Paul Robinson (climber)

Paul David Robinson (born August 28, 1987) is an American professional rock climber who specializes in bouldering. He has established and repeated several bouldering problems at the V15 difficulty rating, in such areas as Hueco Tanks, the Buttermilks, and Magic Wood. In 2007, Robinson became the second climber in history to successfully climb a V13 boulder problem in one attempt.

Paul Robinson
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Born (1987-08-28) August 28, 1987
New Jersey
OccupationRock Climber
Climbing career
Type of climberBoulderer
Highest grade

Competitions

In 2007, Paul Robinson took second place at the 8th Annual American Bouldering Series (ABS) National Championships.[1] The following year, Robinson took first place at the competition, beating Chris Sharma and Sean McColl.[2] Later that year, he took third place at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Bouldering World Cup in Vail, Colorado.[3] In 2009, Robinson competed once again in the ABS National Championships, this time taking second place behind Daniel Woods.[4] At the IFSC Bouldering World Cup in Vail, he completed three of the four finals problems, placing him in fourth behind Kilian Fischhuber.[5] In January 2013, Robinson took third place in the finals of the Dark Horse Series IV bouldering competition.[6] The following June, Robinson reached the finals of the IFSC Bouldering World Cup in Vail, but was unable to finish any of the final boulders and took sixth place.[7]

Notable ascents

In August 2007, Robinson made the third ascent of Jade, a V14 bouldering problem in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. Later that year, he climbed the V13 Nagual boulder in one attempt, an accomplishment known as a "flash". This made Robinson the second person to have flashed a V13, after James Pearson.[8] The following January, Robinson claimed the second ascent of Terremer, a V15 boulder in Hueco Tanks, Texas. The problem was established by Swiss climber Fred Nicole two years earlier. At the time, it was regarded as the most challenging problem at Hueco Tanks, and Robinson described it as "the hardest boulder I have ever done so far."[9]

On 30 March 2010, Robinson claimed the first ascent of Lucid Dreaming, a highball bouldering problem in the Buttermilks near Bishop, California.[10] He originally proposed a grade of V16, the highest bouldering grade that had yet been assigned to a problem, but he later suggested Lucid Dreaming might be a V15. The boulder is 55 feet (17 m) from ground to top, beginning with a steep overhang and ending with a slab traversal. Much of the difficulty of the climb comes from two consecutive V12 moves near the beginning, both featuring small, technical holds.[11] The problem was not repeated until January 2014.[12]

During the summer of 2010, Robinson spent two months climbing in Rocklands, South Africa. His main project was the second ascent of Monkey Wedding, a V15 boulder problem first established in 2002 by Fred Nicole. Other achievements included a flash of The Amphitheater (V12), and two V14 first ascents: The Big Short and Black Eagle.[13] Later that year, Robinson visited Magic Wood in Switzerland, where he established Il Trill, a boulder problem rated 8c on the Fontainebleau scale.[14]

In February 2011, Robinson took the third ascent of Trip Hop, a V15 problem established by Sébastien Frigault in 2003.[15] The following month, he claimed two V15 second ascents in Europe: The Story of Two Worlds, established in 2005 by Dave Graham,[16] and Angama, established in 2006 by Dai Koyamada.[17] In January 2012, Robinson established Meadowlark Lemon, a V14[18] sit-start variation of the V13 Meadowlark problem in Red Rock Canyon, Nevada.[19] Later that year, he claimed the second ascent of Paint it Black, a V15 problem established in Rocky Mountain National Park by Daniel Woods.[20]

References
  1. Dougald MacDonald. "U.S. National Bouldering Championships". climbing.com. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  2. "ABS 9 Open/Adult National Championship". usaclimbing.net. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  3. "IFSC Climbing Worldcup (B) - Vail (USA) 2008". ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 19 May 2013.
  4. "ABS 10 Open National Championships". usaclimbing.net. Archived from the original on 11 November 2011. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  5. "IFSC Climbing Worldcup (B) - Vail (USA) 2009". ifsc-climbing.org. Retrieved 31 July 2013.
  6. "Dark Horse IV Championship – 01.19.2013 Results" (PDF). 19 January 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  7. "Russian, Austrian Victories at Vail World Cup". 9 June 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  8. MacDonald, Dougald (2008). "First V13 Flash by an American". Climbing.com. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  9. MacDonald, Dougald (2008). "Paul Robinson Repeats Terremer (V15/V16)". climbing.com. Retrieved 19 July 2013.
  10. "Lucid Dreaming, new extreme boulder problem at the Buttermilks, Bishop". planetmountain.com. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  11. Samet, Matt (10 August 2011). "You've Got a Problem on Your Hands". Outside Magazine. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  12. Parker, Chris (29 January 2014). "Daniel Woods Sends Lucid Dreaming (V15)". Rock and Ice. Retrieved 11 July 2014.
  13. Amanda Fox. "Robinson Grabs Second Ascent of Rocklands V15". climbing.com. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  14. "Paul Robinson climbs Il Trill Fb8c at Magic Wood, Switzerland". planetmountain.com. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  15. Amanda Fox. "Another V15 for Robinson". climbing.com. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  16. Amanda Fox. "Robinson Grabs 2nd Ascent of V15". climbing.com. Retrieved 20 May 2013.
  17. "Paul Robinson Claims 2nd Ascent of Angama (V15)". DPM Climbing. 24 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2 April 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  18. "Webb and Woods Both Send/Downgrade Meadowlark Lemon (V15/14)". www.rockandice.com. Archived from the original on 2016-04-29. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
  19. Carpenter, Shelby (13 February 2013). "Q&A: Traversi on Meadowlark Lemon (V15)". Rock and Ice. Archived from the original on 30 October 2013. Retrieved 12 August 2013.
  20. "Paul Robinson: Paint it Black (V15)". DPM Climbing. 19 April 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 August 2013.

See also
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