The American Dave Graham climbs the Boulder, first brought by Paul Robinson Dragon's Guardian (8b +) in Threehook, Rocklands.
Paul Robinson discovered the bouldering block in 2014 when he was exploring the valley in Cederberg. "I ran over excited, not knowing what I would find underneath the roof. I quickly spied an easier line that would later become, Dragon's Eye, but to the left remained a nearly blank section of perfect stone that almost begged to be climbed. That year, I couldn't visualize the line so I left without trying it, ”he comments when he saw the block from afar.
First ascent of Dragon's Guardian in June 2016
Two years after the discovery, Paul Robinson began to project the boulder. "Days went by on it, some good, some bad, but each day I learned and broke down the sequences one by one. After, a big storm, I woke up to perfect conditions. I marched up the hill and straight to this roof. After a short warm up and a quick refresher on some of the moves, I took a few deep breaths, chalked up, and sent the line that I once thought could never be climbed, "said Paul after the successful climb. He rated the line 8c.
Nalle Hukkataival with the second ascent
The second ascent was not long in coming. None other than the Finn Nalle Hukkataival managed the second ascent of Dragon's Guardian a few weeks after Paul Robinson. Nalle raved about this heavily overhanging boulder, but rated the difficulty as 8b +: "Perhaps not quite 8c but a great hard boulder nonetheless", says Nalle.
Dragon's Guardian - what a line
The boulder is more than praised by all hikers. "Great Boulder", "Absolutely superb" and other superlatives are used. We are of course used to that from the Americans. Apparently it is Dragon's Guardian but really a very exciting boulder, consisting of a "brutal toe hook-meets double gaston rip move into gnarly match-deadpoint", as Dave Graham describes the 8b + boulder.
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Credits: Picture Dave Graham