With Spots of Time and Midnight, Aidan Roberts has opened two absolute high-end boulders with 9A potential. Just like with the communication of his first ascents, the strong Brit also took his time with the evaluation. Now it's clear: With Spots of Time, the bouldering world is a 9A richer.
The bouldering specialist Aidan Roberts opened two boulders this year, Spots of Time and Midnight, which were traded as possible 9A lines. After careful consideration, he agreed Spots of Time confirmed the assumptions and thus the maximum difficulty level of 9A.
It's easy to get lost when evaluating. I preferred to take time to reflect and evaluate my commitment to this boulder independent of others' judgment.
Aidan Roberts
Spots of Time: Longest project to date
“I believe that grades help to compare the difficulty of bouldering among each other and between different locations,” says Aidan Roberts. At the same time, rating is associated with the potential personal incentive to give a high rating.
Because of this last point, I believe it is important to consider degrees carefully to ensure honesty, both with myself and with everyone else.
Aidan Roberts
At Spots of Time, Aidan Roberts climbed mostly alone, which meant he lacked input from others. He still suggests difficulty level 9A. «I feel that Spots of Time is comparable to other 9As I have tried, while being more difficult than the 8C+ lines from my experience.»
At this level, where the style is so specific and the details so important, it's a good guess at best.
Aidan Roberts
Numerous sessions and tough winter training
«To date, this was certainly my longest project to date. I tried it for the first time about a year ago when summer started. On sunny days and warm weather, I chased the clouds and worked on possible sequences."
Aidan Roberts needed around ten sessions to solve the individual moves and complete his sequence. And it took that long again until he had refined his moves to the point where he could make serious attempts at climbing.
During a test at the end of September, the final move appeared to be within the realm of possibility for the first time. In the end, it took “one of the most intensive winter training sessions that I have ever completed in order to gain the necessary skills to have a chance of making it through.”
All that remained was to find that special moment where the factors fit, the mind stays clear, and all of these pieces work together flawlessly.
Aidan Roberts
The final attempt was anything but perfect, remembers Aidan Roberts. And still it was enough for the first ascent for Spots of Time: "With just a little left in the tank, it feels like I've got tricker things still in me somewhere."
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Credits: Cover picture @jimpopeonarope