Dave Graham Climbs V15 With “One of the most technical sequences”
The first ascent of the difficult problem was by Jimmy Webb and it's been repeated by a handful or others
Dave Graham, 40, has climbed Primitivo V15 in Valle Bavona, Switzerland. Primitivo was first climbed by Jimmy Webb and has been repeated by Giuliano Cameroni, Isabelle Faus and Daniel Woods, and others.
He’s been one of America’s top climbers for the past 20 years. In a breakdown of his ascent, Graham said, “I thought of where I was placing my body, and realized my left foot was about 20 cm off from where it was in a video when I climbed through the sequence. I began leaning more to the left, and realized it weighted my heel properly.
“I started to stick the first move again. After five tries of slipping off the foot-walk I got to the knee, waiting for it to slip I slowly creeped upwards, doing my ghost moves, gained the middle rest, then and battled through to the finish. One of the most technical sequences I have ever accomplished.”
Born in Maine, started climbing in 1997 thanks to one of his ski teammates bringing him to try. Within a year, he climbed The Present 5.14a, and then quickly became one of the strongest climbers in the world. In 2005, he moved to Europe and made the first ascent of The Story of Two Worlds V15.
Dave Graham Profile
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