Brian Squire does Grand Illusion (8C+)

Brian Squire has repeated Nathaniel Coleman’s Grand Illusion (8C+) in Little Cottonwood Canyon (UT). It includes some 25 moves in a roof and 9a+/b has also been suggested.

”I can’t quite believe it. Euro Roof (7C+) was one of the first boulders I tried when I moved here three years ago, the 10 felt so hard and the 12 and 13 felt honestly pretty unfathomable. The next year came around and we dug it out ready to start the grind. I climbed the 8b [Euro Roof Low Low (8B)] and was go time, then did the slug and then the mental battle started. I regressed for the rest of the season into the fall. This year I dug it out pretty much solo, clocked in prolly 20-30 days already this year and 80+ total.

Watched Eli send which lit a fire in me to follow him up. I proceeded to fall on the last move 9 sessions in a row, dealing with numbness, pain, wet holds, but today it all clicked. So relieved and happy and bittersweet. This was not only just a project for me but a big chapter of my life coming to a close. Excited for what’s next.” (c) Jackson Seeley

Did you do any special training or just progressed by working it?
I did some workouts to improve my lats and biceps. Those helped a lot with the “easy” middle section which was quite hard for me last year. Besides that, I got really dialed in on the boulder. I would always experiment with other beta options to refine my sequence. By the time I was giving send attempts, I could turn my brain off and just focus on my breathing the whole way. The boulder was much more of a mental challenge for me. It took a long time of trying it until I actually believed I could do it, and then I would only fall on the last move for days. It was a huge journey for me but very grateful for the experience, it’s like no other boulder I’ve ever projected.