Strong American Boulderers

The best American boulderers.

This list aims to list any American boulderer who has climbed 8B+ or harder. It attempts to be definitive in terms of the people included but does not attempt to enumerate every relevant ascent.

Big thanks to eric.jerome for compiling and maintaining this list.

Got any corrections? Send them to corrections@climbing-history.org

253 entries on the list.

Climber Grade Climbs
1 Aidan Roberts 9A Alphane, Spots of Time, Arrival of the Birds
2 Sean Bailey 9A Shaolin, Alphane, Arrival of the Birds
3 Shawn Raboutou 9A Alphane, Megatron
4 Noah Wheeler 9A Return of the Sleepwalker, Shaolin
5 Zach Galla 9A Shaolin, Return of the Sleepwalker
6 Daniel Woods 9A Return of the Sleepwalker
7 Nathaniel Coleman 9A No One Mourns the Wicked
8 Adam Shahar 9A Return of the Sleepwalker
9 Nathan Williams 9A Return of the Sleepwalker
10 Beckett Hsin 9A No One Mourns the Wicked
11 Drew Ruana 8C+ Creature from the Black Lagoon, Bloody Sunday SDS, Insomniac, Distortion, The Ice Knife SDS, Bookkeeping, Maxwell's Demon Low, Howl at the Moon SDS
12 Matt Fultz 8C+ Hypnotized Minds, Grand Illusion, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Brace For the Cure, Moonlight Sonata, Vecchio Leone SDS, Big Z, Deep Fake
13 Jimmy Webb 8C+ Livin' Large, Creature from the Black Lagoon, Ephyra, Off the Wagon Low, Poison the Well, Insomniac
14 Dave Graham 8C+ Creature from the Black Lagoon, Hypnotized Minds, Euclase, Fuck the System, Celestite, Curve Ball
15 Austin Purdy 8C+ Insomniac, Sword of Damocles, Bookkeeping, Distortion
16 Andy Lamb 8C+ Creature from the Black Lagoon, Insomniac, Event Horizon
17 Sam Weir 8C+ REM, Fuck the System, Poison the Well
18 Griffin Whiteside 8C+ Creature from the Black Lagoon, Howl at the Moon SDS
19 Carlo Traversi 8C+ Creature from the Black Lagoon, The Dark Side
20 Liam Andrews-Bancroft 8C+ Insomniac, Creature from the Black Lagoon
21 Keenan Takahashi 8C+ Insomniac, The Dark Side
22 David Fitzgerald 8C+ Big Z, Last Line of Defense
23 Owen Whaley 8C+ Grand Illusion, Sosa
24 Paul Robinson 8C+ REM
25 Dylan Barks 8C+ Creature from the Black Lagoon
26 Taylor McNeill 8C+ Moonlight Sonata
27 Pablo Hammack 8C+ Creature from the Black Lagoon
28 Colin Duffy 8C+ Bookkeeping
29 Katie Lamb 8C+ The Dark Side
30 Eli Perry 8C+ Grand Illusion
31 Brian Squire 8C+ Grand Illusion
32 Christopher Cosser 8C+ Creature from the Black Lagoon
33 Ben Hanna 8C+ Grand Illusion
34 Miles Perry 8C+ Grand Illusion
35 Austin Hoyt 8C+ The Process
36 Ben Burkhalter 8C Blade Runner, The Game, Echalo, Railway, Paint it Black, Southern Drawl, Lucid Dreaming
37 Daniel Beall 8C Terremer, Rising From the Shadows, The Enigma Variation, The Wheel of Milk, The Outer Gates
38 Tristan Chen 8C Paint it Black, Dreamtime, Pegasus, Desperanza
39 Nick Bradley 8C Paint it Black, Delirium, The Game, Railway
40 Nicholas Milburn 8C Southern Drawl, The Game, Paint it Black
41 Jake Scharfman 8C G-Master, The Youngster's Roof, Chicken Nuggets
42 Facundo Langbehn 8C The Nest, Alma
