Climbing History
A selected history of climbing and mountaineering through the climbers, climbs and media.
4689 Climbers
8315 Climbs
22239 Ascents
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Burden of Dreams | 9A Boulder problem at Lappnor
The first 9A boulder problem in the world. Nalle Hukkataival made the first ascent in October 2016 and the problem received significant attention from many of the strongest boulderers in the world (Toru Nakajima, Shawn Raboutou and Aidan Roberts to name a few) before Will Bosi made the second ascent in April 2023.
The problem was initially found by Marko Siivinen:
At first it looked like it might be possible so we started trying the moves... Pretty soon it was obvious it was a bit too hard for us 😄 So next time we took [Anton Johansson] with us, who was the strongest man alive at that time. He looked at the problem and touched the holds a bit and said: "well... It looks really good but it also looks like 9A"😂 So the only thing left to do was to take Nalle there and the rest is history. [1]
In an interesting twist, the problem has become somewhat famous for replicas being made of it. Aidan Roberts made a 3D scan of the holds and problem on his phone during a working visit to try the problem, he then 3D printed the holds and worked with Core Climbing to cast copies of the holds in resin. Due to the relatively flat, consistent angle of the problem it was then possible to mount the holds indoors and effectively train for the real thing using the replica. Notably, Will Bosi trained on the replica for several sessions to train for the problem, then having done all the moves on the replica he booked a trip to try the real thing and made rapid progress, doing all the moves in his first session and then making the second ascent after ~12 sessions on the real thing.
At the time of Nalle’s first ascent, the boulder was located in dense woodland. This has since been cleared, leaving the boulder out in the open and potentially improving the chances of getting good conditions.
There has been some controversy around the raising of the landing to a potentially slightly easier pull-on position. To date, no-one has repeated the problem using Nalle’s original foot positions on the start.
The climb has had very few daytime ascents; short daylight hours and the requirement for cool conditions mean most ascentionists have succeeded during a night time lamp session.
References
[1] Marko Siivinen on Instagram, commenting on discovering the problem in 2013. April 2023. https://www.instagram.com/p/CrB1L4ctXrR/
The first 9A boulder problem in the world. Nalle Hukkataival made the first ascent in October 2016 and the problem received significant attention from many of the strongest boulderers in the world (Toru Nakajima, Shawn Raboutou and Aidan Roberts to name a few) before Will Bosi made the second ascent in April 2023.
The problem was initially found by Marko Siivinen:
At first it looked like it might be possible so we started trying the moves... Pretty soon it was obvious it was a bit too hard for us 😄 So next time we took [Anton Johansson] with us, who was the strongest man alive at that time. He looked at the problem and touched the holds a bit and said: "well... It looks really good but it also looks like 9A"😂 So the only thing left to do was to take Nalle there and the rest is history. [1]
In an interesting twist, the problem has become somewhat famous for replicas being made of it. Aidan Roberts made a 3D scan of the holds and problem on his phone during a working visit to try the problem, he then 3D printed the holds and worked with Core Climbing to cast copies of the holds in resin. Due to the relatively flat, consistent angle of the problem it was then possible to mount the holds indoors and effectively train for the real thing using the replica. Notably, Will Bosi trained on the replica for several sessions to train for the problem, then having done all the moves on the replica he booked a trip to try the real thing and made rapid progress, doing all the moves in his first session and then making the second ascent after ~12 sessions on the real thing.
At the time of Nalle’s first ascent, the boulder was located in dense woodland. This has since been cleared, leaving the boulder out in the open and potentially improving the chances of getting good conditions.
There has been some controversy around the raising of the landing to a potentially slightly easier pull-on position. To date, no-one has repeated the problem using Nalle’s original foot positions on the start.
The climb has had very few daytime ascents; short daylight hours and the requirement for cool conditions mean most ascentionists have succeeded during a night time lamp session.
References
[1] Marko Siivinen on Instagram, commenting on discovering the problem in 2013. April 2023. https://www.instagram.com/p/CrB1L4ctXrR/
Pics + Vids
Featuring 10867 pictures and videos. Try searching for a climber, climb or summit to see pics and videos.
Seb Bouin on La Rage d'Adam 9b
Tom Bolger on Mr. Big 9a
Clément Lechaptois on Radja 8B+
Adam Ondra on Kout Pikle 9a+
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Fancy a look around? You can browse by climber or by climbs, or you can check out some lists. For example
- All sport ascents of 9b or above
- British women who have climbed 7C or above
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Podcasts
Featuring 4358 podcasts. Try searching for a climber to see podcasts with them, or check out some of these podcasts:
- Seb Grieve on Jam Crack Podcast (2020)
- Graham Zimmerman on The Nugget (2024)
- Rob Matheson on Jam Crack Podcast (2025)
- Solly Kemball-Dorey on Backseat Climbing (2025)
Library
Featuring 16204 items in the library. Try a search to see what you can find, or check out these library items:
- Voyager SDS - Ben Moon Film
- Alpine Journal 1916 Vol 30 146-158 Stogdon Guideless Climbs (1916) Journal
- Great Gable and Borrowdale (1926) Guidebook
Recent updates
Dave Fearnley was a leading force in New Zealand rock climbing throughout the 1980s and 1990s, renowned for pushing standards with bold, technical first ascents across the country. His pioneering additions to areas like Whanganui Bay, Paynes Ford, and the Darran Mountains left a lasting mark on the development of Kiwi traditional and sport climbing.
Dave Fearnley was the heart of the 1980s punk rock climbing culture. [1]
References
[1] Ivan Vostinar, Kate Sinclair Rock Deluxe (2015)
References
Moving the wagon reveals this true sit start project to Off the Wagon.
Moving the wagon reveals this true sit start project to Off the Wagon (8B+).