Vertical-Life
Ethan Salvo completes The Singularity (8C)
”To me, the singularity was my most fulfilling journey as a boulderer, and also the longest. Although the boulder looks quite simple, I had to go really deep to understand what it would take to climb the problem. In my years of effort, the problem pushed me to improve in every way.
By time I was able to execute the crux move, I had grown so much as a granite boulderer. My understanding of body position, hand placement, conditions, weather pattern, skin tactics, and more had greatly improved. It was clear that all the days I put in were finally paying off, and that the end was near.
My 2023 season ended by falling after the crux move 4 times total. I honestly never thought it would be possible to fall after the crux, but the slightest error in my set up for the crux made the 4th move extremely hard to execute in comparison to trying that move in isolation. I went to Bishop after that, climbed some hard classics and learned a lot about myself while doing so.
When I got back to Squamish in Feb, it was pouring rain and I had to wait for the room to dry out again. After patiently waiting what felt like months to have more tries, the problem finally dried out, but i felt like I had to relearn things again. After a poor session, I went home and watched the video of Nalles send on repeat for 45min. Everytime the video played back, I’d focus on the movements of a different body part. I woke up the next morning pretty sore from the day before, but decided I should try anyway. Everything I learned the night before watching nalles vid on loop definitely had an impact on my tries, in a way I felt like I had learned everything there was to understand about the problem. All that was left to do was close the chapter. I pulled on for my last try of the session, which ended up being my last try ever.”
Jernej Kruder sends Martin Krpan (9a) sans knee pads
Jernej Kruder, who won the Boulder World Cup in 2018, has done Martin Krpan (9a) in Mišja Peč. “I would like to expose something here: I spent many tries on t…
Welcome to Vertical-Life Web
Six years after partnering with 8a.nu, we’re excited to announce the unification of the 8a.nu website and the Vertical-Life app into a single platform: Vertical…
Will Bosi repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (9A)
William Bosi has made the second ascent of Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Black Velvet Canyon, after projecting it for 12 sessions. This was th…
Ethan Salvo (20) does Zazen (8C)
Ethan Salvo has made what seems to be the first post-hold-break ascent of Zazen (8C) in Squamish. Harry Robertson did the original FA of the line, as an 8B, bac…
Connor Herson completes testpieces Crack of Destiny and Cobra Crack, plus a 9a for good measure!
Connor Herson, who last year did the bolted route Empath (9a+) on gear, has posted on Instagram that he has completed six very impressive, and three exceptional…
Katie Lamb completes Decided (8B+)
Katie Lamb has presented some short clips on Instagram doing Deadlift (8B+) in Squamish, already reported, and Decided (8B+) in Mizugaki. In Kishira, the 26-yea…
Ethan Salvo (20) does Zazen (8C)
Ethan Salvo has made what seems to be the first post-hold-break ascent of Zazen (8C) in Squamish. Harry Robertson did the original FA of the line, as an 8B, bac…
Connor Herson completes testpieces Crack of Destiny and Cobra Crack, plus a 9a for good measure!
Connor Herson, who last year did the bolted route Empath (9a+) on gear, has posted on Instagram that he has completed six very impressive, and three exceptional…
Katie Lamb completes Decided (8B+)
Katie Lamb has presented some short clips on Instagram doing Deadlift (8B+) in Squamish, already reported, and Decided (8B+) in Mizugaki. In Kishira, the 26-yea…
Katie Lamb makes history
Katie Lamb has become the first woman to climb 8C+ by completing Box Therapy (8C) in RMNP. Daniel Woods made the FA back in 2018, and only Drew Ruana and Sean B…
Schubert sends Project Big during his 6th Live attempt
"It was dramatic to the very end." On the 8a finish of Project Big in Flatanger, Jakob Schubert explains that a horn broke and he was close to falling. The last three minutes of the video show just how much this climb means to him."This horn could have ended my career... This was the biggest mental …
Will Bosi repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (9A)
William Bosi has made the second ascent of Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) in Black Velvet Canyon, after projecting it for 12 sessions. This was th…