First established by Jimmy Webb in 2018, Sleepwalker (8C+), was considered potentially one of the hardest boulders in the USA. It’s now in danger of a suggested downgrade by Utah climber Zander Waller.
After sending the route this mid-October, Zander skipped two grades in one sitting, hitting the 8C+ milestone after only four sessions at the boulder. He blames his success on his beta, himself being a tall climber (182 cm with a huge 193 cm arm span), and the fact that he surprisingly didn’t struggle as much as he was expecting to send an 8C+.
Jimmy’s Sleepwalker has been previously climbed by climbing legends such as Daniel Woods, Nalle Hukkataival, Drew Ruana, and Ryuichi Murai, who agreed to the grade, apart from Matt Fultz, who suggested a potential downgrade, calling the route “a soft 8C+.”
This isn’t Waller’s first attempt at downgrading a route. This April, he flashed Dunks on Deck (8B+) in Salt Lake City, suggesting an initial 7C downgrade and then changing his mind to 8A in the end!
Being such a good sport, Zander argued his decision to downgrade by saying that he’s not going to take a grade when he doesn’t deserve it.
The 19-year-old climber from Salt Lake City is participating in the IFSC circuit, having notable results. His latest achievement was 12th place in the men’s bouldering event at the World Cup stage in his hometown, Salt Lake City.
Featured image: @zanderwaller
