The most famous boulder problem in the world

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

There’s bound to be some questions and other noteworthy comments popping up so I’ll try and summarise them and add/edit to this pinned comment later on! 1. The crystal that came off made the boulder easier because it was a part of the crimp you jump to, making it easier to get a full crimp on it. As far as I know the stand start remains the same grade. 2. Jacob Schuberts flash. A few years ago Jacob did “off the wagon”, saying "flash/onsight from the first move in,", which caused the media to (as always) blow up way too quickly thinking he flashed it. In fact what he meant was that he did everything from the campus move on the first go, but the first move seems to have taken him at least two sessions based on the comments from his instagram post. However, Jacob has many noteworthy flashes in his pocket such as the 20~ish move boulder “Never-ending story”, also graded 8B+. Check his video out for some mad inspiration! 3. Charles Albert did the campus move in a crazy way, going feet first barefoot into the jug. It’s insane and super fun to watch, look it up!

[@aspuzling]

You can see Charles Albert's beta in the Mellow film about him. It's just a brief clip because he decided after having broken the beta that the climb wasn't hard enough for him and so wasn't worth doing lol.

[@MaurtreRS]

charles albert clip @5:48 kzbin.info/www/bejne/mYe2dGysfsdghrc

[@lucaa4480]

@@aspuzling too easy but he didn't climb it...

[@aspuzling]

@@lucaa4480 Yeah it's basically a ladder for him lol

[@lucaa4480]

@@aspuzling yes like the fox that can't reach the grapes

[@abattisson]

How the sit start for off the wagon isn't called under the wagon is beyond me, definitely a dream boulder for most.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Haha it might be once it's done though. Gotta force the first ascentionist to go with that name (great suggestion tbh)

[@kaiyuanjun4745]

There are rumors Shawn Raboutou did Under the Wagon (9A)

[@slab_practitioner]

off the wagone

[@iain_nakada]

@@slab_practitioner nice

[@sorryforthat4792]

@@kaiyuanjun4745 naaah for real? that would be insaaaane

[@Ididathing]

I was hoping to see you on this one day! Good work!

[@gdolan9]

Hey, what are you doing here? Don't you have a device that might accidentally kill you to make?

[@prestontiff2230]

Wait you're a climber too??

[@andreewseymour314]

big fan of your videos bro, how long you been climbing?

[@gensugikami6700]

wow. cool.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Thank you! if you ever make it off "the island" and to the nice rocks we have here I'd be happy to show you around :-) love all the content you create!

[@miriambergmann1546]

this really would be my absolute dream boulder if i ever got remotely strong enough to pull on

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Yeah there's really just something about it. So clean and so perfect

[@benharrington1652]

Try the kilter board remake !

[@stanbs2184]

Possibly my favourite video of yours yet…. Love the history section at the start and the fantastic shots of an iconic boulder!

[@tommeyer3871]

perfect timing, was just looking for an outdoor boulder vid to watch to bridge the gap until this weekends trip

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Awesome mate, hope you like it

[@tommeyer3871]

@@EmilAbrahamsson like the format too, teaching us some bouldering history while giving some insight on how that absolute classic actually feels like - and great shots too :)

[@joelpaszkowski5684]

Damn this video was so well done. I loved all the history and level of specificity when describing the moves and sequences, not to mention the great shots. This honestly sets the standard for climbing film making imo.

[@yScribblezHD]

Thanks a ton for putting the difficulty into common perspective (e.g. one armers, beast maker holds, etc). Maybe this is a bit preemptive, but is there gonna be a followup video of you doing another session on it?

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

I really really wish there was. Especially editing this video I've going like "damn,.. I wanna try it again". Unfortunately I only spent the 1-2 hours on it, and then haven't come back. There's a few reasons why, but mainly time and energy management on the trip. I mean certainly in the future, but at the earliest would be end of the year I suppose, once the conditions start to get good again

[@yScribblezHD]

@@EmilAbrahamsson For sure, that makes sense. Really looking forward to seeing you on some projects, I'll watch whatever you put out but those more session driven hard climbing videos are some of my favorite. Watching you dial in moves makes me motivated to climb and train 😂

[@andersrokne6172]

@@EmilAbrahamsson Will look forward to seeing you try it again in the future for sure!

[@nicholasyouds3142]

There will be a follow up video when he does it...no doubts he will

[@marcbouzas7635]

Huge fan of this video ! Such a transparent peek into an elite boulderer's thinking process, especially on a mythic boulder such as "Off the wagon". Very good idea to quickly summarize the history behind it :)

[@UnkleMonkey18]

One of my favorite videos of yours, Emil. Your project narratives and examinations of the individual moves/holds are so well done.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Thanks mate! I appreciate that :-)

[@Crimp476]

Yes! Amazing for you two put this up, and in such detail. Wanna give you big thanks! This helps me personally out tremendously and gives extra motivation and insparation. I've been dreaming to do this in the future and have been training/making replicas at home the previous years. Never knew quite if my training is fitting, and now it seems, maybe only half fitting. Less one armers and more tension+power :). Funny how I too thought second move is crux. Gonna keep working the fingers though, going mad over here with how long it takes to build them up, crazy props those who sent it, fucking beasts. Ty

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Great to hear mate. You have the right name for it! Crush it homie 💪

[@Desmond987]

That Vadim Timonov send is mind blowing. Crazy unimaginable power. Just wow.

[@CollinGill7]

super cool idea, incredible climbing as well

[@Tort-]

really enjoy seeing the process of V-hard boulders and routes like this. makes them much more conceivable.

[@nathan88274]

Your videos have gotten so good it's crazy

[@julianshowalter7001]

Your explanations are beautiful

[@epincion]

Great video - very informative and also a storyline that held my attention. Very high technical quality as well

[@hayslivesinthedesert]

Amazing content. Love hearing you break down the climb/s

[@BrentSends]

Loved this breakdown! Would love to see more of the same with different famous problems.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

That’s initially what I wanted to do on the van trip but unfortunately it hasn’t happened quite that way.. we’ll see if I can have another chance next year/season depending on a few things in life :-)

[@philclimbr8763]

May I suggest “Bügeleisen“? Another very aesthetic boulder

[@christianknoflach]

Wow, what a high-quality video. This was so interesting to watch, both the history and the intricate details of the problem. I'm sure a lot of effort went into this video. Good luck on doing the boulder, it's such an iconic line!

[@nicolasburkhard]

Such a great video, honestly! Loved the history lesson on the boulder as well.

[@markkealy4417]

love this format, giving prerequisites for a boulder is a great idea

[@MusicScala]

Dope video giving more insights to a legendary Boulder

[@rillo111]

Jag blev förvånad över hur intressant denna videon var! 😬 Även för någon som aldrig någonsin kommer ha en chans på off the wagon! Älskar hur du dissikerar din replika i förhållande till verkligheten och går igenom move för move och vilka delar som aktiveras och behöver vara starka i olika positioner. Kul!

[@Jackson.Luberto]

I have been waiting for this video since you made the replica. Super psyched that you made it out to this boulder and I can’t wait for the send! I always like it when you break down a climb by giving a detailed view on the holds and what it takes to send.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Thanks mate that’s great to hear!

[@LittleBeeeee]

Midnight lighting: am I a joke to you?

[@Gavin_Ross]

One of the guys from my gym ( Rhys Langlands) just recently got the stand start such a cool boulder and an all time goal for myself

[@morbulten]

Thanks Emil, I am very excited to see your process on this boulder. And I especially enjoyed the "history" format in the first third of the video, hope to see more of that for other famous climbs.

[@SondreBKrogh]

Really good video!

[@SnowmansApartment]

man.. since covid climbing has been always on my mind, but i wasn‘t able to keep up the training or climb much.. seeing you on this boulder got me psyched to try training again soon! Hope to see you send it soon! =)

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

That’s so nice to hear! I hope you fill the psyche up for it completely and enjoy the training

[@SnowmansApartment]

@@EmilAbrahamsson yeah, i just added a wood thingy above my door to train my fingers again.. it‘s crazy how happy a little bit of training can make you!:)

[@paulgennaro2001]

Best video man! Love the story telling and everything!

[@dennis1802]

Thanks Emil, great vid i like the in depth story, plus its an iconic boulder if you know the history and considering i’m 45 i really liked how you put this together. Have a good trip to Font and good luck with the Big Island 💪🏼

[@kockarthur7976]

such a fantastic video, probably the best breakdown of a hard boulder I’ve seen

[@loejohn509]

This is great. The storytelling aspect of your videos has gotten so good. They're are much more enjoyable the "here's 20 min of gym climbing" format that's out there on youtube."

[@jimmylsperry9952]

great video

[@matiask7633]

It's such a cool move, but really hard to force in comps like we see them trying sometimes.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

One of the coolest moves in the world if you ask me!

[@ChrisHaileyTrainHardDiveEasy]

Was wondering if we would ever see you battling this one dude 🤙

[@RobsonPonte06]

I really liked your breakdown of the problem. If you are interested this is what Jakob Schubert wrote about it after he did send it: "such a good one. All about the first move for me. Got close on the sit and have to come back soon!" It looks like you are drawing the same conclusion from the problem :)

[@JollyDump]

Midnight lightning?

[@dylanquimbaya5492]

Love the content the production has been so high quality as of recent Keep it up

[@O1oLo]

Great vid and thank you for sharing this experience!

[@fxc5313]

Great commentary!

[@WILL_CLAY]

Great video Emil!! Really enjoyed this breakdown

[@Theboardbro]

Incredible video!!!!

[@tomcardno1]

this kind of video is big nice love your work emil!

[@anosu4537]

Awesome, love the videos recently!

[@karlderdelinckx]

So nice to have such an up close analyse of this boulder!! Vadim timonov can almost hang still under the hold and go like statically to the next one. It’s like he only releases his left hand when he is hanging still on his right hand in a high lockoff position. Do you have the same arm span as timonov? Curious how long you can hang that hold static with one arm?

[@aspuzling]

Vadim clearly has much more finger power. He also clearly weighs a lot less than Emil. A lot of the top climbers are relatively short and light.

[@codiburley1260]

Super cool to see all the holds close up and have them described. Watching super humans cruise it is fun and all, but I like this much better.

[@CKBrew]

GREAT vid!

[@dave990]

Bomb of a line!! I think Will could possibly flash this if he hasn't already tried it before

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Possibly! He definitely has the fingers for it

[@TomOHalloranAus]

Awesome insight! Psyched to get on this one day. Got the blue print for training now :)

[@lifeguylifeworld]

awesome video

[@walterlotte4215]

Awesome video, like watching a documentary of the climb.

[@Bigwillyphilly]

would be neat to see more of these famous boulders

[@brianwalker2881]

Love this

[@seemechico]

Jakob Schubert flashed it shortly after the Olympics, I’m surprised how it seems to have went relatively under the radar for a lot of people

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

A bit of a misquotation causes people to think that. He wrote “Sorry for taking so long on the top out it was basically a flash/onsight from the first move in and I didn’t want to punt ?” Meaning once he stuck the first move he did the whole thing. I believe he did it in one session though!

[@gekquad116]

Great video man. Selfishly, I’d love to see you make it out to the states, I’m sure there are some sick boulders for you and Cordi to work out here.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Haha nice of you to say. We have plans to go there but I'm guessing it'll be atleast a year until we make it across the pond

[@I_am_Spartacus]

Nice analysis, really enjoyed this!! I wouldn't worry about your replica having an easier start...that's how I would have approached it... it's all about latching those 2 campus moves, get that nailed then go back and make the start harder...if you can send a harder replica indoors.. you're ready for the real thing ;) Good luck!

[@BlueSky-qn1le]

Thanks for the inspiration and beta!

[@BeGravity4]

Great video

[@NutYGO]

awsome !

[@irials]

"I just want to go around and fondle the holds" 😅

[@aidanloeser4890]

YES YES YES been waiting for this

[@ewenmahevas3473]

Amazing

[@nicktoft2765]

see youve been kilter boarding how do you think the kilter replika compares, same thing as your replika? easier to control the rotation into the crimp maybe

[@maxfern5701]

I don't know if it would be worth doing, but it'd be definitely interesting to see you set an updated replica knowing what you know now from having tried it.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

I'd love to set one again if I get the chance to soon! Would be fun to make another video on it

[@LeoPalsgard]

Vadim Timonov is such a fricking beast of finger strength

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Yeah it’s actually insane to see, especially having been there and tried the boulder out now.. he stated he thought it was 8A+ also :P too strong for this world..

[@yagodelaescalera5133]

Me, recently done 6c mmm so that's the strength I need I will take it into account

[@frozennestea8774]

Back in 2017 i flashed it.... but then i woke up...

[@boulderfighters2590]

Great to see you on Off the wagon. Do you plan to go back there in your current trip? Cause I guess this footage was from your first bigger trip? Good luck!

[@leonprobst5405]

@Emil Abrahamsson fascinating video and great effort. I'm curious to see your progression. On a different note, where do you buy your shirts like the blue Hawaian style one in the end? :)

[@lukasz-dg5rn]

It would be cool if one day you could show us the Lappnor Project (Burden of Dreams) just like you show all other boulders. I wonder how the angles and holds look like.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

I plan to do so one day, I just haven't dragged my ass to Finland yet :P

[@matteobarison7947]

Super!

[@gamotousername]

The guy that almost flashed it, rotates his body in a way that activates more muscle groups which practically allows him to lock off. On the other hand you activate muscles around your scapula and go to the jug with momentum. It shows without shirt that only a few muscles are activated around your armpit. The almost flash guy is shorter though which reduces angular velocity...

[@I_am_Spartacus]

Yeah.. I'd definitely agree with all that... I'd say the 'almost' flash guy looks to have a pretty decent +ape index for his height giving him easier reach through to the jug...

[@daveh4925]

Me and my buddies have such a laugh travelling around to climbing areas and we chisel off holds and generally no one notices, we had the hilarious idea of also spray foaming the surfaces which we a Definately going to do...we dont take climbing seriously and we hope to bring a smile to the most stoic climber

[@taconoc1180]

I think I could do the v0 - Get on the Wagon, with out falling off.

[@jamoni082]

cool

[@matteoperugini4792]

I remember to have read somewhere (maybe on his Facebook page) that Jacob Schubert did a flash ascent of the problem. Am I wrong?

[@highcurrent1125]

This might be the most famous in Europe, but not the States. "Midnight" would be the one...

[@HeadyTopout]

Have you tried any of Giuliano's betas (going left hand first, keeping the feet on while going with the right, or matching near the crimp instead of the campus move)? Would be interested in hearing how any of those compare since they all seem like wizardry to me.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

I have yet to try it but I definitely want to!

[@lifeguylifeworld]

i cant find the charles albert off the wagon video

[@builtdifferent8106]

The kilter board version of this route is pretty cool it’s v11 on 40 and I think v12 on 50+

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

putting it on my to-do list!

[@builtdifferent8106]

@@EmilAbrahamsson you should I am about to go try it again today I almost got it all dialed

[@Wijkert]

3:10 So a small crystal broke off and the boulder became easier instead of harder?

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Very good question and something I should've clarified. The crystal that broke off was on the crimp you catch, making it slightly easier to grab. I haven't been able to confirm exactly how, but basically it's easier to get the full crimp on it now.

[@yoduh99]

"kinda the same feeling as going to the first world cup boulder" haha, i know right! ... :(

[@Daniele.Rossini]

It would be awesome if the even lower start of the boulder turn out to be 9a! maybe the first european 9a bouder (if you don't count scandy as central eu).

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

As a Scandinavian myself I can’t help looking like a surprised pikachu seeing Finland be referred to as “Not European”

[@Daniele.Rossini]

@@EmilAbrahamsson Nooo you misunderstood me Emil, i was talking about central europe like the classic boulder zones, like Cresciano, Font, Magic Woods etc... even in CZ Ondra didn't ever proposed a 9a boulder... i guess in font we have Soudain Seul, have you ever tryed it? Because you know Big Isalnd so well you think could be 2 full grades harder? Of course i see Finalnd and Sweden as Europe, even norway although it's not in the uninon...

[@pinealbland5076]

What did you end up grading the problem in the gym?

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

It was around 8B or so I think. Hard to grade such a short boulder in a gym though :P I didn’t spend enough time on it to do it as we were building the van at the time, but I did it in two parts. It was the hardest boulder in the gyms around Stockholm for the time it was up, but I can’t really say more than that

[@nickmartinelli3752]

Did you ever go back and retry after training on your replica? It looks like youd have the campus move locked at this point

[@tylerheitmann1758]

I want to se someone do the Charles Albert, toe crimp the slot instead of campus method

[@dingodefi]

clickbait title? 😉 'dreamtime' and 'midnight lightning' would be the most famous in my opinion.

