Bouldering

Paul Robinson

On January 1, 2008, Paul Robinson, now 21, kicked off a year featuring more than 80 V11 or harder problems with his second ascent of Terremer (V15/V16), at Hueco Tanks, Texas. Shortly thereafter, Robinson placed first at the 2008 ABS Nationals Championships while attending classes at the University of Colorado-Boulder. Then it was Midnight Express (V14), Boulder Canyon, The Fly (V14; on TR), Rumney, and a third-place finish in the Bouldering World Cup in Vail, Colorado — all before bouncing out to the Rocklands, South Africa.

There, climbing with fellow hardman and good friend Daniel Woods (among others), Robinson rocked the house with the third ascent of Amandla (V14) in an hour and a half, with Woods also nabbing an ascent just days later. In Switzerland, Robinson finished his streak with 30 problems rated V12 to V14. Unfortunately, on October 14, Robinson fell off the final move of a Magic Wood bloc, breaking his left tibia and tearing ligaments. Recuperating at his parents’ New Jersey home, Robinson is reportedly already training again.

Honorable Mentions:

• Lisa Rands, for her January 18 first female ascent of The Mandala (V12), in the Buttermilk, California, and as ascent of Nutsa (V12), Rocklands.
• Tyler Landman, for a storm of hard ticks, including the second ascent of Chris Sharma’s Practice of the Wild (V15), Magic Wood, in late September.