Colin Duffy Topping Defying Gravity V15 in Just Eight Tries
The wildly dynamic problem features one of the single hardest starting moves in the world
On December 1, Colin Duffy made the seventh ascent of Defying Gravity V15 (8C) in Thunder Ridge, Colorado. Incredibly, he sent the notoriously finicky problem in a single session in just eight attempts, using the campus beta for the opening move.
Established by Daniels Wood in 2013, Defying Gravity has reached legendary status due to its first move, a contender for one of the single hardest starting moves in the world. Clocking in at around V14, the move is a coordinated throw to a glassy rail. A few different methods have been discovered for sticking the rail, but each one is as difficult as the next. After moving to a higher set of edges, a huge, shouldery double-digit deadpoint follows – with climbers cutting feet and coiling their body into a Janja-esque scorpion in order to hold the position.
Duffy just released a video of his one and only session on Defying Gravity, which you can watch below. His rapid progression on the problem is pretty nuts:
- Flash attempt – fails first move
- Attempt 2 – fails first move
- Attempt 3 – fails first move
- Attempt 4 – fails first move
- Attempt 5 – dry-fires off starting hold
- Attempt 6 – sticks first move, fails fourth move
- Attempt 7 – sticks first move, fails fourth move
- Attempt 8 – sticks first move, sends the problem
Defying Gravity V15 is the two-time Team USA Olympian’s second of the grade, his first coming a week ago with Echalo V15 in Clear Creek Canyon, Colorado. Interestingly, he sent V16 before V15. In February last year, Duffy made the second ascent of Drew Ruana’s Bookkeeping V16.
