Smith Rock Gets Its First V14, Then Another One

Earlier this fall, Vance Stanfield announced that he’d made the first ascent of Murder Mitten, which became the first V14 in Smith Rock upon completion. Stanfield has now shared that he’s climbed another V14 in Smith Rock.

Months after first finding the problem, Stanfield decided to return. I came back, and after 14 long sessions – sick, tired, strong, sore – Smith Rock has its first v14 boulder,” he said. “I’m beyond psyched to contribute even a small piece of history to such a legendary climbing area.”

Smith Rock is one of North America’s most famous sport climbing areas, with a long history of development dating back to the 1960s. The cliffs rise above the Crooked River in Oregon’s high desert. Home to hundreds of routes on tuff and basalt, it’s not known for its difficult boulders.

After Murder Mitten, Stanfield continued to work on another steep Smith Rock project, one that he hiked up to nearly every week since last winter. He built a landing, cleaned the 52 degree face, and got to work. “There was a long stretch of time on this boulder I thought I might never send it,” he said. “Even after doing most the moves it was a big question mark. It seemed to hold some of the harder moves I’ve done, and they were in a row. As I learned beta, the pieces fell together and I began to make links about a month ago.”

Stanfield, who finished top 10 at the USA Youth Nationals this summer, had already established one of Oregon’s hardest boulders in 2024 with Aracnobatics V13/14. About completing his second V14, which he named Paper Halo, he said, “I started to be able to fathom sending the boulder as a whole, instead of focusing on just getting a move done. Less then a month later, I was standing on top.”