43 Everett Sloane 8C Variant, Traffic
44 Zach Wilson 8C Sound of Violence, Pegasus
45 Ethan Pringle 8C The Outer Limits, The Nest
46 Luke Gerhardt 8C Pegasus, Sleepwalker
47 Bruce Zou 8C The Game, Pegasus
48 Bryce Viola 8C The Youngster's Roof, King Condor
49 Chris Sharma 8C Witness the Fitness
50 Shawn Diamond 8C Le Dernier Fléau
51 Tyler Landman 8C Satan i Helvete Assis (pre-December 2013)
52 Jon Cardwell 8C The Game
53 Chris Schulte 8C The Big Island
54 Ian Dory 8C Paint it Black
55 Sam Davis 8C Desperanza
56 Ashima Shiraishi 8C Horizon
57 Daniel Fong 8C Paint it Black
58 Matty Hong 8C Dreamtime
59 Tanner Bauer 8C Traffic
60 John Brock 8C The Nest
61 Jon Glassberg 8C The Nest
62 John Cohee 8C Ebony and Ivory
63 Will Anglin 8C Variant
64 Eric Jerome 8C Forever Endeavor
65 Brooke Raboutou 8C Box Therapy
66 Zander Waller 8C Sleepwalker
67 Kai Whaley 8C Sleepwalker
68 Andre Branchizio 8C Paint it Black
69 Wes Walker 8C Ego Death
70 Paul Nadler 8C Monkey Wedding
71 Palmer Larsen 8C The Nest
72 Samuel Hsin 8C Paint it Black
73 Austin Geiman 8C Defying Gravity
74 Michaela Kiersch 8C Dreamtime
75 Ray Hansen 8C Sound of Violence
76 Caleb Franchere 8C The Lazarus Pit
77 Elijah Kiser 8C That Hideous Strength
78 Ben Blackmore 8C Paint it Black
79 Isaac Dunk 8C Trap King
80 Dom Speranza 8C G-Master
81 Danny Popowski 8C The Singularity
82 Ben Kim 8C Lucid Dreaming
83 Sean Houchins-McCallum 8C Echalo
84 Ilias Hosain 8C Traffic
85 Erik Cmiel 8C Sleepwalker
86 Isabelle Faus 8B+ Amandla, Memory is Parallax, Sinawav, Crème de la Crumb SDS, Emasculator, Shadow Walker, Spidey, Mirta, The Grey
87 Jack Martinus 8B+ Cosmogram, Echale, Mécanique Élémentaire, The Traphouse, The Traphouse, Muscle Car, Sinawav, Mind to Motion
88 Benn Wheeler 8B+ Ghost Circles, Stockholm Syndome, The Wheel of Wolvo, Vulpine, The Phoenix, Crash Out, Power of Now
89 Alex Puccio 8B+ Jade, New Base Line, The Penrose Step, Super Low Chimichanga Right, Reverse Logic, Tigris SDS
90 Sam Struthers 8B+ The Wheel of Rabbits, Andromeda, Memory is Parallax, Gecko Assis, Dark Side of the Compass, Direct North
91 Vance Stanfield 8B+ Aracnobatics, Murder Mitten, Paper Halo, Paper Halo, White Pony
92 Jesse Grupper 8B+ Starstruck, Esperanza, No Peace, Warpath, The Never Ending Story (Part 1+2)
93 James Litz 8B+ Esperanza, Dreamtime (pre break), Warpath, Insurgency
94 Phil Schaal 8B+ Jade, Amandla, Echale, Midnight Express
95 Matt Gentile 8B+ Angmar, Throwback, Doublecross, Thirst Trap Low
96 Ben Herrington 8B+ The Penrose Step, The Reckoning, The Holy Hand Grenade, The Book Club
97 Brian Nugent 8B+ Mécanique Élémentaire, The Penrose Step, Get Railed, Kintsugi
98 Jonah Kreitzberg 8B+ Esperanza, Reverse Cowgirl, Neon Desert, Echale
99 Sam Rothstein 8B+ Yellow Cake, Cosmogram, Andromeda, Fallen Angel
100 B.J. Tilden 8B+ Esperanza, Zef, Neon Desert, The Multiverse
101 Joel Unema 8B+ Shelob, Doublecross, Angmar, Polyphemus
102 Julian Bresler 8B+ A Man Escaped, Echale, New Base Line, The Never Ending Story (Part 1+2)
103 Brett Walker 8B+ Trieste, Direct North, Kintsugi, Mandala Direct SDS
104 Milo Timberlake 8B+ Trieste, Cosmic Artifact, Menage a Trois, Motorhead
105 Brion Voges 8B+ Lost in the Hood, Wood Grain Grippin', Esperanza
106 Michael O'Rourke 8B+ Mirror Reality, Warrior Up, The Phoenix
107 Chase Martinez 8B+ Echale, Midnight Express, The Penrose Step
108 Kiernan Tong 8B+ Direct North, Insurgency, Zef
109 Matt Nunes 8B+ Uncertainty, Bone Saw, Severed Arm
110 Andrew Nimmer 8B+ Esperanza, Direct North, Amandla
111 Tyre Taft 8B+ Severed Arm, Bone Saw, Brass Knuckles
112 Jack Felix 8B+ Jumpman, The Mantra, Echale
113 Tim Kang 8B+ Trieste, Borrowed Time, Goldfish Trombone
114 Vincent Lee 8B+ Trieste, The Time Machine, Fatal Attraction
115 Cyrus Johnston 8B+ Yellow Cake, Andromeda, Cosmogram
116 Timmy Fairfield 8B+ The Saadhu, Throwback
117 Josh Haynes 8B+ Esperanza, Goldfish Trombone
118 Max Zolotukhin 8B+ Direct North, No Peace Prize
119 Mark Heal 8B+ Amandla, New Base Line
120 Alex Waterhouse 8B+ New Base Line, The Never Ending Story (Part 1+2)
121 Simon Hibbeler 8B+ Echale, Be Kinda Soft
122 Charlie Barron 8B+ Shadow Walker, Predator Pounce Low
123 Nate Draughn 8B+ Bone Saw, Show Your Scars
124 Cody Fults 8B+ Trieste, Squoze
125 Isaac Leff 8B+ Nuclear Base, Flashing Lights
126 Jess Walker 8B+ Echale, Warrior Up
127 Jeramie Claussen 8B+ Kenny Loggins, Dark Waters Low
128 Josh Muehring 8B+ Show Your Scars, Zef
129 Duke Lettieri 8B+ Jade, Trieste
130 Ethan Freudenheim 8B+ Show Your Scars, Kenny Loggins
131 Siara Fabbri 8B+ New Base Line, Compass North
132 Conor Wellman 8B+ The Multiverse, The Phoenix
133 Cozmo Rothfork 8B+ The Saadhu, Hoop Dance
134 Logan Tetu 8B+ Echale, Muscle Car
135 Matt Willis 8B+ Breaking the Wheel, Direct North
136 Shunei Asao 8B+ Squoze, Line of Fire
137 Wesley White 8B+ Dark Side of the Compass, Cosmogram
138 Melina Costanza 8B+ Direct North, The Mantra
139 Jordan Shepard 8B+ Birch Problem, Thirst Trap Low
140 Ross Fulkerson 8B+ 1-Up, Mandala Direct SDS
141 Landers Gaydosh 8B+ Kaching, The Mantra
142 Kevin Celommi 8B+ Starstruck, Mind Shift
143 Kyle Hilton 8B+ Mirror Reality, Jade
144 Tanner Mack 8B+ Trieste, Goldfish Trombone
145 Itai Axelrad 8B+ Ode to the Modern Man, Jade
146 Sam Stewart 8B+ Hello Kitty SDS, Dark Side of the Compass
147 Thomas Betterton 8B+ Warrior Up, When Life Gives You Lemons Low
148 Kyle Howard 8B+ Big Kat, The French Connection
149 Sam Enright 8B+ Show Your Scars, No Peace Prize
150 Ely Wilde 8B+ Esperanza
151 Nick Duttle 8B+ Esperanza
152 Kevin Jorgeson 8B+ Ode to the Modern Man
153 Seth Allred 8B+ Midnight Express
154 Jason Kehl 8B+ Seventh Circle
155 Rob D'Anastasio 8B+ Echale
156 Mirko Caballero 8B+ Golden Shadow
157 Jim Merli 8B+ L'Étoile Du Nord
158 Giovanni Traversi 8B+ Direct North
159 Jonathan Siegrist 8B+ Jade
160 Hunter Damiani 8B+ Midnight Express
161 Ryan Sewell 8B+ Echale
162 Mike McCracken 8B+ Nuclear Base
163 Eric Breed 8B+ The Holy Hand Grenade
164 Dalton Bunker 8B+ Show Your Scars
165 Zach Arenberg 8B+ Muscle Car
166 Brian Antheunisse 8B+ Neon Desert
