Vertical-Life
Updated: Ryuichi Murai completes Livin' Large 8C (+)
Can you tell us more about the ascent, including the safety aspects?
I had 5 sessions to send it. I practiced with a rope for two days to establish the moves for the upper part. I fell only once at a height of 5-6m. On the day I sent, there were 8 mats in total, including my friend's and I borrowed at the campsite. The approach takes 45 minutes, so we spent several days carrying them.
Murai was #5 in a Boulder WC in 2018 and stopped competing one year later. Here is part of Murai’s Livin’ Large report on Instagram. (c) Naoki Shimatani
"It was only possible to try in perfect conditions in the early morning (~9:00), evening (17:00~), or [a] cloudy day.
However, the approach takes forty-five minutes, so early in the morning there wasn't enough time to warm up. In the evening there's only a short time after the rock cools down until the sunset, so a cloudy day is the best. Due to friction issues, the damage to the finger skin was quite severe. If I tried, I had to rest for two to three days. So this cloudy day near the end of the tour was my last chance.
The conditions were great on this day and every move worked perfectly on the second try. I just focused on each hold in front of me, and didn't feel any fear of heights. It would have been really bad if I missed the last move. I'm glad I climbed, but more than that I'm glad I didn't fall. Thank you to the tour members who helped me with the big hike for days, and huge respect Nalle Hukkataival for putting this mega [line] up!”
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