At the end of May, we reported on Shauna's incredible return to the top end of outdoors bouldering when she climbed Flip Flopera (f8B) at The Bowderstone in the Lake District.
Just over a month later, Shauna has made yet another 8B ascent, this time of Eliot Stephens' Hydro (f8B), at Ogmore Bouldering. The boulder, which is a low start to Solly Kemball Dorey's The Fisherman (f8A), follows sharp limestone edges across a stunning prow.
The boulder is Shauna's sixth 8B, and her second after childbirth and double knee surgery.
We got in touch to find out more.
Hello again, and congratulations again on your 8B endeavours! Can you tell us a little bit about Hydro?
It's the lower start to an 8A, The Fisherman, that I'd been keen to try. I did The Fisherman second try and then felt the holds on the lower moves. They seemed totally impossible. At first, I couldn't fathom holding such teeny tiny crimps with my feet on the ground, let alone on the rock!
How was your experience on Hydro? Had you climbed at Ogmore before?
It was my first trip to climb outdoors in South Wales and my first time at Ogmore and on this boudler.
I wasn't sure if I should try the Hydro at first as the holds just seem crazy bad, but with a bit of encouragement from Ned I had a go. I managed to quickly figure out the body positions and foot options that made the holds feel holdable, and decided to try from the start knowing that I didn't have many goes before my finger strength was zapped.
After a quick fumble go, I found myself squeaking and grunting my way through the viciously intense moves and then grabbing the top. This climb is slightly eliminate, but still a gem. Really wild holds on a great bit of rock right by the sea.
You've now climbed two 8B boulders in the space of just over a month, which is quite incredible! How does it feel to performing so consistently in the high grades?
Ah, I so nearly managed two 8B's in two days, but my power endurance let me down (the day after climbing Hydro, Shauna fell off the final move of Louis Left (f8B) at Bacon Hole). I still feel like I'm lacking some beans as I am still breastfeeding, which I love but it's hard too.
It's just so nice to feel confident enough to try these boulders and to be finding my fight again. I still feel like I have a lot of gains to make which is exciting too.
When we spoke last month, you told us that your main goals at the moment were centred around your upcoming series about the best 7th grade boulders in the UK. What have been the stand-out areas/boulders so far?
Oh, that's a tough one. I think my absolute fave boulders have been Scoop Dragon Sit (f7A+) and Malc's Arete (f7B), but my favourite area is probably St. Bees Head. Doing this tour has really shaped me as a climber, and helped me find my flow and grit again.
Tell us a bit about how the idea for the series came about/what the experience of filming it has been like?
After so many years focusing on competing I wanted to shift my focus to rock climbing, and it felt right to start that journey here in the UK.
I wanted to do this top 50 as a kinda 'come back' project, but I actually got strong post birth and knee surgeries faster than I expected. However, I would say I am learning more than I ever expected doing this series.
Getting so much mileage in has done wonders for my confidence, both on the wall and even just in terms of general crag life. It felt a little daunting at the beginning, and now we can shoot at three crags in one day!
Are there any other specific boulders that you're keen to get on in the near future?
Yes! For sure. And routes too. But my focus is still on finishing the 7's tour and trying the odd 8 when I can haha. I can't wait to check out Northern Ireland for the first time and get back to North Wales, and then North Yorkshire too when it's a bit cooler maybe.
The first episode of Shauna's Best 7's series is now live on her youtube channel, you can watch it via the link below. The following ticklist - Shauna Coxsey's Fifty best 7th Grade boulders in the UK. - will also be updated with new boulders after each video in the series is released.
Comments
South Wales is a bouldering Mecca pass it on. Nice one Shauna!🏆
South Wales is the new North Wales 😎
Jokes aside, it's great to see South Wales Bouldering on the map. Eliot Stephens' guidebook to the area has (from what I gather) made a massive difference - as has his continued development of the area.
For those who haven't seen it, he wrote an excellent destination article to the area a few years back: https://www.ukclimbing.com/articles/destinations/destination_article_south_wales_bouldering-13910
Also, GO SHAUNA!! It's amazing to see her back on form and I suspect this is just the beginning...