Zach Galla Sending Sleepwalker and More

American climber Zach Galla had an incredible year of bouldering in 2023. Produced by Olympus Blue Studios and released by Mellow, The Galla Tapes is a new film featuring Galla’s most impressive climbs in Utah, Nevada, and Idaho in 2023 and late 2022. You can watch the film below.

The film covers some of Galla’s big sends in Little Cottonwood Canon, Utah including his first ascent of Up in Smoke V14 in November 2022 and repeat of the ultra-crimpy The Mantra V14 in March last year. His second ascent of the striking The Doors of Perception V15 is also included. He topped the Sean Bailey problem in late December. “A culmination of everything [Little Cottonwood Canyon] has taught me over the last few years,” said Galla about the climb on Instagram. “The condensed difficulty and super tech style make this thing extremely hard to put together. seeing it through and finishing it up stands out to me as a major step up in my own climbing.”

Also featured in The Galla Tapes are his repeats of Warpath V14 in Castle Rocks, Idaho in October 2022 and The Sound of Violence V15 in Joe’s Valley back in September. The film ends with Galla’s perhaps most famous send – a repeat of Jimmy Webb’s Sleepwalker V15/16, which he topped in December 2023. “By far the most surprised I’ve been topping something out!” he said about the climb on Instagram.

Galla, 23, is quickly becoming one of the strongest boulderers in the United States. In recent years, he’s picked up sends of Sleepwalker V15/16 and Nathaniel Coleman’s Grand Illusion V16, six problems graded V15, and many V14s. Since September 2023, he’s climbed four V15s and one V15/16.

The Galla Tapes