on this site when the Significant Repeats thread often has the news before any instablam post or 8a.spew report because someone heard from a mate and wanted to share...
To be fair, Duma pointing out that them overtly dropping in that Shawn climbed a new 9A in what I imagine they hope to be a fairly widely consumed podcast, when Shawn has thus far avoided mentioning it himself, was "a bit odd", hardly constitutes a complaint, even in the UK.
I noticed it too. From what I had heard and read, I already knew there was a new 9A he had done, but had no idea where or what it was. Shawn being silent about it for so long intrigued me, but I just put it down to some kind of artsy 40 minute vid largely consisting of grainy black and white close ups and shots of strategically placed mellow merch (deeply cynical, I know) being in the pipeline. Aiden and Sam clearly thought that there was no issue with releasing the news semi-publicly (nor do I, to be very clear), but that appears to be counter to the behaviour, and implied wishes of the FA, and that is noteworthy imo.
We are left with an interesting philosophical paradox. We all know that to be a cool climber nowdays, you must not publicise your ascents, and rather let them spread in whispers over pints, leaked memoires, and vague allusions on flikr (the "dark-horse"). As such, to not publicise your ascents makes you cool. However, to not publicise your ascents in order to attain the kind of publicity and clandestine admiration only afforded to the dark horse makes you uncool (which I will term the "grey-donkey": not quite dark, not quite a horse). Are, therefore, the climbers who are happy to share ascents without caring what their contemporaries think the coolest of all? Precisely how many hashtags make you uncool? I try to operate in a post-equid state, whereby to even engage with the idea that anyone might care about anything I do flatters me into a state of discomfort. My personal feeling of superiority in this immediately makes me uncool. So, I suspect, does the fact that I am well shit.
Something to think about.
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Something to think about.
Or not thinking about as thinking about implies caring about, which is automatically uncool.
I think. Damn!
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5 x 8C+ boulders and possibly 2 x 9A boulders! That could make Shawn the best boulderer in the world on paper!
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Shawn needs to be careful here in case he has to make the world's first 9A retro claim, if some uninformed person suddenly climbs it. We don't want another Lawrencefield 6B FA debacle kicking off.
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Shawn needs to be careful here in case he has to make the world's first 9A retro claim, if some uninformed person suddenly climbs it. We don't want another Lawrencefield 6B FA debacle kicking off.
Now that is a debacle I would like to see.
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Retro claimers are at large these days. I blame Flickr
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You can’t fuckin win. You’re either a spray monkey gimp or viewed as trying to be too cool. Might aswell shut up shop.
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As the wise philosopher Bartholomew Simpson once said "Damned if you do, damned if you don't"
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You can’t fuckin win. You’re either a spray monkey gimp or viewed as trying to be too cool. Might aswell shut up shop.
You can only lose if you care. The real winners here are the ones who ostensibly care but actually don't, the wankers.
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You can’t fuckin win. You’re either a spray monkey gimp or viewed as trying to be too cool. Might aswell shut up shop.
Not sure about that, while it seems a bit trendy these days to moan about green tick spraying does anyone real think this about top level ascents - if someone climbs something internationally (or nationally) significant I'm really interested in hearing about it and instagram etc is the way this seems to be communicated these days.
This hints and whispers approach seems to impact bouldering much more than sport climbing, maybe that is related to whole 'cool surfer type' vibe that the likes of Mellow seem to want to project?
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When I do the hotly anticipated first ascent of my secret 9A project (current working name "Umbral Game") UKB can get the exclusive scoop, no worries
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I already heard rumours about this new 9A, but Aiden's and Sam's podcast is news to me! Any good?
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It's a nice little podcast yeah, if you have any interest in Aidan's climbing etc. then it's well worth a listen.
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It’s called Careless Talk isn’t it? A bit like calling a podcast about heavy metal Deaf Leopard ;) .
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My switzerland knowledge is pretty shit but I think this https://www.instagram.com/p/CaK1F9atWSr/ might be on the same bloc as alphane moon? in which case it might be the line in question.
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I thought potentially a direct start into this, but fun to speculate!
https://www.instagram.com/p/Cbis5GYPwQj/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
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There are of course a number of other reasons that someone might want to withhold the reporting of an FA. Here's a few I have witnessed.
There's potential to extend the problem further so I don't want anyone sniffing around until I've done it.
