Erik Cmiel does Sleepwalker (8C+)

Erik Cmiel, with two 8B+’ under his belt, has repeated James Webb’s Sleepwalker (8C+) in Red Rock (NV). ”15/16? [8C/+] This one means a lot to me. Most amount of time I’ve put into a project and truly a dream line .”

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I first tried Sleepwalker on my first trip to Vegas during my freshman year of college, just messing around on it and not doing many of the moves. I started taking it seriously in February 2025 on a short weekend trip with my friend Ethan Freudenheim, where I quickly did most of the moves except the big move to the sloper. I got hooked on the process and went back a couple more times that winter.

In the fall, I made a couple more short trips but dealt with skin issues and illness that slowed my progress. Then in late January, I spent a week in Vegas with Kawa Club and had my best sessions yet. After driving back to Salt Lake City for two days of class, I turned around and made the six hour drive back to Vegas for one more weekend. I left at 5 am that Friday and ended up sending later that same day, almost exactly one year after my first serious trip. It was a perfect day with an incredible crew. The only downside was getting food poisoning from my celebratory sushi that night.

I’ve been climbing for about eight and a half years. I started in southern Minnesota, where I grew up, and spent most of my early years competing and making long drives whenever I had the chance to get outside. Access to rock was limited, so outdoor trips always felt like a big deal.

After moving to Salt Lake City for college, I began focusing more on outdoor climbing while still competing occasionally. Over the past few years I had a handful of smaller projects, but Sleepwalker was the first boulder I truly committed to, putting in more than ten sessions. Now I’m shifting toward a few projects closer to Salt Lake City and looking forward to dedicating more time to long term efforts.