18 December 2023

Zach Galla does Sleepwalker (8C+)

Zach Galla, who was #8 in the Salt Lake City World Cup last spring, has repeated Jimmy Webb’s Sleepwalker (8C+) in Unknown Crag. The 23-year-old has previously sent four boulders 8C to 8C+.

"Still, in disbelief, this one came together the way it did. I had tried it for four sessions before this trip and had weird progress. I did the moves fairly quickly but had such a hard time making any promising links. Coming back this year, I felt confident that if I could learn how to dial the bump from the slope into the crimp, I could give some send rips before heading home. I was hoping that the new beta discovered by @ryu____1 was going to be my key to making this thing possible but after my first two sessions back I wasn’t convinced. I was able to do the moves this way but I didn’t feel confident I was going to be able to make it work from the bottom. Warming up on my 7th sesh, the climb felt totally different. The friction was bomb and the links were coming together. I decided to give some goes from the start to just try and do it in overlapping sections. On my 2nd try, I made the link and managed to keep scaling and before I realized what had happened I was on the jug.

There is a lot of backseat grading controversy surrounding Sleepwalker because of it’s number of ascents and I totally understand why. I feel there are quite a few things to attribute to so many people having success. The biggest factor in my eyes has to be the accessibility and comfortability of the climb. The location, style and rock allow for you to have long sessions working the climb without losing very much skin.

Another reason is all the beta options it has. While they are all hard af, there now seems to be a method that can suit a lot of different body types and climbing styles. Personally, Sleepwalker is surely one of the hardest things I’ve managed to get on top of and totally warrants the grade for my experience."

What are your competition plans for 2024?
I didn’t make the olympic team so I’ve been taking time off comps to climb outside more! Will maybe try and do a world cup next year, but outside is the main focus!
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