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In an attempt to make space for the newsworthy ascents that occur with ever-increasing regularity, our weekly news series 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
The News
Jack Kuenzle gives Denali an insane new speed record
I spent most of last fall and winter too injured to climb, and to stay sane I pivoted to trail running—an entirely new sport for me. My goal was to eventually complete New Hampshire’s Presidential Traverse (18 miles, 8,500 feet of elevation gain) in seven hours, by which point I hoped that my shoulder would be healed. It isn’t, really. But last Friday, after about five months of running slowly up hills, I managed to complete the traverse without adding to my injury list and safely within my goal time. I was pretty psyched. But while I was running, I couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that I was moving at literally half the pace that was run by Jack Kuenzle, the holder of the Presi Traverse’s current fastest known time (FKT), when he ran it in 3 hours and 38 minutes back in 2021.
Just three days after my own personal epic—three days in which I was too sore to walk—Jack Kuenzle knocked an hour and a half off the Denali speed record, going from base camp to the summit and back down in just 10 hours and 14 minutes. The time is still provisional (he hasn’t released his GPS data or made a formal announcement) but if it’s confirmed it’s a pretty handy step up from Karl Egloff’s 2019 time of 11 hours and 44 minutes. I’ve also heard that, for weather reasons, he wasn’t able to summit Denali prior to going for the record—pretty wild. For more about Kuenzle, check out this excellent article by our sibling magazine.
—Steven Potter
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Dave Graham does yet another V16 FA
Dave Graham might be 41, but he’s still as strong and thoughtful and weird and psyched as ever. The man, whose 8a profile reads, “I cant WAIT. New frontiers and whut not. press forward and forever onward,” has one of the most impressive resumes in U.S. history. He’s made first ascents of historic boulders, including The Story of Two Worlds, Big Paw, From Dirt Grows The Flowers, and The Island. In fall 2020, he sent Ali Hulk Sit Start Extension Total (5.15b) in Rodellar. Last year, in making the FA of Euclase V16, he finished his last Ticino project.
Yesterday, Graham reported on Instagram that in March he made yet another V16 FA with Celestite in Val Bavona. He described it as “a brilliant technical masterpiece” which required some crafty footwork and outward-facing moves. “The style of climbing required patience, balance, and a laser sharp focus, hard things to bundle all together; there was no just ‘trying hard.’” The right exit, which he estimates adds a V13 highball, will be Graham’s focus next winter.
As of late, many people may associate Graham with his cooky crystal obsession and his habit of speaking in long, yet insightful paragraphs. He’s an eccentric character in our small world, which, if you ask me, is just yet another way he makes it better. He humanizes the pro climbers, and he adds a fair amount of flavor at arguably a crucial time of development. As more and more climbers come into the sport, he’s an excellent role model, both for his talents and idiopathic tendencies.
—Delaney Miller
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Sam Weir does V15
Another thing I appreciated this last week: Some send news from Sam Weir. Weir spent much of the 2010s knocking off hard American climbs like Topaz and The Nest, both V15, but he’s been pretty quiet on the social media front since moving to Europe a few years ago. Now he’s sent Foundation’s Edge, a V15 roof first climbed by Dave Graham. Weir started working the climb in 2021, falling off the last hard moves some 20 times before winter called a halt to his efforts. He took 2022 rather easily, losing motivation for climbing outside and instead putting more effort into training. This consisted mostly of hangboarding, stretching, and weight training, he says, and it led to some clear gains: He sent Foundation’s Edge in just three attempts this year. “It was really cool to see that year of just basic training paid off,” he told 8a.nu.
—SP
THE VIDEOS
Burden of Dreams
On the heels of a recent slew of Will Bosi content, Adidas Terrex has dropped a film about Will Bosi’s quest to send Burden of Dreams.
Run time: 18:52
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Dr. Michaela Kiersch climbs La Rambla
Last January, Dr. Michaela Kiersch became the seventh woman—and second American woman—to send the 5.15a grade, clipping the chains of Ramón Julián Puigblanqué’s La Rambla in Siurana, Spain. Kiersch has been one of America’s most prolific sport climbers and boulderers of the last several years, sending multiple V14s and 5.14+s, including Chris Sharma’s Dreamcatcher and America’s first 5.14b, Super Tweak. Most of these sends were completed while she was pursuing her doctorate in Occupational Therapy at Rush University Medical Center. After she sent La Rambla, Climbing’s Senior Editor Delaney Miller asked her how she balanced everything. Kiersch’s response: “I think for me, it’s been important to remember that I can’t have all of my buckets full at once. You have to prioritize different areas of your life at different times. It wasn’t always the time for me to focus on climbing. School was my priority, and climbing was in the backseat. Now that I’m finished with school, I can really give myself space to explore my potential in the sport. And I think there was a lot of learning to be patient with myself and remembering that the time for climbing would come. And it did, and it’s really paid off so far.” Read the full interview here.
Run time: 8:20
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Watch the adidas Terrex team crush Switzerland
A few months ago the adidas Terrex team—which includes superstars like Will Bosi, Brooke Raboutou, Max Milne, Janja Garnbret, Dave Graham, Kai Lightner, Yannick Flohé, and other—gathered in Switzerland for team building days on the rocks. In the video, Yannick Flohé does the first ascent of Return of the Dreamtime (V16), which shares a start with Dreamtime but finishes on Jimmy Webb’s S0mnolence (V13).
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Mellow: Clément Lechamptois & Marine Thévenet boulder hard in Switzerland
Follow what may be the stongest bouldering couple in the world to Fionnay, Switzlerand, where (among other things) Clem Lechamptois puts down Shawn Raboutou’s Fuck the System, the V16 low start to the above-mentioned Foundation’s Edge; and Marine Thévenet gets the FFA of Compass North (V14), which was first climbed by Lechaptois and has seen repeats by Aidan Roberts and Daniel Woods.
Run time: 14 minutes