16-Year-Old Beckett Hsin Climbs Defying Gravity V15 in a Single Session
He's the third climber in a row to send the problem in a day
On October 19, Beckett Hsin sent Defying Gravity V15 (8C) in Thunder Ridge, Colorado. Impressively, the 16-year-old American was able to top the line in just a single session. Undeniably one of the coolest boulder problems anywhere, Defying Gravity built up a reputation for being hard to learn, with climbers taking many sessions to unlock it.
Defying Gravity is wildly dynamic, featuring one of the single hardest starting moves in the world. Clocking in at around V14, the problem’s first move is a coordinated jump sequence between two glassy rails. A few different betas have been discovered for sticking the rail, but each one is as difficult as the next. After moving to a higher set of rails, a huge, shouldery V10ish deadpoint follows where climbers cut feet and try to fight the violent swing.
Daniels Wood established the problem in 2013. A few days after Woods’ FA, Jimmy Webb made the second ascent. The problem then went unrepeated for nearly 10 years, until Noah Wheeler made the third ascent in late 2023. Shortly after the long-awaited third ascent, Tokyo Olympics silver medalist Nathaniel Coleman picked up the fourth ascent. Coleman also eventually established a low start to the problem — No One Mourns the Wicked V17.
Fall 2024 saw a trio of ascents. Austin Geiman sent in October, taking over 100 sessions to finally complete it. Adam Shahar topped in November. Then, in December, Colin Duffy blew everyone’s minds by sending in just eight attempts in a single session. Hamish McArthur pushed things even further in May this year, topping both Defying Gravity and No One Mourns the Wicked in under two hours. Hsin is now the third climber in a row to top the Defying Gravity in a single session.
“Absolute dream line for me,” said Hsin on Instagram. “A beautiful, tall face with the most perfect grips imaginable. Being able to do it in just one session feels absolutely unreal. This thing has been at the top of my list for quite some time now. I knew it would likely fit my style, but despite this I always felt intimidated by how big the moves are (I’m 5’2). Yesterday I finally made the mission out to DG, and was pleasantly surprised by how possible it felt. After working it for a bit I was able to stick the crux move several times. But the second “easier” jump proved to be just as difficult due to me not being able to reach it (I think I fell here more than the actual crux lol).
“After a few more tries of falling on the second jump from the bottom, I was able to execute the sequence perfectly, and stick the second jump move for the first time (see slide 6) then took it all the way to the top! After my send I repeated the first crux move for a total of 7 times, and made a couple links on the low. Maybe one day I’ll be back for [No One Mourns the Wicked].”
Just last month, Hsin repeated Creature of the Black Lagoon V16 in the Upper Chaos Canyon in Rocky Mountain National Park. In 2023, he climbed The Game V15, a Daniel Woods line at Cob Rock, Colorado. This year alone, his V14 ticklist includes Echale at Clear Creek Canyon, Colorado, Ménage a Trois in Rocklands, South Africa, The Grey at Rocky Mountain National Park, and Book Club in Rocklands, South Africa. Hsin sent his first V14, Spatial Awareness Low, at Lincoln Lake, Colorado when he was only 12 years old.
