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Sean Bailey Sends The Grand Illusion V16 in Utah

This is the first repeat after the first ascent this summer

Sean Bailey has made the second ascent of Nathaniel Coleman’s The Grand Illusion V16 in Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah. The 25-move 10-metre problem is the low start to Chris Sharma’s Euro Roof and climbs a 70-degree overhang.

Coleman made the first ascent of The Grand Illusion earlier this year after digging out the ground below Sharma’s route. Watch a video of Coleman and Drew Ruana projecting The Grand Illusion below.

Bailey, who’s now climbed three 5.15s, said The Grand Illusion is similar to a 5.15a/b. Bailey sent a number of hard problems in the past few months: Clear Blue Man V12 flash, Modern Man V14, Ode V14, White Noise V15 and Box Therapy V16,

In March 2016, Bailey, now 24, won the USA Climbing Sport and Speed Open National Championships. A few months later, he sent Realization 5.15a in Céüse, France, that August. In 2016 and 2017, he made it to IFSC World Cup finals three times.

Bailey was a favourite for the Olympics and hoped to clinch an invite to the Games at the Pan-American Championships earlier this year, but Colin Duffy scored better and secured the final spot on the American team. Listen to Bailey on the Enormocast here.

The Grand Illusion

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