Kai Whaley Goes From V13 to V16
The 17-year-old has climbed the powerful Sleepwalker in Red Rocks
Kai Whaley, 17, has repeated the iconic Sleepwalker V16 in Red Rock, Nevada. His previous hardest problem was Slasher V13 in Joe’s Valley, and a few days after Sleepwalker he ticked Meadowlark Lemon Stand V13.
Whaley grew up in Las Vegas and said that he was inspired by Jimmy Webb’s first ascent back when he was only 11. “I’ve always wanted to try the boulder but back then I was too short and was not powerful enough to do any of the moves,” Whaley said on 8a.nu.
“I did make quite the big grade jump this season but that’s mainly because I decided to focus all my time on Sleepwalker after a few promising sessions. I have also gotten close on other hard climbs that will fill in the grade gap. It was a big physical and mental battle for me after some regression in the middle sessions that I had to battle with, but in the end it was all worth it because I was able to do one of the most iconic climbs where I grew up.”
Earlier this year, Zander Waller suggested that Sleepwalker is V15, not V16. Webb made the first ascent of Sleepwalker back in 2018; the sit-start was first climbed by Daniel Woods as Return of the Sleepwalker V17. After his send, Webb said it was maybe “the hardest boulder in the country.” Matt Fultz was the first to suggest it was a soft V16, with Drew Ruana, Ryuichi Murai and Nalle Hukkataival giving it V16.
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