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V14 Climber on Gym vs Outdoor Grades

Alex Johnson is a decorated comp climber and a V14 boulderer. She breaks down indoor vs outdoor grades

Alex Johnson has long been one of America’s top climbers. After her time competing, taking pause, and coming back out of retirement, Johnson continues to progress on rock and has become a role model in the climbing community.

In 2022, she repeated The Swarm V14 and has climbed well over 100 routes V10 or harder. In 2009, she won the overall American Bouldering Series, and has twice won individual stages in the annual Bouldering World Cup series. She has over 15 years of experience climbing in gyms and on rock.

In this video, she talks about how at climbing gyms, grades up to V8 are usually easier than outdoors, but V8 and above are often much harder than outdoors.

Indoor vs Outdoor Grades

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