Trad, bouldering, sport climbing: 5 downgrades that have shaped our scene

A broken hold, a new beta, or simply a disagreement: The downgrading of boulders or routes can have various reasons. We've compiled five downgrades that caused a particular stir – or were historically important for the climbing scene.

^{Note: This article is a subjective selection by the editorial team and does not claim to be exhaustive.}

1. The Megg/Fool Me Once: Swindler Controversy Surrounding Canada's First 8C+

This first example from Canada is very recent – ​​and also the only one in this article where cheating played a role. But let's start at the beginning: In January 2023, there was a minor sensation in the bouldering scene of Squamish, British Columbia. The hitherto completely unknown Gabe Lawson, 29 years old, made the first ascent of "The Megg" there. His proposed difficulty level made the boulder the potentially Canada's first 8C+ and Lawson as a newcomer to the scene. Today it's clear: The line is more like an 8B+ – and Lawson most likely never climbed it..

In the period following his alleged ascent, not only did Lawson's presence in the spotlight grow, but so did suspicion. As Climbing Magazine reported in September 2026... Investigative research published, Lawson was able to no evidence whatsoever of its commission to present evidence. This applied not only to "The Megg" but also to other difficult boulders he claimed to have climbed. Always alone, always without a video recording. When they went on difficult projects together, Lawson found excuses not to be there. 8A+ was the highest grade Lawson supposedly achieved in front of "witnesses." A stark contrast to the proposed grade of 8C+, but not yet proof of fraudulent intent.

It only took a few months for everything to come to light. In June 2023, American Andy Lamb repeated "The Megg" and was certain: This boulder is... maximum 8B+ difficult, not 8C+. A few weeks later, Canadian Lucas Uchida also climbed the line and confirmed Lamb's downgrade. Shortly thereafter Gabe Lawson disappeared completely from the scene.No one knows exactly where he went. What is certain, however, is that besides a ruined reputation, he also left behind thousands of dollars in debt to several people.

New degree and new name

Since Lawson's departure, the line in Squamish has not only a new grade but also a new name: "Fool Me Once" (8B+). Ethan Salvo and Hamish McArthur have also repeated it since then, with McArthur flashing it. Both confirmed the difficulty grade. Today, Andy Lamb, not Gabe Lawson, is considered the first ascensionist.

The Lawson case demonstrates how quickly one can gain fame and fortune through fake ascents these days. The downgrade of "The Megg" also serves as a cautionary tale, showing how quickly everything can fall apart and that, especially for professional boulderers, honesty is the best policy.

2. Bibliography: The first 9c to be repeated – and downgraded

Back in the world of honest climbers – and on a rope instead of bouldering. As Alexander Megos. When he announced the first ascent of his long-term project “Bibliography” in the middle of the Corona summer of 2020, the eyes of the entire scene turned to Céüse. Three years had passed since Adam Ondra officially opened the 9c grade with "Silence". Now a second potential representative of the new difficulty level has been added.

Megos' proposal was supported by his impressive climbing portfolio and the fact that he had completed "Perfecto Mundo" (9b+) much faster.

Almost exactly a year later, in August 2021, Italian Stefano Ghisolfi became the first climber to repeat Megos's hardest project to date. After 25 sessions and with new beta for two crux sections, Ghisolfi clipped the anchor of "Bibliographie." The world's first repeat of a 9c was under discussion – a few days later Ghisolfi announced his downgrade to 9b+He compared "Bibliographie" to "Perfecto Mundo" (9b+) in Margalef and "Change" in Flatanger (9b+), which he had already climbed. Megos congratulated Ghisolfi on the ascent and later agreed to the downgrade. "Bibliographie" remains the Franconian's "proudest first ascent to date."

In 2023, Sébastien Bouin and Jorge Díaz-Rullo repeated the route, confirming its lower grade of 9b+. This year, Janja Garnbret and Laura Rogora achieved the first and second female ascents of the line, respectively. It remains one of the hardest (and best) sport climbing routes in the world – even if not at the highest grade. The devaluation of "bibliography" shows the added value that different assessments have on the way to consensus in route evaluation. At the same time, this example makes it clear that the evolution of the most difficult climbing grades is not linear and takes time. In 2026, there were five 9c grades worldwide, all of which were still awaiting confirmation by repeat ascents.

3. Box Therapy: first 8C+ female ascent downgraded by another woman

The fact that she is the strongest female boulderer in the world has Katie Lamb She proved it twice. When the American climber repeated Dave Graham's "Box Therapy" in Rocky Mountain National Park in 2023, she became the first woman ever to boulder at the 8C+ grade. The first ascensionist and subsequent repeaters, Drew Ruana and Sean Bailey, had graded the line as the second-highest boulder problem to date. After several women had already climbed 8C routes, Katie Lamb raised the bar one notch with her ascent of "Box Therapy".

The first female ascent of "Box Therapy" almost went to someone else. Brooke Raboutou nearly completed the line in September 2022 but fell at the top. In the fall of 2023, a few months after Katie Lamb, both Raboutou sisters successfully climbed the route. Both then downgraded the boulder problem to 8C. – only half a degree, but with an enormous impact on Lamb's historic ascent.

