‘Sleepwalker’ Gets Downgraded; 5.13 Offwidth Flashed by Ex-Comp Climber; Garnbret Does ‘New Baseline’

This article originally appeared on Climbing

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

Alex Waterhouse flashes Belly Full of Bad Berries (5.13b), his first ever offwidth

One of the first offwidths I ever climbed was the 5.10 second pitch of Sunshine Crack in the Bugaboos--before the feature collapsed last year. My partner, having just clipped the anchors after a long and terrifying hour of also learning to climb offwidths with the wrong size cams, yelled down that he would buy me a six pack if I could flash the pitch. I tried so hard in the No. 6 section that I dry heaved upon reaching the chains. And I'd still rested on the rope twice.

And with that, let me tell you about the ex-comp climber Alex Waterhouse's first offwidth experience: an absolutely mind-boggling flash of the Indian Creek testpiece Belly Full of Bad Berries (5.13b). "I [was] pumped out of my mind in a totally new way," Waterhouse wrote on Instagram. "My ankles and toes were the worst from desperately twisting them into the crack to stay on, but my core, hips, arms, and hands were all at the edge of failure." Despite the baffling new style Waterhouse pressed on, trying the hardest he's ever had to on a climb.

"My body felt like it was shutting down, but in a wide pony I could still make an inch of progress at a time, so I kept shuffling, screaming louder every move," he said. "The holds next to the anchor were meant to be a glorious respite, but my arms had long since failed. ... I somehow flipped myself back around, stuffed my knee into the crack and clipped the chains with a big scream."

Waterhouse is just the third person to flash Belly Full of Bad Berries, after Pete Whittaker and Mari Salvesen. Most impressively, perhaps, the route has repelled strong flash attempts from Alex Honnold and Adam Ondra. Not bad for a person who claims to be a neophyte crack climber. He's in Yosemite now, gunning for the Nose; it'll be fun to see what happens next.

Zander Waller does Sleepwalker--and downgrades it

Zander Waller, 19, has skipped V14 and V15 and sent Sleepwalker, in Red Rock, which has until now been considered V16. Waller says he used a slightly different beta in the opening sequence, made possible by his height, which makes the boulder far easier--maybe even V14.

"I've never been so happy to finish a boulder," he wrote on Instagram. "This was my first true experience projecting a climb, and after three real sessions I was able to fire it off in one perfect attempt."

Waller, who's originally from Decatur, Georgia, and is currently a student at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, told Climbing that his beta "skips the intermediate and the bad underclings" used by all previous ascensionists. "It's very similar to Taylor McNeill's beta, just without using the intermediate and rather going straight to the sloper from the juggy underclings."

Using this method, he says, the boulder breaks down to "low-end V13" to the sloper, and then V11 or V12 from the sloper to the top. But he said that his beta will be "very tough to replicate for shorter climbers." Waller added. "I'm 6 foot with a plus 4″ wingspan and it was close to the max of my reach."

On Instagram, Waller admitted that he's "messed around" with downgrading things previously,* but says he's "completely serious" about his downgrading right now. "Admittedly, I have almost no experience on difficult boulders," he wrote on Instagram, "but for me to skip V14 and V15 and then do a V16 in less than four sessions seems outlandish. I'd love for other people my size to try my beta and see what they think."

• *For instance the problem Dunks on Deck, in Little Cottonwood Canyon, was first graded V14 but is generally considered V12; Waller flashed it and first called it V9, then V11. Abaddon, in Red Rock, is generally considered V12; Waller flashed it and called it V11.

Speaking to Climbing several days after the send, Waller said, "I've been reflecting on the grade a lot in the past week and I honestly think with this new beta it could be V14. I don't think I really have the credibility to suggest something like that, but I'm really curious to see what other tall climbers can do with the new sequence. Of course, because the beta is only possible for taller climbers I don't think the consensus of the boulder would ever drop to V14."

Still, downgrades provoke conversation. Given that Sleepwalker is one of the most famous hard boulders in the United States--and given that it's the stand start to Daniel Woods's still unrepeated Return of the Sleepwalker (V17)--Waller's comment opened a nice can of worms, much of which was surprisingly interesting. For instance, one commenter asked whether Waller's history as a southerner, climbing on southern sandstone, had better prepared him to excel on Red Rock sandstone than someone from Colorado. Though this comment overlooks the fact that Jimmy Webb, Sleepwalker's first ascensionist, remains perhaps the most legendary American sandstone crusher of all time (and is about 6 feet tall), it provoked an interesting response from Waller: "I think that sandstone is very similar to indoor climbing, so indoor climbers tend to excel on it. I think that's the only difference between me and someone from Colorado... I've almost exclusively been indoor climbing for 13 years."

Another interesting comment comes from Ben Burkhalter, another certified sandstone crusher, who has not yet sent Sleepwalker but has sent many V14s and V15s: "Proud work dude!" he wrote. "Very good point regarding the grade based on the beta used. Not all boulders are climbed the same way. Different betas, styles, and sizes can all factor into the difficulty of a climb, and Sleepwalker is one of them that does get substantially easier if you're able to use the lower, better undercling. It's cases like this where the 'objective' grading scale fails because in my mind Sleepwalker is 100% V16 compared to a bunch of 15s and 14s that I've done. The best thing to do here is just be honest with the grade and you've done exactly that! Props dude. "

My conclusion: perhaps Sleepwalker's grade does, like the grades of many other climbs, vary depending on body size. But this isn't exactly shocking new information. Even before it was climbed, Nalle Hukkataival complained about being unable to span a move that Woods and Webb were doing. But perhaps Zander Waller is both the right size and very strong. It'll be fun to watch his video.

In the meantime, though, I think we should all remember one thing: V15 or V16, Sleepwalker is still stupid hard. To my knowledge, it remains one of the only climbs that Jakob Schubert has failed to send in a single trip. He visited in March 2022 and didn't find it as easy as he'd hoped. Perhaps this is because he's only 5′ 9″. Or perhaps he was just using bad beta.

--Steve Potter

Janja Garnbret smashes Magic Wood, including New Baseline (V14)

Janja Garnbret, the most dominant competitor in the history of competitive climbing, finished her post-season rest period by taking a short bouldering trip to Magic Wood, Switzerland. Though her main goal was simply to "get back to climbing" after some time at the beach, it should surprise no one that she did a number of hard boulder problems very fast. In addition to numerous double-digit redpoints, she flashed Jack's Broken Heart (V11/12) and Left Hand of Darkness (V11/12) and did New Base Line (V14) on her second try of her second day of effort. I doubt I'm alone in thinking, "V14 in barely two days! What could this crazy person do in two weeks?"

--SP

Anak Verhoeven sends another possible 5.15a

Verhoeven, 27, has sent yet another possible 5.15a with De battre mon coeur s’est arrete, in Rodellar, Spain. Originally put up at 5.14d, the line has since broken twice. As far as we know, she is the first person to send the line since it broke.

Verhoeven has been on a bit of a rampage as of late. Earlier this week, she sent Cosi se Arete (5.14d), which shares the same finish as De battre mon coeur s’est arrete--doing it twice in the same day because... why not? Depending on how you count slash grades, the Belgian has put down about 19 5.14d's and several 15a's--Sweet Neuf, at Pierrot Beach in France, and Joe Mama in Oliana, Spain--as well as Las Meninas (5.14d/15a) in Rodellar, Spain. She was also the first woman to FA 5.14d, which she did in 2017. Before that she won several World Cups.

You might be asking (as are we) when she'll up the ante? Possibly very soon. We haven't been able to confirm her plans, but it's worth noting the extension for Las Meninas was given 5.15b by Jorge Diaz-Rullo (although Daniel Fuertes logged it at 5.15a).

There's been no mention of send footage from De battre mon coeur s’est arrete or Cosi se Arete, but you can watch her on Joe Mama here. --Delaney Miller

Access Fund give $10,000 for anchor replacements

One thing that most sane climbers worry about: equipment failure. And while we can replace our harnesses or avoid climbing over sharp edges, one piece of equipment that we often take for granted are the bolts and anchors we clip into. That's why Access Fund, for the ninth year in a row, has given anchor-replacement grants to local climbing organizations (LCOs) involved in replacing "aging and substandard" bolts. This year's grants involve a total of $10,000 and go to LCOs conducting rebolting initiatives in Castle Rock State Park, California; Smith Rock, Oregon; the Red River Gorge, Kentucky; Boulder Canyon, Colorado; Mentmore Crag, New Mexico; and Lander, Wyoming. Donate to Access Fund here.

--SP

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