Noah Wheeler Tops Sleepwalker, Comments on Grade
Wheeler's send is the problem's fifth ascent since October
Yesterday, American climber Noah Wheeler repeated Sleepwalker V16 in Red Rock, Nevada. Established by Jimmy Webb in December 2018, Sleepwalker has since become one of the most repeated V16s in the world, seeing ascents from Daniel Woods, Nalle Hukkataival, Drew Ruana, Matt Fultz, Ryuichi Murai, and many others.
“The climb that consumed my mind for a year straight,” said Wheeler about Sleepwalker on Instagram. “After a weather-restricted two sessions last year, in which only individual moves were done, but an infatuation was developed, I came back this year with the hope of sending. I immediately felt way stronger on the boulder and especially the crux bump, and in my second session this year, I fell on the final pinch throw move five times in a row. Its funny how much rest can distort the projecting process. At this point I knew I could send, but my mind and doubt felt like a huge barrier. Thankfully after a rest day of attempted mental reconciliation, I managed to stick the throw from the start and take it to the top.”
Sleepwalker has seen a surprising number of sends over the past few months. Zander Waller ticked the line in October, 17-year-old Kai Whaley topped it in November, and Zach Galla sent in December. A few days before Wheeler’s ascent, Andy Lamb completed the problem.
Sleepwalker is Wheeler’s first V16. The 21-year-old has four V15s to his name. He sent Defying Gravity V15 using a wild campus beta in in November. In 2022, he sent three V15s – Paint it Black in Rocky Mountain National Park, Delirium at Mt Evans, and Sound of Violence in Joe’s Valley.
There is some debate about the grade of Sleepwalker. While most climbers have suggested V16 for the climb, Zander Waller – who has quite a large wingspan – said V15 is a more appropriate grade with his beta.
“The beta I used is much easier than previous betas, and I don’t think that it can possibly warrant a V16 grade,” said Waller via Instagram after his October 2023 ascent. “Admittedly, I have almost no experience on difficult boulders, but for me to skip V14 and V15 and then do a V16 in less than four sessions seems outlandish. I’d love for other people my size to try my beta and see what they think; for now, I am confident that the boulder is V15, potentially even low-end. Regardless, Sleepwalker is an amazing climb and I’m grateful for the opportunity to try it.”
For him, Wheeler thinks Sleepwalker is a soft V16. “Concerning the grade, there are three primary betas for the boulder depending on height – each of which shifts the difficulty,” he explained on Instagram. “As I had to send with the original beta – which felt a fair bit harder and burlier than the [V15s] I have done and tried – I think soft [V16] is reasonable though this may change with time. Either way I am psyched to keep learning from the process – physically and mentally.”
Wheeler breaks down the different betas for Sleepwalker in a recently released video, which you can watch below. He demonstrates the moves and how different heights/wingspans can alter the difficulty of the problem.
