Zach Galla has made the long-awaited second ascent of the highball boulder The Process (f8C+), at the Buttermilks, USA.

The boulder, which is one of many hard problems on the iconic Grandpa Peabody boulder, had been left unrepeated for almost a decade, after Daniel Woods made the first ascent in early 2015.

The Process is an extension of the 8B boulder Blood Meridian, which pulls onto the boulder from a small stack of pads, before pulling through small sharp crimps on overhanging rock.

After Blood Meridian stops, The Process adds on another 8B boulder, with yet more sharp crimps leading to a final dyno to the boulder's lip, resulting in a huge swing high above the ground.

Shawn Raboutou finds a novel way to try the final dyno in isolation.

Finally, the climber must work their way through a slightly easier sequence of 7C+ climbing on less steep terrain, albeit roughly twenty feet above the ground.

Galla's ascent of The Process comes after he flashed Blood Meridian - also known as Social Distortion - in 2022, and gave it a personal grade of 8A+.

Galla returned to the Buttermilks in mid-February, and, alongside putting in time on The Process, has been working on another of Grandpa Peabody's famous lines, Evilution Direct (V11).

Sharing news about the ascent on Instagram, Galla said:

'Topping this one out was a feeling no other climb has ever given me. After sticking the lip and calming myself down, it felt like I was in a bubble and the only thing that mattered was the next move'.

'It was a true 100% focus I've never found through anything else. Daniel Woods was truly ahead of his time doing the first ascent of this mental and physical testpiece nine years ago. Mad respect, thank you for showing me what is possible'.

Since Woods' first ascent, holds on the boulder have broken numerous times and been glued back together. When asked if it was harder now than before the break, Galla said 'from what I hear it's a bit harder', but also that he had 'only tried post-break' so couldn't compare the two.

Galla has been on excellent form recently, having climbed four 8C boulders and an 8C+ boulder, Sleepwalker (f8C+), in the five months prior to his ascent of The Process. His first ascent at 8C+ came in 2021, when he made the fifth ascent of Grand Illusion.

A video of Galla's ascent is due to be released soon.