Southern Drawl in the U.S.A. was Just Climbed

The steep problem was just climbed for its fourth and fifth time since the first ascent nine years ago

Gripped February 4, 2024

Southern Drawl is a steep problem found at the popular Chattanooga in Tennessee that goes at V15. It was first climbed by Jimmy Webb back in 2015 at V14,

The second ascent was by Taylor McNeill after 15 sessions, he suggested an upgrade to V15. The third ascent was by Nicholas Milburn who climbed it after 25 sessions and also suggested that it was V15.

Now to start 2024, it was just repeated by Ben Burkhalter and Zach Galla. Burkhalter, who’s 23 years old, said on 8a.nu, “Southern Drawl is a very meaningful boulder for me. It encapsulates everything that I was bad at. Pure big hold power on slopers that need perfect friction to stick. It also demands ton of body tension plus open hand / half crimp strength, which for a long time has been my total anti-style. Despite having grown up climbing in the Southeast, I’ve always been strongest on crimps. Drawl is one of those mystical lines that I’d heard about long ago, but with its brutal difficulty and physical style I never thought it could ever go for me.”

Galla found new beta for his send, which included a big dynamic move – watch it below by scrolling to the right. Burkhalter’s other V15 sends include Paint it Black (watch below), Railway, The Game and Blade Runner. Galla has climbed several hard problems, including The Game V15, Sleepwalker V15 (personal grade of V16), and Grand Illusion V16.