Dylan Barks sends Selecció anal (9a+)

Dylan Barks has done Selecció anal (9a+) in Santa Linya after having projected it for seven sessions. The 28-year-old did his first 8c+ at age 16 and he also bouldered the same grade, two years ago.

Can you tell us more about your trip and doing your first 9a+? I came to Spain with the intention of locking into one hard route for the trip, and ‘Seleccio anal’ became that. I wasn’t sure where my shape was at exactly for the trip, but on my first day, I was able to onsight my first 8b+ (Rollito Sharma) which gave me the confidence to try something near my limit. Trying Seleccio at first, the upper section felt very powerful and I couldn’t really imagine climbing through those moves from the ground. I had quite a few goes of climbing through the bottom but quickly fell in the upper section. After about a week and a half of trying, however, I had everything aligned and I was able to break into the upper section feeling unexpectedly recovered and I fought my way to the chains!

What's on the horizon?
The next goal is to sample as much as I can in my remaining week in Spain. After that, I’m not exactly sure, but definitely want to continue climbing routes in the States!