I have a number of projects in the immediate vicinity so I don't want anyone sniffing around until I've done them.
Access is sensitive so I am reluctant to promote.
I genuinely have poor executive function and whilst I intend to report stuff, I never quite get round to it or just forget.
Personally, I find it distasteful that folk are playing the media game for maximum impact or too 'cool' to report things. I guess we'll find out in due course what Shawn is upto.
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It's a bit strange that Shawn is being sheepish about the whole thing. He's really pulling the wool over everyone's eyes...
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Shawn the Sheepish
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Aiden's and Sam's podcast is news to me! Any good?
I enjoyed it, but I’m biased as I know Sam. It’s two mates chatting about Aiden’s climbing up to now (interesting to hear what his dad does). He’s a thoughtful person and worth a listen.
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It does seem a little like everyone and their dog has a climbing podcast these days, although they're free so I'm certainly not complaining! Hard to see how you can really differentiate it to draw people in but best of luck to them.
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or just forget.
Ra ta ta ta tata ta
I was going to post on IG.....
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Rumour has it that Shawn's done the Megatron proj as well as the Swizz one
https://www.8a.nu/news/shawns-9as-rumours-qpmk1
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I wonder if the answer to this is in the name of his new 8C+ recently reported. Seems to tell you his thoughts on the matter if you ask me :-\
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I wonder if the answer to this is in the name of his new 8C+ recently reported. Seems to tell you his thoughts on the matter if you ask me :-\
Fuck the System? But also shout out to my sponsors for allowing me to climb full time and travel the world (assuming his sponsors help out with that sort of thing. I obviously have no idea :)).
:off: just a thought, I wonder how long it'll be until sponsors muscle their way into FA names.
"NEWSFLASH. After 106 days of effort Adam Ondra has just established the world's first 9c+ with his ascent of Comparethemarket.com, a 70 meter stamina feast in the recently discovered Big Mac cave in northern Norway."
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Shit it's already happening. I've just had a quick search through UKC and there's already loads of climbs called The North Face.
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Back in the 80s a well known Lakes activist offered to name a new route on Dove Crag after a new type of rock boot. He was laughed out of the pub and subjected to ruthless piss taking.I wonder what the reaction would be today?
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:off: just a thought, I wonder how long it'll be until sponsors muscle their way into FA names.
Happened long ago - Asolo on Dove Crag in the Lakes had its naming rights sold on by the enterprising Bill Birkett in about 1981. Clearly didn’t do the company much good from a climbing shoe perspective - they were still about when I first started climbing but not sure they’ve made climbing shoes for 20 years.
(Damn, beaten to it by Sherlock!)
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https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/crookrise-541/diet_pepsi-62753
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What is the new 9A's name?
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What is the new 9A's name?
Dont think it has one yet.
On the sponsored names, some restaurants in Kalymnos payed for some routes to be equipped and have the routes named after them e.g. https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/spartacus_area-18410/alexis_zorbas-17716 is a restaurant in town. Good route, haven't tried the food.
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I wonder if the answer to this is in the name of his new 8C+ recently reported. Seems to tell you his thoughts on the matter if you ask me :-\
Fuck the System? But also shout out to my sponsors for allowing me to climb full time and travel the world (assuming his sponsors help out with that sort of thing. I obviously have no idea :)).
I was more thinking about this in terms of how the current system of sponsorship in climbing is more about social media clicks than what people are doing. And so as a fuck you to that he's not gonna play along. Of course he'll have his sponsor obligations, so I'm sure he still has to post a bit, etc.
I don't think there is some crazy reason for not reporting his ascents , I just think he doesn't like social media, or at least how it now plays into everything.
Personally I completely agree with it, and I hope he keeps fucking with people. Seeing the climbing world's reaction to all this is pretty amusing
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Was Castleberg sponsored by local businesses?
https://www.ukclimbing.com/logbook/crags/castleberg_crag-10441/
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Yes. And the rock quality is a tribute to that whole principle.
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Shawn used to be sponsored by North Face, but he's not listed on their athlete page anymore. Maybe he just dumped his sponsors?
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Ballet has gone pretty quiet too. These guys maybe just doing it for themselves..
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Maybe they binned him, and the prob name is a result?
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Ballet has gone pretty quiet too. These guys maybe just doing it for themselves..
