Gripped Magazine
“Felt more like [V15] to me” – Shawn Raboutou Sends Floatin
Shawn Raboutou recently announced his ascent of Floatin V16 (8C+) in Mizugaki, Japan. The granite boulder only has six moves and involves many feet-off dynamic throws from crimps to gastons, as well as a powerful deadpoint at the top.”Doesn’t get much better than this,” he said on Instagram. “Felt more like [V15] to me, especially since I did it on my first day of this trip.” To be clear, it was not Raboutou’s first session on the boulder, as he’s tried it in the past, but it was a quick send nonetheless.
Floatin was established by Ryuichi Murai in December 2021, who proposed a grade of V16. It did not see a second ascent until October 2023 by Florian Wientjes. Ryohei Kameyama, Sungsu Lee, Ritsu Kayotani, and Yuta Imaizumi are among the other strong climbers who have topped the problem. Sean Bailey was, impressively, able to get it done in a single session. Will Bosi was unable to get the send on a trip last year, battling skin issues on the sharp problem. Of these climbers, all agreed with Murai’s assessment of V16. Raboutou is the first to propose a downgrade.
“The problem consist of 2 powerful cruxes,” explained Wientjes on Instagram. “Crux one is the first move, a huge deadpoint move from a bad pinch (lefthand ) and a tiny incut crimp (righthand) into a three finger pocket. For me initiating the move with a pogo felt more approachable than Ryuichi’s campus. I needed a lot of attempts to understand the move and sacrificed a lot of skin in the process of how to grab the holds properly. Crux two is a downwards campus move to a small crimp which requires a lot of contact strength to hold on.”
Raboutou was the first climber in the world to climb two V17s. His 2022 season was particularly incredible, establishing the V16s F*ck the System and Story of 3 Worlds and the V17s Alphane and Megatron. In 2023, he repeated Box Therapy V15 in Colorado and made the first ascent of Big Snapper V15 at the Sustenpass Boulders in Switzerland. In January 2024, he made the second ascent of Devilution V16 in the Buttermilks. Later that year, he made the second ascent of United V16 in Mizugaki.
Ryuichi Murai’s FA Floatin V16
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