Bouldering Levels Up?
If the grade sticks, bouldering has reached a new level: 9A+ or V18.
Elias Iagnemma, a 29 year old Italian climber, has proposed the grade for his new line Exodia, in Rifugio Barbara in Val Pellice, Italy. The previous benchmark of 9A/V17 was ushered in by Nalle Hukkataival nine years ago, in 2016. That boulder, Burden of Dreams, is still considered the benchmark of the grade and has been repeated four times, including by Iagnemma in 25 days of effort. There are as many as 12 other boulders currently holding the 9A grade, some unrepeated, and others repeated with the grade agreed with.
One of those 12 is a first ascent by Iagnemma, named The Big Slamm and was previously Italy's hardest boulder. It took him 35 days of effort to establish that line, while Exodia required over 200 sessions. Iagnemma's pedigree in climbing the world's hardest boulders, plus the relative effort he needed to succeed on Exodia suggests the grade is credible.
Iagnemma has commented:
"When I discovered Exodia, a project left unfinished by climbing legend Christian Core, something clicked inside me. The line was incredibly complex, and there were moments when I wanted to give up, but I kept coming back, season after season, treating it as a personal testing ground. After over four years of attempts, failures, and small steps forward, everything finally aligned: my mental state, the conditions, and yes, perhaps even a pinch of luck … or maybe just pure perseverance.
"Exodia, a name I chose as a tribute to the Yu-Gi-Oh! universe, has been the most difficult challenge of my life, and for this reason, I propose 9A+ / V18. I am sure that repeating a similar process will be extremely difficult, at least for me. I hope that one day someone else can attempt Exodia, experience the same emotions I felt, and share their own thoughts about the line."
Of course, bouldering grades are a fickle business in general, and only more so at the top end. While Hukkataival famously took years to establish Burden Of Dreams, and it was unrepeated for seven years until 2023, when the second ascent finally came it was in just 12 sessions by Will Bosi. Bosi had trained for the boulder on a 3D printed replica made by Aidan Roberts, a talking point for many who follow the sport. While training on boulders set indoors to act as replicas is fairly common practice, never before had an outdoor boulder been so precisely replicated inside.
This raised the question, did Bosi even need to go and repeat the outdoor version, once he'd succeeded on the indoor model? To climb Hukkataival's boulder, clearly yes, many say. But to climb the grade of difficulty, if that is the goal, has he not already succeeded? Keen followers of indoor bouldering competitions already know that the cutting edge of bouldering difficulty—the essence of difficult rock climbing movement—has already been transported from outside to inside. Given the requirements of continual access, weather conditions and hold/skin/shoe preparation necessary for bouldering performance at the maximum level, it is obviously the case that indoor boulders are going to offer a greater chance of achieving maximum performance. How long will it be until the acknowledged hardest boulder in the world is an indoor boulder problem?
The bouldering experience, for most people, is about more than just the hardest thing you can possibly climb. Outdoor bouldering offers a much richer experience than just ticking the biggest number. And yet, for many, ticking the biggest number is their primary motivation. So how long will it be until indoor numbers are treated with equivalent significance to outdoor numbers?