Soz.. Nalle not Ballet.. I meant to say Nalle has gone pretty much off grid. I know this has been discussed but a similar story of a top climber operating below the radar. There are a few but less usual for people who have been well in the lime light and well at the top to slide out of view..
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One of shawn's hard FAs has been revealed.. Story of Three Worlds 8C+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oa0bXWl2RBs
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Sounds like we've now had all three of Shaun's rumoured big ascents from Switzerland then:
1. Fuck the System 8C+; low start to Foundations Edge, Fionnay - https://www.instagram.com/p/Cdtbtv0Jhtf/
2. Story of Three Worlds 8C+; extension of The Story of Two Worlds, Cresciano - https://youtu.be/oa0bXWl2RBs
3. Alphane 9A; left of Alphane Moon, Chironico - https://www.instagram.com/p/ChczmRCDDdi/
Fourth proposed 9A in the world after Burden of Dreams, Soudain Seul and Return of the Sleepwalker. I think my favourite thing about that little quartet is that they're all pretty incredible lines. No lowball choss wrangling with any of them!
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I guess you have to want to do them when they're that hard. Hard to be motivated by lowball choss wrangling
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I guess you have to want to do them when they're that hard. Hard to be motivated by lowball choss wrangling
I wouldn't put it past Adam Ondra!
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Pretty cool that Shawn established both Switzerland's first 8C+ (off the wagon low) and 9A (alphane).
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx6GPpO37C4
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His breakdown of 8C into 8C or 8C+ pops out of darth grader at 9c+.
Intriguing
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Alternative view for the thread:
Maybe Shawn is actually far from the anti-insta low-profile wad we thought he was: he's just waited months to announce a boulder, timed perfectly with a full film release. Top quality marketing for maximum views right there
:popcorn:
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His breakdown of 8C into 8C or 8C+ pops out of darth grader at 9c+.
Intriguing
24 moves with a shake in the middle. It’s a route
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This was also my thoughts too, surely anything with more than 10 or 12 moves is a route grade..
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What/were is the Megatron project, the other rumoured 9A?
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Everyone said the same thing about Dreamtime 22 years ago but it's still a benchmark :shrug:
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What/were is the Megatron project, the other rumoured 9A?
It's a low start to an existing Daniel.Woods problem called Tron. Grade maths is about 8C in to 8B+.
I think there might be a vid of d woods trying it somewhere?
https://climbing-history.org/climb/1147/megatron-project
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James Franco is definitely climbing well at the moment. Good vid.
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The video description and this write up in Gripped have annoyed me a bit;
https://gripped.com/profiles/shawn-raboutou-announces-ascent-of-alphane-v17/
It's not the world's third 9A... it's the fourth! Yes Nico Pelorson implied 8C+, but what he said was;
I think there are many climbers in the world who could climb the boulder with enough investment and that would not be the case with a real 9a boulder. But that's just my personal opinion, I respect Simon Lorenzi's opinion. Especially because the boulder could have been a bit more difficult with its body size.
I.e. it could still be 9A depending on your size and just because people could do it with investment doesn't mean it's not worth the grade.
Plus, I think more importantly, it was then re-confirmed at 9A by Camille Coudert. Which means if anything, it's the only 9A in the world to have been confirmed, the only one to have been repeated, and the only one with any consensus.
I get why you'd ignore No Kpote Only, as that's had several repeats with all downgrading it, but Soudain Seul as far as I'm concerned is worthy of inclusion unless it gets further repeats suggesting 8C+.
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Hang on I thought on the other thread we had to be honest with ourselves and take the lower grade 😄
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Hang on I thought on the other thread we had to be honest with ourselves and take the lower grade 😄
What he’s saying is no one will think less of you if you do take 9A for this so crack in!
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Hang on I thought on the other thread we had to be honest with ourselves and take the lower grade 😄
Well I haven't done it yet so :shrug:
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His breakdown of 8C into 8C or 8C+ pops out of darth grader at 9c+.
Intriguing
The hardest climb in the world is now irrefutably a boulder problem! Take that Ondra! with you're "9b is about as hard as 8C+, but I've done 9c so I clearly climb harder than all the boulderers" (please don't ask me to verify what he actually said, this might just be a fabrication of my imagination ;) )
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His breakdown of 8C into 8C or 8C+ pops out of darth grader at 9c+.
