A Surprisingly Flowy Flash of a Daniel Woods V14
Nicolai Užnik's first go send of American Gangster V14 was near-flawless

On November 8, Austrian climber Nicolai Užnik flashed American Gangster V14 (8B+) in Zillertal, Austria. The five-star problem was established by Daniel Woods in 2009 and has since seen repeats by Paul Robinson, Jimmy Webb, and Pietro Vidi, among others. Starting and ending with a jug, the powerful line links a couple two-move V12s into a committing finish. Although footage had been released in the past, Mellow just released full send video of Užnik’s ascent, which you can watch below.
“After having narrowly missed out on flashing another boulder of this grade not too long ago, this time I got my revenge!” said Užnik on Instagram after his send. “So happy about accomplishing this goal of mine and especially on such a cool line as well, opened by [Daniel Woods] back in 2009. I was gambling quite a bit with my beta choice for the top part but luckily it worked out and I was able to keep it together after almost messing up the starting sequence.”
American Gangster was Užnik’s first V14 flash. In 2023, he made the first post-break ascent of Emotional Landscapes in Maltatal, Austria, grading the problem V16. He has many V15 ascents to his name, including three Ticino blocs over the past three months: Forgotten Gem, From Dirt Grows the Flowers, and Unison. Užnik has extensive IFSC Word Cup experience, making the finals at multiple events over the past few years.