The Future of Hard Bouldering with Will Bosi and special guests

What is the future of hard bouldering?

With the modernisation of climbing gyms and revolutionary training programmes, climbing is entering a whole new sphere with the hardest bouldering grades in the world tumbling at a meteoric rate. But who is behind this wave, and why is it happening now?

At this thrilling event, we are joined by special guest Will Bosi shortly on the back of his V17 ascent of Burden of Dreams, the world's hardest boulder problem. His first landmark outdoor ascent came in 2015 when, at 16, Bosi climbed his first V14 boulder, Monk Life, at Kyloe-in-the-Woods, Northumberland. Impressively, it took Bosi only two sessions to work out the moves before sending the boulder promptly on his third visit. Since then, Bosi has become one of the leading lights of GB Climbing. Hear from Bosi first hand about his transition from a world class competition climber to being considered one of the strongest boulderers in the world. 

Joining Bosi on stage to discuss this fascinating topic is climbing legend Jerry Moffatt. There are few climbers who could be acknowledged as the best of their generation - Moffatt is one of them. After taking up climbing while at school in Llandudno in the 1970s he went on to become arguably the best climber in the world during the 1980s and continued to operate at the highest level throughout the 1990s. In 1988, Moffatt solved Superman at Cressbrook, one of the first-ever V12 boulder problems in the world and in 1993 he added The Dominator at V13 to his list of accolades, considered one of the first-ever V13 boulders ever climbed. In 1997, he climbed the 12-metre high Samson (E8 7b) at Burbage South, while technically the hardest gritstone route at that time, with boulder pads is now a highball bouldering problem at 8a. In 2002, on Stanage Edge in the Peak District Moffatt solved the long-term boulder problem The Ace at V13, the hardest boulder problem in Britain at the time, and effectively Moffatt's last major new route.

This event will be hosted by Shauna Coxsey. Coxsey is Britain's most successful ever competitive climber and the UK's first ever Bouldering World Champion. After being named Team GB’s first-ever sport climber, she represented GB at the Tokyo Olympics and will be presenting climbing at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Coxsey’s hardest boulder send came in 2014 when she repeated New Base Line V14 at Magic Wood, Switzerland. At the time, she was only the third woman to climb V14. 

Photo by Diego Borello.