8 September 2020

Foundations Edge 8C and two 8A+ flashes by Tim Reuser

Tim Reuser, who was #11 in the Lead World Championships last year, has had a great progress in 2020, peaking with a recent trip to Fionnay. His 4-days ticklist includes; two 8A+ flashes; Permanent Midnight (pictured) and Scarred for life high, his first 8C, Foundations Edge and two 8B+' Scarred for Life and Pied de biche, the latter suggesting an 8B personal grade. Until 2019, the 26-year-old had just done one boulder harder than 8A+!

"It took me three days to do Foundation Edge but I already prepared for it for over a month, watching videos, visualizing the moves in my head, etc. So when I arrived I was surprised by how “good” the holds felt as in was expecting them to be way worse. That gave me a lot of confidence. Later that day I also flashed Permanent midnight. The day after I sent Scarred for life in the morning and Pied the bieche at the end of the day.

During the first day, in between trying his 8C project he did his first 8A+ flash. "Feeling strong, I went for a flash on Scarred for life high. I could feel all the holds from the ground so I knew what to expect. The flash go was a success. After this, I worked in the first half of Foundation’s edge. I was surprised how good the holds felt but when I did the drop knee move I was totally stuck. I tried this move for a few hours but realized this wasn’t gonna work out. That evening I rehearsed the moves in my head and came up with a different solution which I tried the next day which actually worked."

How can you explain your recent peak performance and what is your next plan?
I have been training quite a lot since the gyms are open again in the Netherlands. I recently discovered training on the moonboard. The typical small and awkward to grab holds were really something I needed to work on. I’m typically an indoor climber and used to climb on perfect ergonomically shaped holds. The Moonboard holds are the total opposite and resemble outdoor climbing way better in my opinion. This made my transition from indoor to outdoor more smooth. My goal is to do some more outdoor bouldering trips this year. And next year I want to focus more on routes again.
0 comments
Most commented
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…

Favorites
Will Bosi claims the first repeat of Burden of Dreams (9A)

William Bosi has done the coveted second ascent of Nalle Hukkataival's Burden of Dreams (9A) in Lappnor, Finland, confirming the 9A grade. It was put up as the …

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…

"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 …