Will Bosi has established a new problem at Badger Cove in the Peak District with a proposed grade of 8C+. The boulder is 22 moves long and navigates the steepest section of the wall, moving through tiny holds before joining the upper section of Rampant Rabbit 7C and gaining the final jugs on the Dan Varian classic Bewilderness 8B+, ahead of the gully top-out.

The line took Will five sessions to complete. A stopper deadpoint move from a tiny crimp to a two-finger-sized pocket proved the crux to unlocking the whole problem.

Will recently added sit starts to Bewilderness and Dandelion Mind to create Trance 8C and Beautiful Mind 8C respectively (UKC News). He took advantage of the prolonged period of dry weather to clean the steep adjoining section, which typically remains damp year-round.

With the assistance of established Peak District bouldering developer Ned Feehally, Will was able to clean the rock and ensure it was stable enough for the ascent.

He says that the problem is by far his hardest to date, and "one of the best". He commented:

"The climbing is so varied throughout, from technical at the start, through to raw power and eventually hanging on for dear life at the end! I say this is a boulder, but it is funny to think that this has 22 moves of hard climbing and is a boulder problem and Brandenburg Gate [Bosi's first ascent sport route at Raven Tor] only has seven hard moves and is considered a sport route. Climbing is a funny sport!"

Commenting on the grade, he added:

"This was a step up from the previous 8Cs I have done at Badger so in that regard, I felt the 8C+ grade is warranted, but the margins at this top level are so fine that I would happily be persuaded otherwise. Hopefully, I get the opportunity to try some other boulders at the grade and I can start to get a sense of where it is but for now, I will leave it at 8C+ and hopefully some strong climbers will come and give it a go".

Honey Badger joins Aidan Roberts' Superpower and Isles of Wonder Sit as the UK's only proposed 8C+s, and, if confirmed, it would be the Peak District's hardest boulder problem.

Will is now looking forward to cooler conditions before returning to other projects in the UK and abroad.

Watch a video of Will's process on the line below: