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Dreamtime (climb)

Coordinates: 46°16′59″N 9°0′34″E / 46.28306°N 9.00944°E / 46.28306; 9.00944
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For other uses, see Dreamtime (disambiguation).

Dreamtime
Dreamtime boulder showing two routes; the Dreamtime (V15) route is the diagonal light green line, and Return of Dreamtime (proposed V16) is the blue line
Map showing the location of Dreamtime
Map showing the location of Dreamtime
LocationTicino, Switzerland
Coordinates46°16′59″N 9°0′34″E / 46.28306°N 9.00944°E / 46.28306; 9.00944[1]
Climbing areaCresciano[2]
Route typeBouldering
Vertical gain10 m (33 ft) (length)[3]
Grade8B+ (V14) (pre hold-break); 8C (V15) (post hold-break)
First ascentFred Nicole, 28 October 2000

Dreamtime is a 10-metre (33-foot) long bouldering route, on the boulder of the same name, in the gneiss bouldering area of Cresciano, Switzerland. When first solved in October 2000 by Swiss bouldering pioneer Fred Nicole, it was graded at 8C (V15), making it the world's first-ever boulder route at that grade. With subsequent repeat ascents, it was regraded to 8B+ (V14), but after the breaking of a key hold in 2009, its grade is now considered closer to 8C (V15) again. Dreamtime is one of the most notable bouldering routes in rock climbing history, along with the Yosemite boulder Midnight Lightning, and is renowned for both its beauty and its challenge.

History

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In early 2000, Swiss bouldering pioneer Fred Nicole began projecting the boulder Dreamtime in the gneiss bouldering area of Cresciano,[2] envisaging a 10-metre (33-foot) long right-to-left diagonal route from a sit-start that took about 21 movements.[4][5][6] After traveling to Australia and then to South Africa, Nicole returned to the route in the autumn and solved it on 28 October 2000.[4][5] Nicole felt it was his hardest-ever route and proposed a grade of V15 (8C),[4] which was the first-ever boulder route at that grade.[5] Nicole recounted:

We had been in Australia over the summer, so I felt that this name was a good fit. For the Aborigines, 'dreamtime' [sic] means a kind of half-dreaming trance, somewhere between dream and reality, or a dream that becomes reality. When I saw the line for the first time, I thought: Wow! Is that even possible? And then it finally happened. Dreamtime was a very special time for me, a highlight in my climbing life.[5]

In 2001, Austrian climber Bernd Zangerl [fr] made the first repeat and agreed with the V15 (8C) grading. In 2002, American climber Dave Graham made the third ascent but used a heel hook that he felt lowered the grade to V14 (8B+). The following year, American climber Chris Sharma made the fourth ascent, and using Graham's new beta agreed with Graham's grading. There was concern that holds were "overcleaned" (or even chipped) since Zangerl's ascent,[7] which might have contributed to the lowering of the grade.[8][9] In 2003, the situation was further complicated when Christian Core made the fifth ascent, said it was his hardest-ever boulder, and supported V15. Over the next five years, Dreamtime became one of the most desirable routes for leading climbers and repeats by Dai Koyamada, Nalle Hukkataival, Daniel Woods, Kilian Fischhuber and Adam Ondra (who was only 15 and solved it in 4 hours), led to a consensus grade of V14 (8B+).[8][9]

In November 2009, Italian climber Michele Caminati [fr] discovered that the crux pinch hold had broken off, thus changing the route.[8] In December 2009, Nalle Hukkataival repeated the damaged route and logged on the climbing database, 8a.nu, that the "standing start" version was now 8B (V13), and that Nicole's "sit start" version was "a real 8C now".[10] Repeating the route a few days later, Ondra felt it was a "hard 8B+", but not 8C.[11] With further repeats, consensus graded it closer to 8C, with Jan Hojer saying in 2013, "Much harder than any 8B+ [V14] I have ever tried".[12]

In November 2024, American climber Michaela Kiersch made the first female free ascent of Dreamtime,[13] which made her the first-ever female climber in history to ascend an 8C (V15) graded boulder and a 5.15a (9a+) graded sport climbing route, which she did on La Rambla in 2023.[14]

The Story of Two Worlds

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In June 2005, Dave Graham sent The Story of Two Worlds on the other side of the Dreamtime boulder, proposing a grade of 8C (V15).[15] After the heated debates on Dreamtime, Graham wanted to develop a route that would be the "new standard for 8C".[15][16] The 21-move route is a sit-start that links up with Toni Lamprecht's The Dagger, which is graded as V14 (8B+). In 2010, Dai Koyamada made the first repeat but confusion over the start position led Dai to return in 2012 and make another repeat but from a much lower position than Graham, creating The Story of Two Worlds Low Start, and at V16 (8C+).[17]

With subsequent repeats by Paul Robinson, Jernej Kruder, and others, there was a consensus that the grade was at 8C (V15).[18] The Story of Two Worlds became the first boulder to have a "consensus" grade of 8C (V15),[15] although the actual first-ever at the grade is now regarded as Nicole's Monkey Wedding and Black Eagle SDS,[19] both solved in 2002 on a trip to Rocklands, South Africa.[9]

The Story of Two Worlds itself became subject to downgrade speculation, particularly with the development of kneepads that can be used for extended knee bar rests; Graham himself told Climbing in 2017 that the route "might be V14 now".[16] Further repeats by some leading climbers such as Alex Megos have upheld the grade of 8C (V15), with Megos saying after his ascent of TSOTW in 2020, "I'd say 8C is about right".[20]

Variations

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In February 2023, German climber Yannick Flohé created a direct finish that starts with Dreamtime, but at the crux, he goes right and directly up the boulder, following the line of Jimmy Webb's Somnolence V13 (8B). He named this variation Return of the Dreamtime and proposed a grade of V16 (8C+).[21][22]

Legacy

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In a 2009 article on Dreamtime, PlanetMountain said: "So beautiful and important, the Dreamtime immediately did as its name suggests, it made everyone dream and, in doing so, it became a reference point for cutting-edge problems, one of the most famous boulders in the world, second perhaps only to Midnight Lightning, freed by Ron Kauk in 1978 at Camp Four in Yosemite".[8] Others have also labeled Dreamtime as being the world's most famous boulder route,[23] often along with Midnight Lightning, and credited it for promoting the development of the sport.[7]

In 2015, Climbing listed Dreamtime and The Story of Two Worlds in their "Climb of the Century" for the bouldering category, saying: "In 2000, Fred Nicole gave the world its first 8C (V15) boulder with Dreamtime—arguably the first internationally famous boulder problem since Midnight Lightning. The Story of Two Worlds (Dave Graham, 2005), on the same boulder, became the new standard for V15 after Dreamtime was broken and downgraded."[24]

In a later 2017 piece, PlanetMountain said: "But the one that more than any other captured the imagination of climbers at the beginning of the new millennium was most certainly Dreamtime".[5] Repeating Dreamtime is considered a rite-of-passage for major boulder climbers.[5][7] In 2017, Outside listed the ascent of Dreamtime in its "12 Great Moments in Bouldering History".[9] In 2020, when German climber Alex Megos repeated Dreamtime, he wrote on his Instagram page: "This one has definitely been on the bucket list! DREAMTIME. Possibly the most famous boulder problem in the world!".[3]

Ascents

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Dreamtime has been ascended by (and their proposed grade):[25]

Pre-hold break

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Post-hold break

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Broken hold of Dreamtime

The first ascents post the break of the hold include:

The first female free ascents include (FFFA):

Other notable post-break ascents include:

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Dreamtime". theCrag. 2024. Archived from the original on 7 June 2024. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Cresciano". PlanetMountain. Retrieved 3 July 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Pardy, Aaron (30 December 2020). "Watch Alex Megos Send Dreamtime V15 and Two Worlds V15". Gripped Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  4. ^ a b c d Fioravanti, Roberto (24 November 2000). "Fred Nicole sends Dreamtime 8c at Cresciano, Switzerland". PlanetMountain. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Dreamtime at Cresciano, the boulder problem by Fred Nicole between dream and reality". PlanetMountain. 6 July 2017. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  6. ^ a b Pardy, Aaron (8 July 2017). "Fred Nicole Talks Dreamtime, First V15 Ever". Gripped Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  7. ^ a b c Climbing Desk (2020). "The Classics - Dreamtime in Cresciano:Der grösste Paukenschlag seit Midnight Lightning: Fred Nicoles Dreamtime in Cresciano war nicht nur die erste 8C, sondern die Initialzündung für den Boulderboom im Tessin und weltweit" [The Classics - Dreamtime in Cresciano: The biggest bang since Midnight Lightning: Fred Nicole's Dreamtime in Cresciano was not only the first 8C, but the initial spark for the bouldering boom in Ticino and worldwide]. Klettermagazin (in German). Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  8. ^ a b c d "Dreamtime, a dream which vanished for a second only". PlanetMountain. 16 November 2009. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d Cote, Matt (28 September 2017). "12 Great Moments in Bouldering History". Outside. Archived from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  10. ^ a b Larssen, Jens (12 December 2009). "Dreamtime standing, 8B etc by Nalle Hukkataival". 8a.nu. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  11. ^ a b c Pohl, Bjorn (24 March 2010). "Dreamtime 8C again after all?". UKClimbing. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  12. ^ Larssen, Jens (18 February 2013). "Dreamtime 8C (B+) by Jan Hojer". 8a.nu. Archived from the original on 9 June 2024. Retrieved 9 June 2024. [From Hojer] The perfect boulder! Did the dyno method because I can't even imagine to hold these crimps! Much harder than any 8B+ I have ever tried.
  13. ^ a b "Michaela Kiersch climbs Dreamtime to make first female ascent of Fred Nicole's Cresciano masterpiece". PlanetMountain. 11 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
  14. ^ Potter, Stephen (12 November 2024). "Michaela Kiersch Sends 'Dreamtime'—Becomes the First Woman to Send 5.15 and V15". Climbing. Retrieved 25 December 2024.
  15. ^ a b c McDonald, Dougald (24 January 2005). "Graham's hardest yet". Climbing. Archived from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved 12 August 2023. Throwing down the gauntlet, Graham added, "I think this is the hardest bloc (boulder) yet, and I think it can change the malprogression we can see when we are seeing millions of 8b+ and 8c blocs climbed everywhere. Now it's just about comparison."
  16. ^ a b Lucas, James (9 February 2017). "Inflating Grades and Egos: A Climbing Difficulty Discussion". Climbing. Archived from the original on 10 September 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2023. Dave Graham suggested that The Story of Two Worlds, a problem he put up in Cresciano, be the benchmark for V15
  17. ^ "Dai Koyamada and The Story of Two Worlds at Cresciano". PlanetMountain. 25 June 2012. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  18. ^ Fox, Amanda (26 March 2023). "Traversi Climbs The Story of Two Worlds (V15)". Climbing. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  19. ^ Oviglia, Maurizio (23 December 2012). "The evolution of free climbing". PlanetMountain.com. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  20. ^ "Alex Megos Sends Story of Two Worlds V15: And talks about the ethics behind using knee pads on hard climbs". Gripped Magazine. 26 December 2020. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  21. ^ Pardy, Aaron (23 February 2023). "Famous Boulder Problem Gets New V16 Exit: 23 years after Dreamtime was climbed, a new direct exit was added". Gripped Magazine. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  22. ^ "Yannick Flohé powers up Return of the Dreamtime, new 8C+ at Cresciano". PlanetMountain. 2 February 2023. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  23. ^ a b "Alexander Megos climbs the Ticino classic Dreamtime and The Story of two Worlds". LACrux. 28 December 2020. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023. It was on his to-do list for a long time, probably the most famous boulder in the world: Dreamtime in Cresciano.
