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In an attempt to make space for the newsworthy ascents that occur with ever-increasing regularity, our weekly news roundup tries to celebrate a few outstanding climbs (or interesting events) that for one reason or another caught our attention. We hope you enjoy it. —The editors
Drew Ruana Continues His Rampage Through Colorado’s Hardest Climbs
A year ago, I wrote a short profile about Drew Ruana’s quest to climb all the V14s and harder in Colorado, talking about how the completist nature of this quest makes it necessary for him to invest time into both Colorado’s classics and its grittiest lowballs, the climbs that are in his style and the climbs that simply don’t suit him. This last point is especially laudable, since most climbers (myself included) tend to select projects that favor the styles that work best for us. Folks like Aidan Roberts (a thoughtful climber who I also admire), have embraced this specialization, rationalizing that if they’re especially gifted in a particular style, one way they can give back to the sport is to push the boundaries of difficulty in that style so that they can show others what’s possible. Meanwhile Drew Ruana, who’s done 10 V16s to date and was very close to sending Megatron (V17) in 2021, is also slugging away at stubborn “easier” climbs because that’s what it takes to send all of Colorado. Will this help him build the kind of well-rounded base required to push the sport’s difficulty limit into whole new levels? It very well may. After all, one of his takeaways upon sending Aidan Roberts’ Railway (V15) last weekend was that “sometimes the best training is simply waiting for the right time.” After finding himself relatively shut down by the shouldery crimp line in 2022 and 2021, he decided that, rather than sieging it, he’d simply wait until he felt stronger. This year, he fell off the top five times in a single day before getting it done. This is just another small notch in Ruana’s already impressive 2023 season; he’s knocked off multiple V16s, including the second ascent of Griffin Whitesides’s Howl at the Moon Sit (V16), the third ascent of Daniel Woods’ Everything Gneiss (V15+), and the first ascents of Maxwell’s Demon Sit (V16), Fox and the Hound Sit (V15), and more V14s than I’m going to bother to count. (He posted about yet another one today.)
—Steven Potter
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Elnaz Rekabi Returns to the Circuit
Iran’s Elnaz Rekabi last competed in the 2022 Asian Championships, where she took to the wall without a hijab and, in doing so, became—intentionally or not—a symbol for the country’s ongoing anti-regime protests. Concerns for her safety mounted as rumors circulated regarding her whereabouts and the possible destruction of her family home. Climbing could not verify what actually happened following the competition, but it was a relief to see Rekabi competing in Brixen—she placed 41st.
—Delaney Miller
Andy Lamb repeats The Megg, Canada’s only V16
Andy Lamb, older brother of rock-crusher Katie Lamb, isn’t much of a household name outside core U.S. bouldering circles—yet with ascents of Creature from the Black Lagoon (V16), The Nest (V15), Delirium (V15), Dreamtime (V15), and The Story of Two Worlds (V15), he’s got a bouldering resume that could make him one. Instead of hyping himself constantly, however, Lamb—a Stanford-educated software engineer—seems content to climb hard without the spray. Now he’s made the second ascent of Gabe Lawson’s The Megg, an improbable granite arete in Squamish that, at V16, is the hardest graded boulder problem in Canada. Dang good work for a weekend warrior. —Steven Potter
Austin Purdy does his first V16
Another not-quite household name, Austin Purdy, age 25, has sent Drew Ruana’s Insomniac, in Lincoln Lake. Insomniac tackles the eight-move V13 opening sequence of Jimmy Webb’s Wheel of Wolvo into the starting jug of Dave Graham’s We Can Build You, which was originally considered V14 but which Purdy thinks is easier thanks to new beta. Describing the moves after making the FA in July 2021, Drew Ruana said that “the first section is the most physically demanding part, sapping a lot of power before the end. The second half is a power endurance nightmare, making for a 30-move frenzy of hard moves with a heartbreaker at the end.” Since Ruana first climbed it, Insomniac has seen repeats by Shawn Raboutou, Daniel Woods, and Jimmy Webb.
“I’m still in disbelief that this happened!” Purdy wrote on Instagram. “V16 is a grade that didn’t even exist when I started climbing and is something I never thought I would achieve. Because of this I am a bit reluctant to believe I actually climbed something that hard. Regardless of the grade though, this is certainly the hardest thing I have ever climbed and I’m excited to see what else I can achieve!”
Purdy is not new to hard climbs—he’s fresh off spring sends of The Multiverse and Delirium, both V15—but he’s spent much of his climbing time over the last few years building up a strong pyramid, which includes more than 750 problems V10 and harder. Speaking to 8a.nu on this subject in 2021, Purdy said: “I really enjoy pushing myself and climbing at my limit, but I feel like many climbers are only interested in climbing boulders with higher numbers near their max grade. For me though, just because I can climb [V15] doesn’t mean I don’t have fun climbing [V11s] just because it isn’t my limit. In fact, I feel like one of the great things about climbing harder is it gives you the ability to send so many more cool boulders because you can do them quickly, and some of my most enjoyable climbing days have been ones where I try and do as many [V10s or V11s] as possible instead of failing on something near my limit.”—Steven Potter
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