Andrew Nimmer flashes Sky (8B)

Andrew Nimmer, who sent his first 9a+ in May, has flashed Sky (8B) in Rocklands. The 28-year-old has logged another ten flashes 7C and harder during his first four days of the trip but only four redpoints.

How did you prepare for the flash?
To flash Sky, I watched a handful of videos at the boulder. Thankfully, there wasn’t much beta to learn as it’s only a few moves long and mostly relies on power and coordination. I did have to decide on which right foot to use for the first move, and I settled on a less conventional one. I knew given my style of climbing and height, it would allow me to keep my foot on while grabbing the first hold. After sticking the first move, I just tried really hard and soon enough I found myself dunking the victory jug.

Can you say something about your general flash focus?
My general approach to flashing is to take away all the reasons why I might not flash something. It’s easy to not know where to put your foot for a move or to grab the wrong part of a hold and have it ruin a flash attempt. So I just make sure to watch videos and other people try it, make a plan for every hand and foot move, feel the holds and tick them, and run through it in my head before pulling on.

I do want to project an 8C, but I just finished my longest sport climbing project ever and I want to have some fun climbing classics I can send quickly. I have a month in Rocklands and there are so many classic 8B’s that I would love to send. The amount of rest required to climb at my limit doesn’t seem worth it this trip, but I am excited to have an 8C project close to home in Red Rock or Joe’s Valley this fall.