Gripped Magazine
A Rare Ascent of The Singularity V15 in Squamish
On August 9, Japanese climber Toshi Takeuchi topped The Singularity V15 (8C) in Squamish. Established by Tim Clifford in 2007 and originally graded V14, subsequent ascensionists have started the problem from a lower hold, upping the difficulty. Nalle Hukkataival made the second ascent ten years later in 2017. Since then, it’s been topped by Lucas Uchida, Ethan Salvo, Andy Lamb, Hamish McArthur, and Zach Galla. Takeuchi just released a short film of his ascent, which you can view below.
“I send the lifetime dream problem,” said Takeuchi on Instagram. “It was around my third and final attempt on the last day of this trip. Out of the eight days since I arrived in Canada, I spent seven trying only on this problem. Today had probably the worst conditions so far—27°C with no wind. Still, as long as I executed everything I’d learned up to this point precisely, I kept getting close and couldn’t bring myself to give up.
“On the send attempt, every move was spot-on, but the holds were in poor condition, so I just pretended to be holding them with my lats and somehow got through. I’d already given up in my mind. I thought about going home over and over, but I didn’t stop. Even if you give up, you can’t quit. Thank you, Singularity. It was an amazing journey.”
Takeuchi has sent several V15s in the past. Highlights include repeats of Japanese V15s like Orochi, Asagimadara, Vanitas, and Eternal, as well as a top of the ultra-classic Monkey Wedding V15 in Rocklands.
Toshi Takeuchi on The Singularity V15
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