  24. ^ McDonald, Dougald (2 February 2015). "Climb of the Century? 7 Groundbreaking Ascents (Besides the Dawn Wall)". Climbing. Archived from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 12 August 2023. In 2000, Fred Nicole gave the world its first 8c (V15) boulder with Dreamtime—arguably the first internationally famous boulder problem since Midnight Lightning. The Story of Two Worlds (Dave Graham, 2005), on the same boulder, became the new standard for V15 after Dreamtime was broken and downgraded. And, yes, we're aware that 2000 actually was the final year of the 20th century
  25. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r "Griffausbruch in "Dreamtime"" [Broken grip in "Dreamtime"]. Klettermagazin (in German). 14 November 2019. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  26. ^ Kammerlander, Beat (15 June 2001). "Bernd Zangerl and Dreamtime at Cresciano". PlanetMountain. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  27. ^ "Dave Graham repite Dreamtime" [Dave Graham repeats Dreamtime]. Desnivel (in Spanish). 31 January 2002. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  28. ^ "Chris Sharma repite Dreamtime" [Chris Sharma repeats Dreamtime]. Desnivel (in Spanish). 6 November 2002. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  29. ^ Stefanello, Vinicio (14 March 2003). "Christian Core and Dreamtime at Cresciano". PlanetMountain. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  30. ^ "Malcom Smith repite Dreamtime…" [Malcolm Smith repeats Dreamtime...]. Desnivel (in Spanish). 11 February 2004. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  31. ^ "Ben Moon, Tyler Landman and Andy Earl bouldering hard". PlanetMountain. 12 December 2006. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  32. ^ a b "Dreamtime repeats by Kilian Fischhuber and Jon Cardwell". PlanetMountain. 5 January 2008. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  33. ^ Geldhard, Jack (25 March 2008). "Ondra - Dreamtime V14 - Aged 15 - With Video". UKClimbing. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  34. ^ Pohl, Bjorn (25 November 2010). "Dreamtime for Robinson". UKClimbing. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  35. ^ "Hojer Sends Dreamtime (V15)". Rock & Ice. 2010. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  36. ^ "Fabian Buhl repite 'Dreamtime' y Daniel Woods 'The bridge of ashes', ambos 8C" [Fabian Buhl repeats 'Dreamtime' and Daniel Woods 'The bridge of ashes', both 8C]. Desnivel (in Spanish). 20 March 2013. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  37. ^ "Giuliano Cameroni repeats Dreamtime at Cresiano". PlanetMountain. 8 January 2015. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  38. ^ "Jimmy Webb Sends Dreamtime V15 in Switzerland". Gripped Magazine. 12 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  39. ^ "Jimmy Webb boulders Fred Nicole classic Dreamtime". LACrux. 15 February 2018. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  40. ^ Larssen, Jens (February 2018). "Dreamtime 8B+ (C) by Jakob Schubert". 8a.nu. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  41. ^ Potter, Stephen (1 February 2022). "Simon Lorenzi Establishes Another V16 Low Start to Fontainebleau's Classic The Island". Climbing. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  42. ^ "Jernej Kruder climbs childhood dream, Dreamtime at Cresciano". PlanetMountain. 21 November 2019. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  43. ^ a b "Alex Megos at Cresciano sends Dreamtime, Story of Two Worlds, The Dagger". PlanetMountain. 30 December 2020. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  44. ^ "Dreamtime and Dagger: More Swiss blocs for Will Bosi including Font 8B/+ flash". Climbr. 10 December 2022. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.
  45. ^ "Will Bosi flashes The Dagger and dispatches Dreamtime in a day". PlanetMountain. 8 December 2022. Archived from the original on 12 August 2023. Retrieved 12 August 2023.

Further reading

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  • Cameroni, Claudio; Grizzi, Roberto; Lodi, Renzo (2023). Cresciano Boulder (in Italian, English, and German) (5th ed.). Ticino, Switzerland: Ticino Boulder. OCLC 1428859585.
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