Intriguing
The hardest climb in the world is now irrefutably a boulder problem! Take that Ondra! with you're "9b is about as hard as 8C+, but I've done 9c so I clearly climb harder than all the boulderers" (please don't ask me to verify what he actually said, this might just be a fabrication of my imagination ;) )
Interesting, because rightly or wrongly, I was thinking Ondra would be all over Alphane - long, varied grips and lots of hard positions. I wouldn't give him as much chance on BOD though.
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Alternative view for the thread:
Maybe Shawn is actually far from the anti-insta low-profile wad we thought he was: he's just waited months to announce a boulder, timed perfectly with a full film release. Top quality marketing for maximum views right there
:popcorn:
Shawn being silent about it for so long intrigued me, but I just put it down to some kind of artsy 40 minute vid largely consisting of grainy black and white close ups and shots of strategically placed mellow merch (deeply cynical, I know) being in the pipeline.
Don't say I didn't warn you!
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Interesting, because rightly or wrongly, I was thinking Ondra would be all over Alphane - long, varied grips and lots of hard positions. I wouldn't give him as much chance on BOD though.
I'd be intrigued to see how Ondra got on with it. I could imagine him struggling though, my impression is that Shawn is pretty good at a lot of the same stuff Ondra is good at (funky body positions, big drop knees, heels/toes etc.) while also being strong on the basic stuff in a way that Ondra isn't.
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His breakdown of 8C into 8C or 8C+ pops out of darth grader at 9c+.
Intriguing
The hardest climb in the world is now irrefutably a boulder problem! Take that Ondra! with you're "9b is about as hard as 8C+, but I've done 9c so I clearly climb harder than all the boulderers" (please don't ask me to verify what he actually said, this might just be a fabrication of my imagination ;) )
I would have an easier time believing that he could climb 9c+ if he could climb a short bouldery 9a close to his parent's vacation home.
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His breakdown of 8C into 8C or 8C+ pops out of darth grader at 9c+.
Intriguing
The hardest climb in the world is now irrefutably a boulder problem! Take that Ondra! with you're "9b is about as hard as 8C+, but I've done 9c so I clearly climb harder than all the boulderers" (please don't ask me to verify what he actually said, this might just be a fabrication of my imagination ;) )
I would have an easier time believing that he could climb 9c+ if he could climb a short bouldery 9a close to his parent's vacation home.
Which crag?
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Alternative view for the thread:
Maybe Shawn is actually far from the anti-insta low-profile wad we thought he was: he's just waited months to announce a boulder, timed perfectly with a full film release. Top quality marketing for maximum views right there
:popcorn:
Shawn being silent about it for so long intrigued me, but I just put it down to some kind of artsy 40 minute vid largely consisting of grainy black and white close ups and shots of strategically placed mellow merch (deeply cynical, I know) being in the pipeline.
Don't say I didn't warn you!
Must have skimmed past that - unnervingly accurate prediction :beer2:
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I would have an easier time believing that he could climb 9c+ if he could climb a short bouldery 9a close to his parent's vacation home.
Which crag?
My story has of course no other point than that it is more difficult to climb with a rope than some climbers would like to think. And being malicious gossip, of course.
Super Manjoc.
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I would have an easier time believing that he could climb 9c+ if he could climb a short bouldery 9a close to his parent's vacation home.
Which crag?
My story has of course no other point than that it is more difficult to climb with a rope than some climbers would like to think. And being malicious gossip, of course.
Super Manjoc.
Agreed. More gossip please.
On topic: Jacob Shoeburp to repeat this within a year
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Loads of interesting stuff mentioned in this interview https://www.climbing.com/news/shawn-raboutou-alphane-v17/
- Alphane took about 25 sessions
- It's the easier exit of something else he was originally trying...
- Sport climbing: “I was trying Bibliography (5.15c) actually and got nowhere close,”
- Megatron: “I have another cool video coming out soon.”
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rx6GPpO37C4
Now in HD, I never remember 360p looking that bad back in the day!
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Maybe Shawn is actually far from the anti-insta low-profile wad we thought he was: he's just waited months to announce a boulder, timed perfectly with a full film release. Top quality marketing for maximum views right there
:popcorn:
I got the impression that Shawn invented the idea for Mellow—at least, he helped with the name and branding. I wonder how much they make from ads? (and t shirt sales lol) And now this video is "from the North Face", so kind of a win-win.
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Simon Lorenzi looks like he's making decent progress - in August...
https://instagram.com/stories/simonlorenzi/2911288478640547092?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
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woah that makes it look a lot steeper than I initially thought
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Good to see the UKB envoy asking the important questions https://www.instagram.com/p/ChnCNhOONV-/ :lol:
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Any chance of a sample for non-instagramers?
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(https://i.ibb.co/H4MmMGb/A593-CFEE-2118-4861-A000-51-B7579-B0-EB6.jpg)
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Better than I could possibly have imagined ;D
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A short interview with Simon Lorenzi about his recent attempts on Alphane https://planetgrimpe.com/simon-lorenzi-est-alle-essayer-alphane-le-nouveau-9a-bloc-et-nous-en-parle/
I found this (google translated) statement quite interesting
In terms of level, I'm pretty sure 'Alphane' isn't any harder than 'Suddenly Alone' given the progress and connections I've made in bouldering in this heat. The only way to be sure will be to try in good conditions, because it's impossible to know how different the bouldering will be with 15°C less.
I've seen a few places disregard Soudain Seul as a possible 9A, stating Alphane as the 3rd (after BOD and ROTSW). It would be cool if Simon did go back and manage a reasonably swift repeat of Alphane.
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I've seen a few places disregard Soudain Seul as a possible 9A, stating Alphane as the 3rd (after BOD and ROTSW). It would be cool if Simon did go back and manage a reasonably swift repeat of Alphane.
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Given the access and Lorenzi's/Robert's apparent progress, my money is on Alphane being repeated before the end of the year.
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Given the access and Lorenzi's/Robert's apparent progress, my money is on Alphane being repeated before the end of the year.
I suspect you're correct, but "apparent progress" can be misleading - especially with power-stamina routes and problems. Obviously there are levels to this kind of stuff, but I have direct and indirect experience of finding all the moves easy but then spending months falling from "easy" ground.
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Didn't Shawn have all of the moves after only a few sessions as well?
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Looks like Bosi is planning on spending some time on Alphane https://www.instagram.com/p/CjA72UCDBSv/
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Currently listening to the recent Nugget Climbing podcast with Drew Ruana, where he says he’s put in around 70 sessions on Megatron! Interestingly, he doesn’t mention anything about a Raboutou FA.
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70 sessions! How do they do it?
I'm about 7 sessions into my project and ready to give up on climbing altogether!
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Pffft, you're such a Soul Climber, LH89.
Ask shark for spiritual guidance about the long term misery of multi-decade projecteering.
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Pffft, you're such a Soul Climber, LH89.
Ask shark for spiritual guidance about the long term misery of multi-decade projecteering.
In the aims for 2023 thread I'll be stealing your posts from previous editions. Fuck goal climbing! :beer2:
(just this last one I promise)
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Ask shark for spiritual guidance about the long term misery of multi-decade projecteering.
”I suspect the reason I'm predisposed to getting locked into routes or problems (sometimes for years) is not because this is the best path to higher grades but is a personality trait or flaw. Maybe low level OCD.” (https://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,15394.msg436441.html#msg436441)
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Currently listening to the recent Nugget Climbing podcast with Drew Ruana, where he says he’s put in around 70 sessions on Megatron! Interestingly, he doesn’t mention anything about a Raboutou FA.
Drew posted a comment on reddit possibly implies Shawn has done Megatron. He posted:
"Meg is probably harder. Shawn said so at least. It’s a lot more brutal on skin and conditions which has a huge effect on long term project"
In response to someone else saying:
"Shawn has also sent the Megatron project supposedly, so i feel like he would have a good idea on the difficulty comparison to grade Alphane v17"
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Megatron vid out on Friday
https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck_SnuhDXC8/?igshid=MDJmNzVkMjY=
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Need to have a whip around so we can send Will and Aidan out there to nab a quick repeat and allude to how it isn't as hard as some grotty limestone proj back in the uk.
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https://instagram.com/giuliano_cameroni?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=
Looks like shawn is trying burden, also looks like much of the wooded area has gone which might mean better conditons are more common?
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2nd ascent of Burden sweepstake, place your bets:
Aidan Roberts
Will Bosi
Vadim Timonov
Shawn Raboutou
Giuliano Cameroni
Other
I'll tentatively go Timonov
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Toru given he's linked the first crux to the 3rd move which is better than others I believe by a bit?
Or Shawn seems a fair vote. Sounds like it would suit him if it's quite powerful?
Not sure if timonov will get to try it again soon with current Russian/Finnish boarder situation?
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My bet would be on one of the japanese wads. Toru has been putting time in recently and has good form on ratty crimps.
Has Timonov climbed any 8C+? Big jump otherwise!
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Will Timonov be able to get a Finnish visa in current circumstances?
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Has Timonov climbed any 8C+? Big jump otherwise!
I still want to believe that he who can do the most pullups can climb the hardest ;D
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Toru I reckon. I think Will said he wasn't keen, otherwise I think he'd have a great shout.
I wonder whether, due to height, Shawn will be able to do the wide foot beta, or if he'll have to go with Nalle's original harder looking sequence.
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My bet would be on one of the japanese wads. Toru has been putting time in recently and has good form on ratty crimps.
Has Timonov climbed any 8C+? Big jump otherwise!
He's done off the Wagon sit. Not sure about any others.
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My bet would be on one of the japanese wads. Toru has been putting time in recently and has good form on ratty crimps.
Has Timonov climbed any 8C+? Big jump otherwise!
He's done off the Wagon sit. Not sure about any others.
Hmm, have you got a link? A few places mention him doing the normal start but can't see the sit reported anywhere. Might be getting confused with Sergei Topishko?
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He has a post about doing the stand 20 plus times but not doing the sitter, idk if he returned...
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Is any of the current elite clearly stronger than Nalle was six-seven years ago? (I am not following bouldering with any greater interest then alpine rock climbing for instance, so I would not know). A reasonably quick repeat, like in two trips or so, is maybe only possible for someone who is clearly better than Hukkataival was, so that would be someone who consistently does 8C in a session and sometimes 8C+ in a session too. Is that Shawn Rabatou? (Again, I have no idea)
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Is any of the current elite clearly stronger than Nalle was six-seven years ago? (I am not following bouldering with any greater interest then alpine rock climbing for instance, so I would not know). A reasonably quick repeat, like in two trips or so, is maybe only possible for someone who is clearly better than Hukkataival was, so that would be someone who consistently does 8C in a session and sometimes 8C+ in a session too. Is that Shawn Rabatou? (Again, I have no idea)
Yeah, I think it's fair to say the current crop (Shawn, Bosi, Aidan) are stronger than Nalle is/was, though I don't think anyone is currently on 8C+-in-a-session form. Burden is apparently pretty conditions dependent though so I suspect their margin is still small enough that they'll need to put a lot of time in to get form and conditions to line up.
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Maybe Burden of Dreams is to 9A what Indian Face was to E9. So you're claiming all these E9s and 10s, unfortunately some day you'll be honour bound to do IF.
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A canny investment would be an Air BnB nearby.
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A canny investment would be an Air BnB nearby.
East Helsinki is less than an hour away.
Is any of the current elite clearly stronger than Nalle was six-seven years ago? (I am not following bouldering with any greater interest then alpine rock climbing for instance, so I would not know). A reasonably quick repeat, like in two trips or so, is maybe only possible for someone who is clearly better than Hukkataival was, so that would be someone who consistently does 8C in a session and sometimes 8C+ in a session too. Is that Shawn Rabatou? (Again, I have no idea)
Yeah, I think it's fair to say the current crop (Shawn, Bosi, Aidan) are stronger than Nalle is/was, though I don't think anyone is currently on 8C+-in-a-session form. Burden is apparently pretty conditions dependent though so I suspect their margin is still small enough that they'll need to put a lot of time in to get form and conditions to line up.
That's what I mean. Not just a tiny bit stronger, immeasurable by bouldering grade, but actually half a grade stronger is likely needed.
Nalle did several proposed 8C in a session around the time he did Burden of Dreams, which gave him confidence to propose 9A iirc. Measurably stronger would be to do a handful of proposed 8C+ in a session.
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Well Aidan recently did an 8C "first go" (i.e tried the moves briefly on a rope, got to the top on the first proper try) so that may count as measurably stronger.
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JWI - that seems to be a narrow definition of 'measurably better'. Shawn Raboutou is 24 and has already climbed more 8C+ and 9A boulders than Nalle. That is measurably better in a different way. Aidan Roberts recently climbed 8C first try from the bottom after a brief top rope practice whilst looking for something to do after his quick repeat of Alphane 9A. In the final days of this trip he claimed another 8C+ first ascent that has been attempted by many (i.e. not soft). Will Bosi repeated Alphane 9A in less than 2 weeks, made a first ascent in the Peak that he said was harder than Alphane, and has done god knows how many 8C's and above this year (20?), most of them in a session including 8C+ in 2 sessions during his Switzerland trip I believe?