167 Sander Pick 8B+ Direct North
168 Matt Desantis 8B+ Show Your Scars
169 Gordon Anderson 8B+ Dicktopia
170 Chris Deuto 8B+ Shadow Walker
171 Peter Torphy 8B+ A Man Escaped
172 Dan Andrei 8B+ When Life Gives You Lemons Low
173 Clay Gordon 8B+ Trieste
174 Davis Stewart 8B+ Brass Knuckles
175 Chad Greedy 8B+ Sinawav
176 Jake Plasco 8B+ Perpetual Motion
177 Vincent Mollicone 8B+ Judge Judy
178 Chris Chen 8B+ Echale
179 Mike McClure 8B+ Hypothetical
180 Danny Seo 8B+ Echo Chamber
181 Manny Quintana 8B+ North Ridge
182 Kelly Birch 8B+ Muscle Car
183 Aidan Callan 8B+ There and Back Again
184 Taylor Kiley 8B+ Hypothetical
185 Jake Kim 8B+ Echale
186 Conrad Piper-Ruth 8B+ Hypothetical
187 Sam Dospoy 8B+ Bone Saw
188 Cameron Hörst 8B+ Breaking the Wheel
189 Josh Levin 8B+ The Never Ending Story (Part 1+2)
190 Caleb Robinson 8B+ Zef
191 Graham Owens 8B+ Vulpine
192 Courtney Arnold 8B+ Birch Problem
193 Luke Vincent 8B+ The Other Side of Infinity
194 Dawson Bauer 8B+ Sinawav
195 Chris Terry 8B+ The Penrose Step
196 GP Salvo 8B+ Blunt Sit
197 Vail Everett 8B+ Judge Judy
198 Dylan Enriquez 8B+ Sit Propera
199 Anderson Bouton 8B+ Motorhead
200 Adlai Marquez 8B+ Match Made in Heaven
201 Erik Libbe 8B+ Direct North
202 Sierra Blaire-Coyle 8B+ Birch Problem
203 Jeremy Holmes 8B+ Fatal Attraction
204 Andrew Moore 8B+ Direct North
205 Casey Webb 8B+ Apotheosis
206 Jonny Hork 8B+ Sinawav
207 Liam Foster 8B+ Echo Chamber
208 Clay Klein 8B+ Midnight Express
209 Derek Southward 8B+ Kintsugi
210 Oden Dillman 8B+ Up In Smoke
211 Ryan Devlin 8B+ Starstruck
212 Jack Shipley 8B+ Kenny Loggins
213 Spencer Schmick 8B+ The Zone
214 Nicolas Bass 8B+ Severed Arm
215 Will Kurtenbach 8B+ Echale
216 William Kurtenbach 8B+ Echale
217 Raleigh Simpson 8B+ Breaking the Wheel
218 Oliver Kuang 8B+ Hoop Dance
219 Quinn Spadafora 8B+ Echale
220 Jake Croft 8B+ The Holy Hand Grenade
221 Mike Pacaro 8B+ Kook Slams Extension
222 Isaac Caldiero 8B+ Bling
223 Urs Moosmuller 8B+ Direct North
224 Roman Yalowitz 8B+ Momentum
225 Aj Flynn 8B+ Sailor's Delight
226 Marc Bourguignon 8B+ The Reckoning
227 Andrew Rothner 8B+ Aslan
228 Alex Mcintyre 8B+ Epidote Extension (Left)
229 Dalen Gray 8B+ Third Eye Awakening
230 Eric Wu 8B+ Goldfish Trombone
231 Solomon Barth 8B+ The Never Ending Story (Part 1+2)
232 Alex Biale 8B+ Mind to Motion
233 Joe Meiners 8B+ Amandla
234 Kirby Mccoy 8B+ Show Your Scars
235 Pete Lowe 8B+ Show Your Scars
236 Fitz Allen 8B+ Muscle Car
237 Rocco Bochichio 8B+ New Base Line
238 Max Smerek 8B+ Echale
239 Stefan Fellner 8B+ Zef
240 Rowland Chen 8B+ Echale
241 Randy Puro 8B+ Junebug (Pre-Break)
242 Ben Spannuth 8B+ Esperanza
243 Cole Bradburn 8B+ Speed of Sound
244 Bobby Taft-Pittman 8B+ Dicktopia
245 Sam Wolff 8B+ The Penrose Step
246 Zach Lerner 8B+ Memory is Parallax
247 Porter Geddes 8B+ Show Your Scars
248 Matt Bosley 8B+ Perpetual Motion
249 Adam Taylor 8B+ Esperanza
250 Scotty Grayson 8B+ Skincifer
251 Luke Parady 8B+ Midnight Express
252 Mike Foley 8B+ The Reckoning
253 Chris Watts 8B+ An Empty Smile