After the Raboutou downgrade Dave Graham and Drew Ruana also retrospectively downgraded their ratings to 8C. The first 8C+ ascent by a woman was reclaimed.

Two years after "Box Therapy" Katie Lamb made climbing history againIn Yosemite Valley's historic Camp 4, she repeated "The Dark Side," first climbed by Carlo Traversi. The line is considered a confirmed 8C+ and is now regarded as the first female ascent of this grade. The fact that this very first 8C+ female ascent was downgraded by another woman is not a sign of envy, but rather a Proof that strong female boulderers are just as competitive at the top as their male counterparts..

4. The Traveler's Shadow: A Question of Equipment

There's one top climber who simply does things a little differently than the rest. "Barefoot" Charles Albert notoriously forgoes footwear, yet regularly delivers incredibly difficult boulder problems. However, once repeated, their grades rarely hold up. Albert's first 9A, "No Kpote Only" in Fontainebleau, was downgraded twice after its initial ascent in 2018: to 8C+ by Ryohei Kameyama in 2019 and to 8C by Nico Pelorson in 2020.

The fact that boulder ratings differ significantly between shoes and barefoot did not deter Albert from his vision of making further first ascents of 9As. In 2023, he completed his project “L’Ombre du Voyageur” – a long crack in the roof, for which he used neither shoes nor knee pads nor cracking gloves. The Frenchman needed approximately 60 sessions for it.

The first repeat of Albert's latest 9A suggestion took two years to achieve. This feat was accomplished by the Italian Pietro Vidi in the summer of 2025, who, however, not only brought shoes and climbing gloves, but also four (!) kneepads from his gear box. Accordingly, the (expected by parts of the community) downgrade of "L'Ombre du Voyageur" ​​was brutal. 8B+ instead of 9A was Vidi's verdict – such a drastic downgrade is truly rare.

Two barely comparable climbing styles

The story of "L'Ombre" is, of course, not quite that simple. Even Vidi admitted that his and Albert's ascents were hardly comparable.

The massive downgrade once again focused attention on how aids, especially kneepads, can change the grading of difficult boulders and routes. The (probably only half-serious) suggestion was also made that Albert should... to establish a separate difficulty scale for climbing without equipment.

Charles Albert himself seemed little bothered by Vidi's downgrade. In March 2026, the Frenchman finally completed his eight-year project "Charlatan" in Fontainebleau. After the ascent, he remained rather tight-lipped about the grade, but he had previously hinted that it might be another 9A. Of course, it's possible that another downgrade is on the horizon. However, Charles Albert's style is so unique that the much more interesting question is actually: When will a second barefoot climber finally come along to repeat Albert's 9As in the spirit of the first ascensionist?

5. The Walk of Life: Scandal in the British trad scene

To understand the story of "The Walk of Life," one must take a deeper look at the British traditional climbing community. There, a certain ethos is highly valued – a clean climbing style, but also a certain humility when it comes to assessments.

In 2008, James Pearson arrived, someone who, in the eyes of many, violated this credo. At just 23 years old and already a star in the climbing scene, he established the trad route "The Walk of Life" at the climbing spot Dyer's Lookout, a direct version of "Dyre Straits" (E8). With his proposed difficulty rating E12 7a, he assigned what was then the highest grade for a trad route worldwide. and caused a mixture of enthusiasm and suspicion in the scene. The E-grade, unlike the technical grade, describes the difficulty of the route, including protection, endurance, mental strength, and rock quality.

The outcry came in 2009 when Dave MacLeod – injured at the time – repeated "The Walk of Life" and downgraded it to E9. "The Promise," a first ascent by Pearson in 2007, had also been downgraded from E10 to E8 in 2008. The prevailing opinion in large parts of the British trad climbing scene was: Pearson deliberately overrated his first ascents in order to generate attention and sponsors. To gain some distance, the Briton then moved to Innsbruck and spent several years climbing on the European mainland.

How deeply these allegations affected Pearson only became truly clear later. "The consequences changed the course of my life forever," the Briton said years after the incident. In retrospect, he sees the assessment as a mistake.

“Bon Voyage” and comeback

Fast forward to 2023: James Pearson is now 38, a father of two, and has outgrown the UK trad climbing scene. He feels the trauma of his past ascent still lingering when he succeeds in his hardest trad route to date in Annot: "Bon Voyage." Unlike in 2008, Pearson initially takes a step back after the first ascent. Only after seeing some of the trad elite on the tour (such as Steve McClure, Ignacio Mulero, and Sébastien Berthe) Pearson once again ventures the E12 proposal.

"Bon Voyage" has since been repeated multiple times and its difficulty confirmed by many climbers, including Adam Ondra, Seb Berthe, and Connor Herson. The line is considered in the scene to be the Briton's "Redemption Arc"., who, young and inexperienced at the time, had made a mistake with the grade. Pearson's climbing career also shows that with enough time and experience, one can recover from even the biggest "loss of face" – even in the British climbing scene, which is known for being so unforgiving.

That might interest you

• How close is Will Bosi to sending »Silence« (9c)?
• 9c – These are the hardest sport climbing routes in the world

+ + +

Cover image credits: David Simmonite