Gripped Magazine
Noah Wheeler Tops Burden of Dreams V17 – Too Bad He Dabbed
Starting seated, Noah Wheeler recently got to the top of Nalle Hukkataival’s Burden of Dreams V17 in Lappnor, Finland. Unfortunately, an obvious dab with his foot on a crash pad means that it was not a valid send. Wheeler made the problem look exceedingly casual, so it will likely not be long before he gets the send for real.
In a display of his good humour, Wheeler posted his near-send of Burden of Dreams on Instagram with the caption: “Good link.”
This is not the first time that a climber has needed to top Burden of Dreams twice to get the send. Last year, Sungsu Lee topped topped the problem, but only realized later while watching footage that he ever so slightly dabbed the pad. After lifting his butt off the pad in the sit start, he did one pump before shooting up to the second hold with his right hand. During the downwards motion of the pump, his shirt (and likely his butt) brushed the pad. He went shirtless for his send to avoid making the same mistake twice.
Burden of Dreams was opened by Nalle Hukkataival way back in 2016. It took Hukkataival nearly four years to send the problem. Hukkataival’s beta is what most people think of when they think about the beta for Burden of Dreams. He used a five-move sequence to move up the short, 45-degree overhanging face. Many different betas have been innovated since then.
Everything about Burden of Dreams is difficult. The holds are small and face in awkward directions, requiring very specific finger and thumb positions. The moves are long, especially the first move and the final one to a three-finger crimp, necessitating powerful, dynamic movement. And the foot holds are lousy, demanding an immense amount of body tension and balance.
After Hukkataival’s first ascent back in 2016, Burden of Dreams sat for over six years without a repeat. Many of the world’s best tried their hand at the problem, including Daniel Woods and Shawn Raboutou.. In April 2023, Will Bosi made the coveted second ascent of the problem, using nearly identical beta as Hukkataival. Simon Lorenzi then made the third ascent in December 2023, Elias Iagnemma the fourth in March 2024, and Lee the fifth in May 2025. Makoto Yamauchi topped the problem just last month.
On his second Burden of Dreams session, Wheeler got incredibly close. He made it all the way to the final latch of the lip, even catching it with his right hand, but was ultimately unable to stabilize the swing and bring his left hand in for the match.
Wheeler is one of the top climbers in the United States. Last year, he sent Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker V17 and Sean Bailey’s Shaolin V17 in Red Rock. In 2024, he topped Insomniac V16 at Lincoln Lake, Colorado and Sleepwalker V15/16. He has topped nearly a dozen V15s, including his first ascent of Jorōgumo in Haycock, Pennsylvania.
Will Bosi on Burden of Dreams V17
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