Controlled movements, tiny edges, stable body positions – American sport climber Sean Bailey quietly repeated Aidan Roberts' test piece »Arrival of the Birds« in Chironico, Switzerland.
First replay without commentary from Bailey
In the winter of 2024, Bailey made climbing history: He achieved the first ascent of the world's ninth 9A boulder problem.Shaolin" in the Red RocksShortly thereafter, he devoted himself to Shawn Raboutous alphanes, also 9A, in Chironico and secured the sixth repeat. Now he quietly ventured onto Aidan Roberts' crimp test piece. Bailey didn't make a loud announcement of his repeat, but instead posted a video on Instagram that initially leaves one to only speculate about what he's actually bouldering.
That's unbelievable, we're getting the first rerun of Arrival of the Birds as a reel without caption in 240p.
quarterpadminipinch comment on Instagram
The Midnight Project – Low or high start?
"Is this a repeat of Arrival of the Birds?" The scene is buzzing with discussion under the video, which, to be fair, does look like it was filmed through a microwave.
The question remains whether the original start wasn't slightly lower than Bailey's – we'll probably have to wait and see what Roberts has to say about that. However, we do know that Roberts lowered the start because Shawn Raboutou, with whom he was working on "The Midnight Project" – as the boulder was then called – couldn't reach the starting holds he had originally planned. Since Raboutou is just under 1,68 m tall and Bailey is a little over 1,63 m, it seems unlikely that Bailey used the higher start that even Raboutou couldn't reach. A comment from Raboutou under Bailey's video also suggests that this is indeed the correct start.
Until we get a beta video from Roberts or Bailey comments on his ascent, we can only speculate. Nevertheless, we're delighted with this somewhat different beta video that briefly made the climbing community hold its breath.
You might be interested in:
- Sean Bailey continues his winning streak and climbs Alphane (9A)
- Sean Bailey boulders Shaolin (9A) - first ascent
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Credits: Cover image: Screenshot Sean Bailey Instagram Reel