Gripped Magazine
Jakob Schubert Climbing His Third V17
Jakob Schubert sent Shaolin V17 (9A) in Red Rock, Nevada in February this year. It was his third of the grade, and came just a couple of months after he climbed his second V17, Mount Doom, in Maltalal, Austria (in November 2025). A video of Schubert’s send of Shaolin has just been released on his YouTube channel – you can view the send footage below.
Established by Sean Bailey in February 2024, Shaolin was the United States’ third V17 after Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker and Shawn Raboutou’s Megatron. The sandstone problem is defined by two incredibly difficult moves – it connects a V13/14 starting sequence into a single-move V12/13 into a final throw that clocks in around V11/12.
Noah Wheeler made the second ascent in March 2025, a little over a year after it was established. On his 8a.nu, Wheeler said, “I was able to climb the intro boulder 95% of the time, the crux throw 75% of the time, and the last move 100% of the time. Yet linking these sections together felt super improbable.”
On Instagram, Schubert discussed the challenge presented by the immensely distilled difficulty of the problem. “I fell in love immediately,” began Schubert, “Truly one of the best boulders in the world. A proud aesthetic bloc, perfect landing, obvious start, amazing holds and not just one but two of the coolest moves I’ve ever done. My third boulder of this grade, and in a completely different style. Unlike Alphane and Mount Doom, which feature long sequences of consistent difficulty on granite, Shaolin boils down to two hard crux moves on sandstone.
“I felt really good on it immediately, but every hard ascent comes with its own challenges. This time it was a crazy fight with splits and a small hold break, which made it just a little bit harder physically but even more so mentally because I had to re-work moves I had already dialed.
“I realized I’d have to take a bigger break to heal up my skin to hopefully get a chance to try without tape. So we switched to lead climbing and spent a few days in Arizona before returning to Red Rocks. As departure day approached, the pressure was on. Mentally, I struggled much more with staying 100% focused setting up for one of the big crux moves on Shaolin, compared to the consistently hard climbs like Alphane or [Mount Doom]. And when I was starting to doubt that I would be able to send… I finally stuck the last move and topped out in pure joy and disbelief.”
Before his Shaolin send in Red Rock, Schubert made quick work of Daniel Woods’ The Nest V15. Struggling with skin as he worked Shaolin, he decided to make the journey out to the Woods classic, and styled it, too – not surprisingly, as Schubert is one of the best all-around climbers ever. In 2023, he made the first ascent of Adam Ondra’s “Project Big” in Flatanger, Norway, naming it B.I.G. and proposing a grade of 5.15d, and he climbed Shawn Raboutou’s Alphane V17 in Ticino, Switzerland, Schubert’s first of the grade. This made him the first climber ever to tick the hardest bouldering grade (V17) and hardest sport climbing grade (5.15d) in the world. To top it off, in 2024, he placed third at the Paris Olympics, earning his second Olympic bronze medal. This year, Schubert has already won bronze in two World Climbing lead events: the first in Prague, Czechia, and the second in Innsbruck, Austria.
Jakob Schubert Climbing Shaolin V17
The post Jakob Schubert Climbing His Third V17 appeared first on Gripped Magazine.