🧗 The Sleeping Lion Grade Debate

Howdy. FlashPumped here. The climbing newsletter that’s like a weekend in Vegas. What happens here, stay here 🤐

Here’s what we’ve got to entertain you on this fine morning:

• How Daniel Woods Developed Return of the Sleepwalker

• A Brief Biography of Nina Williams 

• Can Climbing Help You Reach Your Weight Loss Goals?

• The Grade Debate of Sharma’s Sleeping Lion 

• Diaz-Rullo Starts the New Year Right

• 17-Year-Old Kai Whaley Climbs Sleepwalker V16

Let’s go go gooooo

Daniel Wood’s Secret Recipe for Return of the Sleepwalker

Daniel Woods established Return of the Sleepwalker and did the first ascent in 2021 by adding a six-move sit start to an already existing V16 problem: Sleepwalker. The sit start effectively turned an already outlandish V16 boulder into a V17. 

Return of the Sleepwalker was the second V17 boulder established worldwide after Burden of Dreams in 2016 and the first in the United States. Now, there are five proposed or confirmed in the world. 

After 11 sessions of projecting, Woods sent the original Sleepwalker. During that time, he noticed a potential for a sit start and began working on developing the route. 

So, how did he eventually climb the complete Return of the Sleepwalker?

• First, he dialled in the 7-8 move Sleepwalker problem. 

• He cut out all substances: alcohol, marijuana, and caffeine.

• Near the end, Woods camped out near the climb to dial in his focus. 

• When he wasn’t climbing, he reviewed footage of him projecting. 

Projecting primarily alone, it took Woods around three months to climb the full Return of the Sleepwalker V17 boulder problem. 

Woods remarked that because the boulder stays in the shade most of the day and the rock is relatively easy on the skin, it was the perfect boulder to project. 

After months of projecting, Woods finally sent Return of the Sleepwalker on March 30, 2021. 

Get to Know the Queen of Highball Bouldering: Nina Williams 

Nina Williams has become a household name within the climbing community, but how exactly did she become so well known?

She’s most well-known for her highball bouldering pursuits, but Williams has been a multi-discipline climber for 22 years. She started her climbing pursuits at age 12, and by age 14, she began competing, making regional and national appearances. 

Although she had early success, Williams was caught cheating during youth competitions, resulting in her having to return her Nationals jacket and trophy, among other things. 

While that was a bump in the road, Williams reoriented her climbing motivations and moved forward. At 20, she could finally move past youth climbing leagues and climb purely based on her motivations and passions. 

Williams has a diverse and impressive climbing career with a laundry list of first female ascents (FFA) and made a name for herself in a sport dominated by men. 

Highlights from Nina William’s Climbing Career: 

• FFA - Ray of Light V13

• FFA - Too Big to Flail V10 highball 

• FFA - Ambrosia V11 highball 

• FFA - Final Frontier 5.13b trad

• FFA - Father Time 5.13b trad

• FFA - Window Shopper V12

• FFA - China Beach 5.14b

• Solo Ascent of the Diamond

Climbing to Reach Your Health Goals 

Is rock climbing an effective way to lose weight? 

Well, it can be one way to help you stay on track and reach your health goals, but long story short, a combination of a healthy diet, regular exercise, and healthy routines keeps your body and mind in shape. 

Rock climbing has several health benefits, including: 

• High caloric burn 

• Full-body workout 

• Improved cardiovascular health 

• Improved mental health

• Help with balance and coordination 

• Focus on flexibility 

If you’re already a climber, evaluating your strength-to-weight ratio is often more effective than your weight alone.

Climbing takes a lot of strength, so focusing on building muscle and stamina is more important than dropping a few pounds. 

Working to get down to a healthy weight can be improved with a sport like rock climbing. The combined mental and physical benefits of climbing are good inspirations to stay in shape, but there are more effective weight loss tools than rock climbing alone.

Instead, focus on having a well-balanced diet combined with regular exercise that can include climbing, strength training, yoga, and more. 

The Grade Debate of Sharma’s Sleeping Lion 

A climb that can be broken down into five sections, each with poor rests between, Sharma’s Sleeping Lion is forty feet of stylistic variation. It’s safe to say it isn’t a boring climb, with sections requiring technical movements like steep dynos, heel hooks, and crimpy face climbing. 

Chris Sharma completed the first ascent in March 2018, grading it a 5.15c. The second ascent took Alex Megos eight days to complete, after which he remarked on Instagram, 

“After falling 4 times on the last move and actually being very surprised how pumpy the last few moves were coming from the ground I understood my first impression was a little deceiving. In the end it took me 8 days and I would suggest [5.15b], as both the [5.15c’s] I did took me at least twice as long!”

As Megos mentions, he is no rookie when sending 5.15c routes. He’s made two first ascents on 5.15c’s:

1. Perfecto Mundo, 2018

2. Bibliographie, 2020

While the consensus is still out on the grade, Megos has also been subject to high-profile downgrades with Bibliographie. Originally, Megos rated it a 5.15d, but Stefano Ghisofi gave it a downgrade to a 5.15c.

Diaz-Rullo Starts the New Year Right

Diaz-Rullo started 2024 strong with a repeat of the 45-metre Catxasa, 5.15a, in Santa Linya, Spain. 

Unsurprisingly, as a climber who has ascended over 70 routes 5.15b or harder, Diaz-Rullo completed the climb after a few days of projecting and agrees with the grade. 

Many other climbers have successfully climbed Catxasa, including: 

• Ramon Julian

• Sachi Amma

• Piotr Schab

• Adam Ondra

• Jakob Schubert

• Seb Bouin

• Gonzalo Larrocha

• Mateusz Haladaj

Mostly, everyone agrees on the grade, except Bouin, who suggested it be a 5.14d/15a. After the first ascent, one major update was some kneebar beta, which helped Diaz-Rullo move through one crux smoothly:

“I decided to annotate as 9a/+ out of respect for the previous ascensionists. Their opinion was 9a+, one of the crux that for them was the hardest and a lowest percentage move, for me it was just an easy move because I used a tricky kneebar.” - Daiz-Rullo’s Instagram 

17-Year-Old Kai Whaley Climbs Sleepwalker V16

Whilst we’re on the topic of Return of the Sleepwalker, new footage of Kai Whaley topping out on the Red Rock’s classic standing start variation: Sleepwalker V16, was recently released.

In his successful ascent of Sleepwalker, Whaley skipped over V14 and V15 grades. 

mellowclimbing

View more on Instagram

Growing up in the Las Vegas area, Sleepwalker has been on Whaley’s mind for some time. After watching Jimmy piece together the first ascent, Whaley said he is “psyched to finally be strong enough to put this one down.”

There is no doubt that Kai Whaley has a bright future in climbing with his ascension up bouldering grades throughout his teen years. 

Kai Whaley has also climbed: 

• Meadowlark Lemon Stand V13, Red Rock

• Booka Booka Booka V13, Moe’s Valley

• Masterpiece V13, Joe’s Valley

• Slasher V13, Joe’s Valley

• Redpointed Show of Hands Sit V12

• Redpointed Show of Hands V10

• Redpointed The Thing V10

• Flashed Loose Cannon V9

Which boulder problems do you think Kai Whaley should project next?

Bacon & Waffles

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That's it for today. See y’all next week!