Montana Adventurer

Climbing phenom Daniel Woods has finally sent a long-sought, eight-move boulder problem in Boulder Canyon, Colo.

Called “The Game,” the problem has eluded strongmen like Paul Robinson and Dave Graham. But the 20-year-old Woods finally sent the problematic roof route.

Photos courtesy The North Face

“V16 is only a number. The more important thing is the progression it meant to myself in my climbing,” Wood told Rock and Ice’s Andrew Bisharat. “It’s cool to feel like I have established a climb that is pushing the limits for the sport of bouldering. Time will tell how hard it [The Game] actually is, but for now I feel like it is a new level boulder problem.

V16 is the outer limits of bouldering. Although there are a few other V16 routes in the world, some are on routes that have chipped holds, while others are link-ups of existing V15 problems.

Boulders, for those of you who don’t know, are rated on a V scale started by John “Vermin” Sherman. They don’t translate precisely to climbing grades along the Yosemite Decimal System, but it’s fair to say V16 is to bouldering what 5.15 is to wall climbing.

Which is to say that V16 is simply superhuman.

Michael Moore