Allison Vest Tops V13 in Red Rock
The top boulderer adds one final hard ascent before the end of 2025
Just before 2025 came to a close, Allison Vest climbed Reflecting Pool V13 (8B) in Red Rock, Nevada. The sandstone problem was established by Carlo Traversi in February 2013, who described it as “crazy climbing with a very intense toe hook.” Paul Robinson made the second ascent on the same day, right after Traversi. Other top climbers to send the line include Dave Graham, Gabriele Moroni, Zach Galla, Matt Fultz, Nils Favre, Austin Purdy, Andy Lamb, Jimmy Web, and Daniel Woods, among others.
“Happy and slightly surprised to make it up Reflecting Pool (V13) before the end of the year,” said Vest on Instagram. “Lots of family time in Vegas lately. Grateful.”
Vest has been on a sending spree this Fall/Winter 2025 season, with three of her best sends coming back-to-back last month. On November 6, she topped The Expanse V14/15 in Joe’s Valley, Utah, her hardest problem to date. The next day, she climbed The Mantra V14, which was a multi-year project for her. After having possibly the best two climbing days of her life, she topped of Eclipse Sit V13, also in Little Cottonwood Canyon.
“Both projects were certainly my hardest to date but beyond that, the more I climb the more difficult grades seem to determine,” said Vest after her The Expanse and The Mantra sends. “After all, grades are simply subjective conversation starters that have no real quantitative metrics and are mostly also determined by men. The day I did The Mantra (V14) I did it my first try from the bottom of the year and felt super strong on it. I definitely tried harder on the send go of The Expanse. That one went up at 15 and since then, both 14 and 15 have been tossed around for it. Since I’m significantly shorter (or I guess, my legs are lol) than anyone else who’s climbed it I lean towards the higher grade but honestly, I need to do more squeezers at that level to have any stake in the conversation there. All I know is that peak week hit hard this year and I’m here for it. And above all else, I’m proud of my perseverance.”
In 2022, Vest topped her first V14, Show Your Scars in Ogden, Utah. This send made her the first Canadian woman in history to climb the grade. The ascent came after she stepped away from the Canadian National Team and comp climbing. She has sent over 15 V13s. In May 2023, she climbed two V13s: Pagan Poetry Low in Joe’s Valley, Utah and Green in the Face in Castle Rocks, Idaho. A couple of months later, in July, she climbed two more V13s on a trip to Rocklands, South Africa: Bitch! and Master Key.
