It's been a busy few weeks in the world of rock climbing. Following Sasha DiGiulian and Marianna Ordóñez first female free climb of Bravo Les Filles, a Madagascan big wall route, German climber Yannick Flohé has gone and achieved the most difficult flash in bouldering history.
Very much at the other end of the climbing spectrum but no less impressive than DiGiulian and Ordóñez's ascent, on July 9 Flohé flashed Foundation's Edge in Fionnay, Switzerland. This 39ft (12m) boulder problem is graded V15 (Font 8c), making it potentially the most difficult problem that has ever been flashed.
For the uninitiated, a flash is a climbing term used to describe the completion of a climb cleanly at the first time of asking, having received beta (prior information) or conducted research on the route. Most climbers work on such boulder problems for significant amounts of time, a process known as projecting. Climbing a V15 at the first time of asking is unheard of, until now.
Foundation's Edge
Following his success, Flohé took to social media to spread the news, proclaiming "yesterday I flashed my hardest boulder ever," and going on to say that the climb "went perfectly."
To put the grade into context, the hardest boulder problems in the world sit at V17 (Font 9a), just a couple of grades above what Flohé flashed. The world's elite tend to spend months or even years unlocking the crux moves of such problems. The hardest section of the one of the world's hardest sport climbs, Silence, sent by Adam Ondra in 2017, is a V15 problem. Widely regarded as the world's finest, Ondra has flashed V14s (Font 8b+) in the past, but never a problem graded V15.
Of course, it should be stated that climbing grades are always vulnerable to subjectivity. However, Foundation's Edge is an established problem and has been climbed by other elite climbers, including Daniel Woods, Will Bosi, Shawn Raboutou, Simon Lorenzi, Clément Lechaptois, Pietro Vidi and Dylan Chuat. While there's general consensus of the V15 grade, some have said that it's soft for the grade, according to one report.
In his Instagram post, Flohé was magnanimous admitting that he "knew for a while that this is probably the most flashable 8c in the world" and that he didn't "really think this is a proper 8c, even though no one has ever downgraded it and there’s for sure some softer ones out there". Nonetheless, the modest German deserves kudos for his achievement.
Who is Yannick Flohé?
Yannick Flohé is a 25-year-old German rock climber who is a regular on the competition climbing scene. He's won gold for the Combined Bouldering and Lead at the 2021 World Championships and in the Bouldering event at the 2022 World Cup.
In the bouldering world, he's sent several V16 (Font 8c+) problems in France and Switzerland, putting him among the world's elite. He's sponsored by Swiss outdoor brand Mammut.