Whether those feats are enough, time will tell. Though the wildcard that might see Burden get repeated quickly is replica training. I'm not sure if Nalle had a replica, but it probably wasn't as good as Aidan's with 3D printed holds on a purpose built board!
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I'm not sure if Nalle had a replica, but it probably wasn't as good as Aidan's with 3D printed holds on a purpose built board!
He did iirc, but it was a more conventional replica, being just "similar" holds in the right places on a 45 to simulate the moves.
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Liamhutch89, it does not work that way, imho. People are obviously going to do more hard problems or routes if there are more to choose from. Am I a better climber now than when I'd done just a few 8bs? Not at all, just older and living somewhere where there are tons of them.
The best way to measure level is highest repeatable grade flash, in a session, in a few sessions, and after siege. The same goes for routes, a climber's level is their highest repeatable ability to onsight/flash, within two sessions, in a season and after siege. (And Adam Ondra managed to demonstrate the required level for a siege ascent of 9c after he proposed the grade, the same goes for Séb Bouin except for onsight/flash – a style he is notoriously bad at)
Again, it is highly likely that the current crop has better stats than Nalle did, I just don't pay enough attention to know.
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I don't think Nalle was on better form than Daniel Woods or Jimmy Webb when he first did Burden, so maybe it's not the same for bouldering? Will and Aidan have just repeated a 9A in a matter of weeks so it's not implausible that either of them could go and do Burden on their next trip.
Aidan and Shawn both appear to be psyched for it, so hopefully we'll see who's right over the next year or so!
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Jesus Christ, I just fell into a cyclic wormhole where I was grading hard boulders by the level at which the first ascensionist was climbing, whilst trying to rank climbers by how quickly they repeat the hardest boulders. Pull me oooooouuuuuuuttttttt
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By JWI's metrics would that mean that Will Bosi is currently the best boulderer in the world? He has had a good number of flashes in the 8A+ to 8B+ range as of recent, not to mention multiple 8C boulders in a session 9A in 10 sessions and 8C+ in 2.
Hmm, have you got a link? A few places mention him doing the normal start but can't see the sit reported anywhere. Might be getting confused with Sergei Topishko?
I think you're right, after further checks it appears he hasn't done it yet.
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Will Bosi is currently the best boulderer in the world?
This is my impression exactly, but I am not following the news particularly well and I am well aware that some people do not report stuff ascents that they think are no big deal.
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Tops the 8a.nu rankings too
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I would rather donate money to NRA than give Jens a single click.
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Is any of the current elite clearly stronger than Nalle was six-seven years ago? (I am not following bouldering with any greater interest then alpine rock climbing for instance, so I would not know). A reasonably quick repeat, like in two trips or so, is maybe only possible for someone who is clearly better than Hukkataival was, so that would be someone who consistently does 8C in a session and sometimes 8C+ in a session too. Is that Shawn Rabatou? (Again, I have no idea)
Yeah, I think it's fair to say the current crop (Shawn, Bosi, Aidan) are stronger than Nalle is/was, though I don't think anyone is currently on 8C+-in-a-session form. Burden is apparently pretty conditions dependent though so I suspect their margin is still small enough that they'll need to put a lot of time in to get form and conditions to line up.
Just on this, I suspect that not only are the very top people operating at a higher level but those below are too. Witness, for example, Nicolai Uznik (15th in the 2022 Boulder World Cup overall ranking, so very much an also-ran albeit he then did very well at the Euro Champs) bashing out Bugeleisen Sit a couple of years ago.
https://youtu.be/SqsnG3W9Nao
A few years earlier Nalle, in making the first ascent, described it as "the biggest battle I've ever had with a climb, both mentally and physically".
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I don't disagree with you, but worth mentioning that part of the difference between time to FA and time to repeat will be explained by the difference in difficulty between repeating and FAing. Uznik came to that climb knowing that it was possible, the grade, a sequence that worked, and may have been able to speak to Nalle to get the crucial microbeta about spragging a quark delivered on a plate.
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spragging a quark
Classy reference, love it.
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bleedin' bivvy ledge. etc