Gripped Magazine
Tyler Thompson Climbs a Jonathan Siegrist 5.14d
Tyler Thompson recently sent Jonathan Siegrist’s Hundred Proof 5.14d (9a) in the Clear Light Cave of Mount Potosi, not far from Las Vegas. The wildly steep climb is a link of Mouth Breather 5.14b and Smoke Wagon 5.14c. The connection means climbing a “savage and draining boulder” as described by Thompson, into all of the hard moves Smoke Wagon has to offer.
Thompson climbed Hundred Proof with kneepads, but he was sure to tip his hat to Siegrist for making the first ascent without one. Siegrist made the FA back in February 2020 and graded it 5.15a. When Cameron Hörst made the second ascent three years later, he suggested a downgrade to 5.14d. Hörst used kneepads for his ascent. The third ascent was made by Joe Kinder, who, like Hörst and Thompson, used kneepads.
“This climb got its long-awaited second ascent,” said Hörst on 8a.nu. “I am suggesting a downgrade because a few days before I sent, I found a new knee bar rest that definitely lowered the intensity of the climb a bit. I thought that since some crucial hands and feet broke off while I was climbing on it, the breakage would potentially even out the difficulty with the new knee. I really wanted this climb to remain [5.15a], but in the end, I still think the route is probably just really solid [5.14d] (the way I did it). And personally, one of the harder [5.14d’s] I’ve done since its style is not my forte.”
Thompson, only 23 years old, has sent over a dozen routes 5.14d or harder. He climbed his first 5.15a in February 2023 with Full Metal Brisket in New River Gorge, West Virginia. His second 5.15a came in February of last year when he made the second ascent of Kai Lightner’s Death of Villains in the Hurricave, Utah. Thompson climbed five 5.14d’s in 2025, including Joe Kinder’s Reisisting Arrest in Mt. Charleston, Nevada, B.J. Tildon’s Moonshine, Mutation and Lions Share in Lander, West Virginia, and an FA in Jilotepec, Mexico – Chicos Superlujuriosos.
“It felt incredible to get up this harder version of Smoke Wagon 14c the other day up in the Clear Light,” said Thompson about Hundred Proof on Instagram. “FA’d by Jonathan Siegrist (not using any knees)…Super resistant with several bad rests and different cruxes, ultimately leading to this powerful move right at the end. To round out the day, I climbed Baby in a Straitjacket [5.14b] second try! Certainly one of my best days out!”
Jonathan Siegrist on Hundred Proof
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