8 April 2019

Trice 8A+ by Jim Holloway in 1975 most ahead of his time?

Looking at the first climb of each grade list, Jim Holloway's Trice in Flagstaff from 1975 sticks out being the most ahead of it's time as it is considered 8A+ today. Totally amazingly, it took 32 years before it got it's first repeat by Carlo Traversi in 2007. Now it is one of the most repeated in the 8a data base with 32 ascents! Jim, born in 1954, started climbing at age sixteen. The 193 cm was one of the first boulderers to devote more than a few hours to creating a particular problem. In 1975 he put up Meathook in Horsetooth Reservoir as the world's first 8A, after some 20 days projecting. He was so serious with his training so he used some wooden rungs at home like a mini campus board. Later the same year he ade the FA of Trice 8A. (c) Pat Ament, who sends his portrait. "Calm, clear, caring, and unselfish, the thin, six-foot-six Jim Holloway climbed for his own pleasure and not to make himself look tall through making small the virtues of others. One spiteful remark heard back then in Holloway days on Flagstaff Mountain was that he eliminated all the difficulty with his tremendous reach. In fact, he and his graceful form were out of reach. He climbed for the right reasons, to experience the creativity, to be with friends, or to be alone, to know the solitude and beauty."
12 comments
Sort by:
Date
Reply
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
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 …

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…