Bosi makes second ascent of Return of the Sleepwalker (V17/Font 9A)

• Wednesday 21st February 2024

25-year-old Bosi from Edinburgh in Scotland has claimed the second ascent of Return of the Sleepwalker (Font 9A/V17) at Black Velvet Canyon, Red Rocks, Nevada in the USA, a problem first established by Daniel Woods in 2021.

The ascent took Will 12 sessions in total with three sessions on the stand-start and nine sessions on the sit-start (although Will noted that two of the sessions on the sit-start were quickly abandoned due to rain).

Commenting on the ascent he said. “Coming out to Las Vegas, I had no idea how this trip was going to go as I do not climb on sandstone often and Sleepwalker did not look my style. Sending Sleepwalker (Font 8C/V15) in only three days completely blew my mind and having a long time left on the trip, I was pretty confident I could have a good stab at getting Return of the Sleepwalker done.

In the last session before the send, everything just clicked. I was feeling confident but as the weather forecast looked bleak with a storm closing in, I was only able to take one rest day before heading back out for another session. I still felt quite tired so I was unsure about even trying it. However, after warming up, the moves were feeling great and I decided to give it a go. The first attempt went perfectly up to the sloper but then I really messed up the next move through to the slot and almost dropped it. Somehow, I recovered and hit the last hard move perfectly. Pulling onto the slab was incredible and I had to take a minute to get my breath back before heading up to the top."

Commenting on the grade of Return of The Sleepwalker he said: “Grade wise I still believe the stand start is only 8C/V15 but I do think the sit-start adds enough for it to remain Font 9A/V17. In comparison to the other climbs I have done at this grade, I think Return of the Sleepwalker comes in around the bottom end of the grade. Burden of Dreams was harder but it is such a different style. I think Return probably came in harder than Alphane. Currently, I am very unsure about the distinction between Font 8C+ and 9A and I think it will take some time and a broader consensus of climbers operating at this level to get the distinction right."

This ascent is Bosi's third at Font 9A/V17 after his repeat of Shawn Raboutou’s Alphane in Chironico in Switzerland (climbed by Will in 2022) and Nalle Hukkataival’s Burden of Dreams in Lappnor, Finland in 2023.

The ascent puts Bosi alongside only Simon Lorenzi as climbers who have climbed three Font 9A/V17 graded boulder problems. Lorenzi climbed Soudain Seul in Fontainebleau in 2021, Alphane in 2023 and Burden of Dreams earlier this year.

As for what is next, Bosi commented: “My next project is dependent on conditions but I would love to head back to Arco and try to finish Excalibur (Stefano Ghisolfi’s F9b+/5.15c) or back to Brno to work more on Terranova. I would also love to spend some time finding new lines in Scotland but the weather seems to always be against that!”

Watch Will on Sleepwalker (Font 8C/V15) below...