BURSTWill Bosi, one of the world’s most accomplished boulderers, has just revealed details about what he’s currently working on, a line that he describes as his “hardest project to date.” Dubbed Defying Graffiti, the project begins with a series of powerful crimps before linking into a more moderate finish. It’s located on a graffiti-covered boulder at Dumbarton Rock, near Bosi’s home in Scotland.
Bosi is one of the world’s leading boulderers, with five V17 ascents to his name. In October 2022, he climbed his first of the grade, making the third ascent of Shawn Raboutou’s Alphane. Less than six months later, he added his second V17 with a repeat of Nalle Hukkataival’s Burden of Dreams.
In August 2023, he made his first V17 first ascent, opening Realms of Tor’ment at Raven Tor in the U.K. He went on to make the second ascent of Return of the Sleepwalker V17 in Red Rock, Nevada, in February 2024, before surprising many in October with a rapid second ascent of Aidan Roberts’ Spots of Time V17. Earlier this year, he made the first ascent of Pôr do Sol V16 in Sintra, Portugal, a problem that took him several trips over two years.
While no V18 has ever been confirmed, in 2025, Elias Iagnemma made the first ascent of Exodia and proposed the grade V18. If confirmed, Exodia would become the first boulder problem of its grade and quite possibly the hardest boulder in the world. Check out Bosi’s beta on Defying Graffiti in the clips below.
Defying Graffiti V18?
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