These Climbers Have Done V17 and 5.15c
Will Bosi just joined a short list of climbers who've completed two of the hardest grades in rock climbing
As of the start of February 2025, there are only three rock climbers who’ve ever completed a V17 boulder and 5.15c route. There has never been a V18 established, yet, and there are three routes graded harder than 5.15c: Silence 5.15d by Adam Ondra, DNA 5.15d Seb Bouin, and Big 5.15d by Jakob Schubert.
Will Bosi has just made the second ascent of Excalibur 5.15c in Italy, making him the third climber to climb both 5.15c and V17. To date, he’s climbed four V17 boulders: Return of the Sleepwalker, Alphane, Burden of Dreams and Spots of Time.
Sean Bailey was the second climber to complete V17 and 5.15c. In September 2021, he repeated Bibliographie 5.15c in France. And then in early 2024 he made the first ascent of Shaolin V17, before also repeating Alphane V17 in late 2024.
Jakob Schubert was the first climber to climb V17 and 5.15c. In 2019, he climbed his first 5.15c with Perfecto Mundo and then he sent his first V17 in December 2023 with Alphane. Schubert is the only climber to have redpointed a V17 and proposed 5.15d to date.
Check out the latest buyer's guide:
