Will Bosi makes first ascent of Realm of Tor’ment (Font 9A)

• Tuesday 20th May 2025

Since returning from Switzerland, Will Bosi has climbed his long-standing Raven Tor project adding Realm of Tor’ment, a fifth Font 9A to his resume.

Realm of Tor’ment, Will’s long-standing project at Raven Tor, is the second Font 9A in the UK and the first in the Peak District. Will has proposed a grade of Font 9A for the Raven Tor boulder which fills an obvious and brutally hard gap in the right wing of Raven Tor between the sport routes Hooligan (F8c) and Boot Boys (F8a+). This steeply bulging “wave-like” wall has long been used by boulderers and is home to such classics as Powerband Font 7C) and Staminaband (F8A).

Will’s latest addition is eight moves long and finishes on an obvious flake. Commenting on his first ascent to Climber, Will added: “I’m incredibly happy and psyched to finally put this project down! This has probably been my longest boulder project to date, taking double-digit sessions and work over a couple of years. The send went perfectly for me. I climbed the bottom section well and just stuck the crux move. I was about as close as I could have been to failing on the last move, too”.

Describing Realm of Tor’ment, Will added: “The line starts on a perfect left-hand tufa pinch and a right-hand split crimp. From here, you have four steady but very engaged moves that lead to two pockets. This is where the crux sequence starts: a hard bump into a sharp right-hand undercut, then a high-tension foot walk. From here, you do the hardest move, which is a big dynamic left-hand slap to a bad small flat edge. I think this move alone is around a one-move 8B+/V14. Finally, you commit to another big slap up with the right hand to a good flake to finish”.

In a nod to Nalle Hukkataival's Burden of Dreams, the world's first Font 9A boulder in Finland which Bosi made the second ascent of back in April 2023, the Raven Tor project has previously been dubbed the Burden of Nightmares project. In addition to numerous sessions in previous years, Will has had over ten sessions attempting the Raven Tor line this year alone.

Commenting on the grade, Will added: “Arriving at a proposed grade has been haunting me on this project ever since I started working on the boulder. Finding an accurate grade on short, punchy boulders is so difficult as the eventual grade is so dependent upon perfect beta and suiting the style and preference of the climber. However, drawing upon my own experience, I can say that it is a step above Font 8C+ boulders of a similar style and sits as a low-end Font 9A boulder. However, I welcome the thoughts of other climbers who get on this excellent problem.”

If – as seems highly likely given Bosi’s time on the project - Realm of Tor’ment is confirmed at Font 9A, Will would become the first person to climb five Font 9A boulders worldwide and cement his reputation as one of the world’s leading boulderers.

In autumn last year, Will claimed the second ascent Spots of Time, Aidan Roberts’s Font 9A in the Lake District. Will’s ascent of Realm of Tor’ment continues his run of form through a series of hard repeats and first ascents in Switzerland earlier this year, as well as the second ascent of Stefano Ghisolfi’s Excalibur (F9b+) in Arco.

Prior to Realm of Tor’ment, the hardest boulder in the Peak District was Will’s 2022 Honey Badger at Badger Cove, which Will graded Font 8C+. In contrast to Realm of Tor’ment, Will’s Honey Badger boulder is 22 moves long. Currently, Honey Badger remains unrepeated.

Will now plans to continue climbing in the UK before returning to overseas projects later in the year.

Watch Will climbing Honey Badger below…