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Haha I’m on thin ice, I know, but I have a solid defence. 1. In my mind I find off the wagon the most debated and famous amongst “hard bouldering”. Dreamtime lands on about the same spot though, but it’s more iconic than talked about in my book. Off the wagon just defines bouldering so perfectly, whilst Dreamtime (and midnight) are more cool and with a large history behind them. I also believe a lot more of newer climbers know about off the wagon and less know about midnight and Dreamtime, since they’re a bit older boulders. Plus.. I guess technically the most famous boulder problem would be the Alex Honnold free solo one, but I feel like it’d be blasphemy to state such a thing.. 2. I asked my friend Sam, who in turn asked some random person which the most famous boulder is and they said “wagon”. So if we go on that 1-person study it’s technically not clickbait. It might not be airsolid my defence, but it’s what I got 😅😅😅

[@dingodefi]

@@EmilAbrahamsson thanks for taking time to give a serious and well thought answer. you might be right, i have to admit 😅

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

@@dingodefi cheers mate! But honestly when researching for this it really got me curious, which really is the most famous boulder problem? Hard to know of course, but it’d be interesting to see a study on it!

[@johnchipouras1889]

Agreed with a few other comments. Midnight lightning has a lot more history and fame. Of the new school hard ones this is maybe top ten but probably not the most famous. Probably resonates given your(our) age(s) and skill level(s) and a few videos hyping it 10-15 years ago and some recent popularity.

[@zenoschaekers3251]

Have you tried matching the crimp like Cameroni did?

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Not yet! Saving it for next time I suppose :P

[@crispycrimps865]

Yeah yeah, but you guys should see me almost get the opening moves of my pink v5 proj

[@revilconn]

The sit start should be called "Next to the Wagon"

[@MF-CLIMB]

Fingers strength > everything else

[@Jason-TheChad-Muska_circa1995]

Can someone help me understand the point of this? Is it used as conditioning to actually do real climbs?

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

If you’re referring to the replica then yes, it’s for conditioning but mainly training. If you work on a climb for 5 sessions it’ll feel immensely much easier than on the first one, so this is kind of like getting a head start on the real thing.

[@Jason-TheChad-Muska_circa1995]

@@EmilAbrahamsson Sorry I should have specified better. I was referring to that tiny rock. I want to make clear I'm not trying to be disrespectful I'm just trying to understand. But I don't understand why people seem to be so serious about climbing what is about 20 ft of length on a small boulder like that. So I wasn't sure if the purpose of that is to get ready to climb large faces that are hundreds or thousands of feet or is this a subset within the sport of climbing itself?

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

@@Jason-TheChad-Muska_circa1995 Oh haha gotcha, a very broad question. So this type of climbing, bouldering, is an individual discipline within sport climbing. It requires no gear like a harness and is kind of like taking weight lifting or gymnastics into the outdoors. You train very hard for very specific movements. There's probably not a single person on the planet who would be able to climb movements that are as hard as the ones featured in the video for more than a few feet. Lead climbing, the other category within "sport climbing" is generally around 60-80 ft of sustained but much easier climbing than this, and mountaineering is essentially just walking for a very very long time for a strong boulderer (problem is they wouldn't have the endurance for it). It's always a bit hard to put into context, but I'll give it a shot. My background into climbing came from intense gaming, and the progression I felt in the sport was similar to that when I play computer games. You unlock a new move, sequence or muscle that suddenly allows you to do stuff you previously thought were impossible for you. Hope that clarifies something for you haha :P TLDR; it feels really good to make and see progress, and that's why I do it

[@stefanocollin3959]

jakob shubert flashad it

[@DanishMule]

1 for the algo .. peace! :)

[@kamron_thurmond]

I think it'll be cool if he collabed with Anton Fomenko.

[@EKdlwoasred]

Barefoot Charles tried it he deemed it too easy and not worth his time so he went back from font to session one of his many 9a boulders

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Based on what we saw in reel rock those ain’t 9A that he’s working on. Man’s living on planet 9B

[@EKdlwoasred]

@@EmilAbrahamssonhaha!

[@BuenoSociety]

looks too hard for you unfortunately😢

[@GothicPhantom]

First in Aus

[@EmilAbrahamsson]

Just first overall! Legend