Toru Nakajima repeated Sleepwalker during a short trip to the Red Rocks. The strong Japanese artist only needed two sessions for Jimmy Webb's test piece.
Toru Nakajima is one of the most comprehensive climbers in Japan. With trad routes up to E9, sport climbs in the 9th French grade and bouldering up to 8C+, he is one of the best in various climbing disciplines. His speciality, however, is bouldering. He has proven this with his lightning ascent of Sleepwalker in the Red Rocks. In his second session he was able to climb Jimmy Webb's test piece.
Toru Nakajima himself seems to have been a little surprised that he was able to repeat this iconic line so quickly. He has achieved his goal for this short trip. But he will not let the remaining days go by unused. "Guess what I'll try next?" Well, with Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) or Shaolin (9A) there are two lines in the Red Rocks that could challenge the strong Japanese.
Sleepwalker: slight downward price correction
As for the difficulty level of Sleepwalker, Toru Nakajima estimates the boulder to be 8C/8C+. This puts him in line with the suggestions of the last four repeaters, who all suggested a slight downward correction (mostly 8C+ soft).
Will Bosi and Zander Waller even rated the line 8C and 8C (soft), respectively. While Bosi had already been able to compare it to a handful of 8C+ at this point, Zander Waller had never bouldered anything harder than 8B until he climbed Sleepwalker.
That might interest you
- Will Bosi climbs Sleepwalker in a hurry and downgrades to 8C
- Will Bosi repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (9A) and confirms grade
- Lucid Dreaming: Fourth climb after 7 years for Toru Nakajima
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Credits: Cover picture Drew Ruana