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

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