What Are the Holds Like on Burden of Dreams V17?

The world’s first V17, Burden of Dreams, saw a lot of action over the past year. A few of the world’s best climbers spent the winter and spring projecting the boulder, including Shawn Raboutou, Will Bosi, and Stefano Ghisolfi. Will Bosi went on to pick up the coveted second ascent of the line in April.

First sent by Nalle Hukkataival in 2016, Burden of Dreams is a five-move crimp line on an 45-degree overhanging face that resembles board climbing. Everything about the problem is difficult. The holds are small and face in awkward directions, requiring very specific finger and thumb positions. The moves are long, especially to the final three-finger crimp, necessitating powerful, dynamic movement. And the foot holds are lousy demanding an immense amount of body tension.

Not known for his bouldering, Ghisolfi surprised many with his progress on Burden this year. After a successful session on the famous plastic replica with Bosi, he set off to Finland to try the real thing. He completed all moves in isolation (including the notoriously difficult first move) and made lots of links.

Ghisolfi just released a video where he breaks down the holds on Burden of Dreams in detail. He shows close-ups of both the hand and foot holds and demonstrates the various finger placement used by him, Bosi, and Raboutou. He made similar popular videos for Bibliographie 5.15c and Silence 5.15d in recent years. If you’ve always thought Burden looked impossible, you’ll be even more steadfast in this belief after watching Ghisolfi’s new video below.

Stefano Ghisolfi Breaks Down the Holds on Burden of Dreams V17

A few weeks ago, Raboutou released a similar video breaking down the moves of Burden of Dreams. He goes over his micro-beta in detail – his individual finger positions, foot moves, finger swaps, and finding a balance between static and dynamic movement. You can watch the video below.

Shawn Raboutou Breaks Down the Moves on Burden of Dreams V17