B.I.G | 9c Sport route at Flatanger

Norway / Trøndelag / Flatanger kommune / Flatanger
UKClimbing.com | thecrag.com
Bolted by Adam Ondra in 2013. Also known as Project Big. Grade breakdown: 9a+/9b N 8A/8A+.

B.I.G is a sport climb in Flatanger. It was bolted in 2013 by Adam Ondra around the same time he bolted Silence. It received significant attention from Adam Ondra, Jakob Schubert and Sébastien Bouin before Jakob made the first ascent in September 2023.

Contributors
23 contributions since 20th September 2023.
TdG
3 contributions since 11th March 2026.

Lists

Pics + Vids

No pics or vids yet.

No grade suggestions for this climb.

Ascents

1 successful ascent and 2 unsuccessful attempts recorded.

Climber Style Ascent Date Suggested Grade

Another part of it is that I actually was nowhere close to sending some years before. I thought of that part, but for me, that specific move is just so hard, especially when you come from the ground.

[…] Darth Grader maybe doesn't really make that much sense. Or it's sort of a game. But I know that that crux move is, or like the whole crux is at the top of the BIG is maybe 8A+, maybe only 8A boulder problem. And I'm pretty sure if there is an 8B boulder problem instead, just in a different style, I would have done the route.

But that specific route is just so hard to have everything perfect. Because to align all the details together, which is conditions, shape, and being rested is just so hard. But when it comes, when you know everything is perfect, it's just almost impossible to go perfect. More important, I think it's the route, which, where it's extremely beneficial to take a lot of risk, not in terms of taking a groundfall. But it's sort of like a 9A plus 9B intro into that move. And I know that with a good shape and with perfect weather, I can get there every time. But if I climb with safety, I will never ever have the margin to actually do the move.

References

[1] https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/jam-crack-the-niall-grimes-climbing-podcast/id1065991509?i=1000754497380
First ascent.

After climbing through the crux Jakob snapped a jug off in the relatively easy upper section. Fortunately it wedged in to a crack long enough for him to move to some other holds, narrowly avoiding heartbreak.

On the grade:

To me it felt a whole step beyond Perfecto Mundo which seems confirmed at 9b+. This alongside reflections with Adam [Ondra] made me propose 9c for B.I.G. While in my eyes the range for grades up to 9b seem to have settled due to the total amount of routes and ascents, this doesn’t yet seem the case for 9b+ and 9c, where the possibilities for comparison are still very limited. There are not even 10 climbers that claim to have sent 9b+, and the total of routes graded 9b+ or harder is still below 15, most of which are yet to see repeats. This makes it obvious that confines for both 9b+ and 9c are still blurry and will develop over time and through ascents and shared opinions. I hope they will come soon! [3]

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jBavqTama8

[2] https://www.instagram.com/p/CxtCl5Lo58g/=

[3] https://www.thecrag.com/en/climbing/norway/mid-norway/route/8356255512

References

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHKCqVsvsZg