Dai Koyamada, 44, sends new V15 with Amenohabakiri
He's been a top boulderer since the late 1990s
Dai Koyamada has made the first ascent of Amenohabakiri, a new V15 in Japan. The 44-year-old legendary climber climbed his first V15 in 2003 with the FA of Byaku-dou.
On a rope, Koyamada sent Action Directe 5.14d in 2005, Hugh 5.14d in 2002 and made the first ascent of Logical Progression 5.14d in 2001.
In 1996, Koyamada won the Japanese National Championship. He spent four years competing before retiring; he said, “The real nature of my climbing resides in crags.” In 2004, he travelled to Australia and repeated every problem at the Hollow Mountain Cave (HMC) in the Grampians, problems put up by Fred Nicole and Klem Loskot.
He then made the first ascent of The Wheel of Life V16 in 2004. In Switzerland, he repeated Dreamtime, which was the first V15, but it was later down-graded. In 2017, he got the FA Nayuta V16 in Gero, Japan.
Watch his smooth execution of Amenohabakiri below and note that he doesn’t use chalk from the bottom to the top.