Lucy Drury does Mind Stream (8A+)

Lucy Drury, who did her first 8A at age 13, has completed Mind Stream (8A+) in Smugglers' Notch. The 18-year-old started out as a competition climber but the last two years her focus has shifted more into outdoors also doing sport routes up to 8b+ and trad up to 8a.

Can you tell us more about the ascent?
I had projected Mindstream last fall, getting really close. About a year ago, I fell on the heel hook move from the ground. This summer, I was able to refine my beta slightly, which definitely helped me put everything together. On Friday, I was planning to have my first serious session on it in about a year, but I ended up doing it the first go of the day! I think it was fall '23 that I figured out the high foot start beta, which is the only way I can do the shoulder move. I think ever since Maddie's send with the beta I've seen it done this way more frequently.

This climb is infamous for multiple reasons. First, different people start the same boulder in different positions (high foot vs low foot). Also, now the start hold is glued. The glue job is pretty good, and it has no effect. Mindstream is notoriously soft and at the same time hard to grade. I say soft V12 (V8 from Julie Clark is not just stiff, it's a professional sandbag). In all, none of these things detracts from one's personal experience on the boulder, and it still deserves all the stars.