Now that V17 boulders have been established, is V18 next? We may know who has the beta on a V18. Do they think it’s possible or simply out of this world?
The hardest boulder problems in the world are getting repeated, which means the grades are standing. While anybody can propose a V17 boulder, the grade only sticks if repeated and agreed upon. For instance, some V17s have been downgraded to V16/V17, and one has even been suggested to be a V15.
With the evolution of climbing, we’ll see more repeats on V17 boulders in the coming years, if not months. And who knows, we may even see the first ascent of a V18 in that timeframe, too. But how much further can climbing be pushed?
Follow along for a breakdown of the hardest boulders in the world: Multiple V17 boulders, the controversy over the ethics used to climb, and a look at possible V18s.
V17 boulders
1. Burden of Dreams (V17/9A): Lappnor, Switzerland
First Ascent: Nalle Hukkataival, 2016
Have you ever wondered if board climbing helps outdoor bouldering? Well this problem is your answer. Burden of Dreams sits at a 45° overhanging angle and requires monster crimping and incredible body tension.
Burden of Dreams was the first proposed V17 boulder problem after Nalle Hukkataival sent it on October 23, 2016. Hukkataival’s first ascent required nearly four long years of projecting.
The boulder wasn’t repeated for a long time until Will Bosi came along who bagged the second ascent in April 2023 and agreed with the V17 grade. He was even livestreaming his attempts! Here, he can be found projecting the boulder on a replicated version indoors with Aidan Roberts:
The third ascent of this testpiece came from Simon Lorenzi when he sent it in December of 2023. Burden of Dreams marks Lorenzi’s third V17 ascent! He holds the first ascent of Soudain Seul near Fontainebleau and has climbed Shawn Rabatou’s Alphane in Chironico, Switzerland. Although his ascent of Sudain Seul seems controversial, more on that below.
Then, on March 25, 2024, Burden of Dreams saw its fourth ascent. An Italian climber little known to the international scene who has sent many V14s and V15s, some V16s: Elias Iagnemma. What’s cool about Iagnemma’s ascent is that he doesn’t use the beta all the previous climbers did. He adds in three unused holds!
2. Return of the Sleepwalker (V17/9A): Black Velvet Canyon, Nevada, USA
First Ascent: Daniel Woods, 2021
Daniel Woods pioneered a new beginning to the classic hard problem Sleepwalker (V16/9B+). This was after the first ascensionist, Jimmy Webb, established the tough boulder in 2018.
In 2021, Daniel Woods returned to Sleepwalker and set out to add a sit-start. The sit-start adds six moves to Sleepwalker and proposes that the grade be bumped to V17. The sit start variation of this climb adds in six moves of V13/8B climbing into the already established V16/8C+ boulder. Without a rest on the climb, Woods needed to climb efficiently to save enough energy to pull the lip.
Woods sent it after spending three months living and breathing this boulder problem. On March 30, 2021, Return of the Sleepwalker marked North America’s first V17.
The boulder didn’t see its next and only subsequent ascent until Will Bosi crossed the pond. Bosi spent a few days working Sleepwalker, sending it on his third day and downgrading Webb’s problem to a V15/8C. Climbers were worried that he would downgrade Return of the Sleepwalker the problem once he sent it.
But classic Will Bosi, sending Return of the Sleepwalker on February 20, 2024, confirmed the proposed grade. This send marked Bosi’s third V17 and puts him in contender with being the strongest boulderer in the world!
Check out Daniel Woods’ first ascent below:
3. Alphane (V17/9A): Chironico, Switzerland
First Ascent: Shawn Rabatou, 2022
Alphane is the most repeated V17 on the planet. Dave Graham discovered the boulder in the early 2000s. However, since V15 was the hardest grade at the time, it was abandoned, and he established Alphane Moon, V11/8A instead.
Alphane is described as a V15 stacked on top of a V14. Giuliano Cameroni said that whoever sends this climb must simultaneously be extremely powerful and technical. Daniel Woods commented that Alphane requires three distinct style transitions the climber must handle throughout the climb: the powerful crimps, technical body position on open hands, and the V10/7C+ finish.
Shawn Rabatou bagged the first ascent of this climb on April 6, 2022. If you know anything about Rabatou, he’s strong and mysterious. Four months later, he announced the ascent; you can watch it and other Mellow climbers here:
Next up was Aidan Roberts, who sent the boulder on October 19, 2022. Aidan’s thoughts about the climb were that the crux wasn’t any individual move. Therefore, instead, it was transitioning from the different styles throughout the climb.
Quickly after this send from Roberts, Will Bosi ventured to Switzerland and became the third person to send Alphane. October 31, 2022, marks the date of the first of three V17s Bosi has sent. In an interview with Climbing Magazine, Bosi said that Honeybadger (V16) felt easier for him. After sending Burden of Dreams, Bosi claims that Alphane is a soft V17.
The fourth ascent came from Simon Lorenzi on December 15, 2022. His ascent marked the problem as the most repeated V17 boulder!
Then, the most recent ascent came from professional competition climber Jakob Schubert. So even though typically seen pulling plastic, Schubert decided to celebrate the holidays early and found himself on top of the boulder. On December 21, 2022, Schubert became the fifth person to climb Alphane. Schubert is the first climber to have climbed a V17 boulder and a 5.15d/9c sport route!
4. Megatron (V17/9A): Eldorado Canyon, Colorado, USA
First Ascent: Shawn Rabatou, 2022
Shawn Rabatou had arguably the best bouldering year of any climber in 2022. After establishing the V17 Alphane in Switzerland, he returned to El Dorado Canyon in Colorado to keep pulling hard.
Megatron adds a sit start to the previously established Tron (V14/8B+), first sent by Daniel Woods. This boulder is the second V17 in North America after Return of the Sleepwalker.
With no rest opportunities, Megatron adds seven moves of V15/8C. Sitting at the top of a talus field, the boulder requires mega effort to reach and maximum strength to climb.
Prolific boulderers Daniel Woods and Drew Ruana have spent many sessions trying Megatron. You can watch Mellow’s documentation of what it took to climb Megatron here:
This climb is yet to be repeated, so the V17 grade technically stands as “proposed.” Without repeats, it isn’t easy to settle on a specific grade. However, since he’s sent two, somebody as strong as Rabatou likely knows what a V17 feels like.
5. L’Ombre du Voyager (The Traveler’s Shadow) V17/9A: Saève, Haute-Savoie, France
First Ascent: Charles Albert, AKA “Barefoot Charles,” November 2023
Barefoot Charles is known for his, you guessed it, barefoot climbing. After starring in his film, which premiered in Reel Rock’s season 8, the barefoot climber gained world popularity. There’s no denying that Albert climbs hard. However, some wonder if grades feel different to him because of his lack of climbing shoes.
Shoes aside, Barefoot Charles has proposed his second first ascent of a V17. His first one, No Kpote Only, was downgraded to V15 by climbers wearing shoes. More on that below.
Albert believes that climbing this new problem without shoes or kneepads could bring one closer to the elusive V18/9A+. Since almost certainly anybody going for the repeat will climb with shoes, he’s settled on V17.
L’Ombre du Voyager is nearly 10 metres long and sits in a limestone cave in France. After years of projecting, Albert believes he’s established another V17. With monos, finger locks, and tiny roof holds, the problem sounds heinous.
Has Barefoot Charles established the world’s next V17? We’ll have to wait until others repeat it!
6. Spots of Time (V17/9A): Lake District, UK
First Ascent: Aidan Roberts, November 2024
Aidan Roberts completed Spots of Time in his “backyard” in February of 2024 but decided against proposing a grade for a while. After his time of reflection, he proposes what is now considered the sixth official V17 worldwide. Here is a video of his send:
In an Instagram post about his send, he wrote, “So I can only share my opinion based on my own experience. Indeed, most of my time climbing here was solitary and I slightly lack input from others. I will however propose the grade of [V17], feeling that it compares in difficulty to others which I have tried, and harder than the confusing blurry pot of [V16] lines I’ve sampled.”
Now that Aidan has agreed to share his thoughts on the difficult of Spots of Time, will he consider expressing his feelings about his hardest climb to date? There’s no way it can’t at least be a V17, right? More on Aidan’s Arrival of the Birds boulder below.
Will Bosi is the only climber to send Spots of Time and agrees with Aidan’s grade assessment. The UK now has a line that Bosi thinks is “one of the best hard lines in the world.” You can watch his send here:
Disputed V17s
Climbing grades, while ultimately subjective, carry some consistency after they’ve been repeated many times. Anybody can propose a particular grade for a climb; that’s easy. What’s difficult is accepting that your proposed grade needs to be corrected after others have sent it.
When I first started bouldering outdoors, I cleaned a new line in a small park. I then nabbed what I thought was the first ascent. After struggling to decide on the grade, I opted for V6/7A. My little outdoor experience quickly told me that I was wrong.
After friends and others who had traveled to the area repeated the boulder, I learned I was way off. The grade now stands as V3/V4 — much different! So, it doesn’t matter what grade you propose a climb; just be prepared for others to contest your thoughts.
Proposing a high grade on a climb is an excellent way for others to challenge you. More climbers will flock to that area and see if you were right or contend that you were wrong. Either way, more people hopped on your climb!
1. No Kpote Only (No Shoes Only) V15/V16: Fontainebleau, France
First Ascent: Charles Albert, AKA “Barefoot Charles,” January 2019
Climbing without shoes or kneepads will undoubtedly make a boulder feel harder. I believe this happened with Barefoot Charles’ ascent of No Kpote Only. Should we take the grade of somebody who climbs barefoot or the consensus of others who wear shoes?
If I campus the whole thing, I can make a V2 feel like a V5, but I wouldn’t take the V5 grade. This is where climbing grades are tricky, and I still have work to do. Does using kneepads count as aid? What about simply using tape? All I know is that Barefoot Charles is climbing in the purest way. If we really get into it, should climbing shoes count as aid?
After proposing a grade of V17, Ryohei Kameyama repeated this climb. Kameyama suggested that the grade be V16/V17. Next came Nico Pelorson, who shocked the community and proposed V15, two grades lower! Who is to say how hard a climb is without “aid” other than Barefoot Charles?
2. Sudain Seul V16/V17: Fontaineblaue, France
First Ascent: Simon Lorenzi, August 2021
The Big Island is one of the most repeated V15s in the world. Sitting in beautiful Fontainebleau, it’s no wonder that the boulder has seen many sends. However, an extremely small number of people have climbed the established sit-start variation, making Sudain Seul.
Simon Lorenzi adds 6-7 moves of V12/8A+ into The Big Island. Without a rest, this stands as one of the hardest boulders in Fontainebleau. The controversy surrounding this problem is that Lorenzi used a book to widen the span of his kneebar. This certainly makes the climb easier, but should it still count? Or should his send receive an Asterix?
In March 2021, Nico Pelorson repeated the climb. While he claims it was one of the most challenging climbs he’s ever done, he proposed that it’s V16. But get this: In February 2022, Camille Coudert repeated Sudain Seul and agreed with Lorenzi’s grade assessment of V17.
So, which is it? V16 or V17? We likely won’t know until the problem has been repeated several times.
Possible new V17s!
Aidan Roberts has recently sent one of the hardest boulders he’s ever climbed. He prefers to focus on the process of a climb rather than its grade, making it hard for those curious about the grade.
Aidan has christened it Arrival of the Birds in Chiroinco, Switzerland. To put it into perspective, Aidan has dubbed Arrival of the Birds his hardest climb to date! As someone who has conquered multiple V17s, it’s safe to assume this boulder is in the same league. Check out his discussion on the Nugget Podcast about Arrival of the Birds:
V18 predictions
What does it take to climb V18? Will the holds just get smaller? According to Drew Ruana, a V18 could involve a V15 into a V16. Or a V16 stacked onto a V16. On The Nugget Climbing Podcast from 2022, Ruana hinted that he knows two or three possible V18s out there.
For Drew, many things need to be perfect for him to send V18. So to be confident on V17 boulders and says that a V17 would represent a season for him. Ruana says, “If I’m really lucky, just one season of pure dedicated work, probably some training to go into it.”
He also says he would need to train specifically for a V18 for at least six months. So Ruana speculates that he must hire a coach to give him specific workouts for a V18 boulder.
“There is such a fine line between something that is V18 and something that is just not possible by humans.” – Ruana. For him, his skin needs to be “absolutely perfect” to send V17 boulders. For a V18, he says everything- his skin, the conditions, the style- must be perfect. It would be a one-day-a-year try.
Who will climb V18 first?
As more outrageously hard boulders are being sent, it’s only a matter of time before V18 is established. While Ruana believes this grade is nearly impossible for humans, history has shown us that humans do the impossible.
If it were still 2022, I believe that Shawn Rabatou would be the first to send V18. Then again, in true Rabatou fashion, maybe he has and just hasn’t talked about it yet…
If Rabatou hasn’t sent a V18, my next bet is on Will Bosi. He’s climbed three V17 boulders, one per year, since 2022. The Scottish climber has been raging through hard boulders the last few years. If he stays healthy, then my money is on Will.
Realistically, either of these two climbers are on track to change history; the question is, who will do it first? Do you have a guess? Leave us a comment on who will send the first V18!
Products related to this article
Flashed Climbing
Metolius
0 Comments