Daniel Woods has made the first ascent of Adrenaline, 8C+, in Colorado, USA.

The boulder is Wood's hardest first ascent since March 2021, when he established the world's third 9A boulder, Return of the Sleepwalker (f9A). The boulder, which is yet to be repeated, is currently being projected by Will Bosi.

Woods first started trying Adrenaline in January last year. After leaving to try Alphane (f9A), he returned in April and came close to making the first ascent, before warm conditions cut his attempts short.

The steeply overhanging boulder revolves around a 'flared slot hold which you have to ring lock' from a knee bar, before locking off and moving through to a 'right hand rounded quarter pad vertical edge'.

Talking on Instagram, Woods said that the ring lock is 'super painful and bruises my left index finger. It only feels secure when my fingers are numb and I can't feel it. This eliminates the pain, so I can pull through and not think about it'. He described the move as 'the hardest ring lock move' he has done, whilst also acknowledging that it isn't a type of move he's encountered often. 

After the ring lock move comes the final crux move, two consecutive 'sharp quarter pad edges', where the climber must pull through from the first to the second, whilst trying to keep core tension to avoid cutting loose. 

As put by Woods, this boulder is one where 'pain tolerance is the name of the game'. 

Upon making the first ascent, Woods shared the following on Instagram:

'What a painful ride with this one! Stellar line and rock though. Was difficult to get into a rhythm with it. Had to have skin and conditions line up to properly stick and execute the moves'.

'I think low end V16 but it's a tricky one to grade'.

Check out the video below to see an attempt from early last month, where Woods fell from the last hard move: