BURSTOn May 31, Noah Wheeler sent Big Arms V14/15 (8B+/C) in Lincoln Lake, Colorado. The problem was opened by Drew Ruana in the summer of 2022. The line was originally a V12 called Small Arms. After a few holds broke, Ruana made the first post-break ascent, re-naming it Big Arms and suggesting a grade of around V14/15.
“First day at Lincoln Lake in a few years!” said Wheeler after his ascent on Instagram. “This is a wonderful climb from [Drew Ruana] which I had briefly tried years ago to no avail, but which went down today in an enjoyably condensed process of learning and optimizing. Climbing at its most existentially fruitful. The climb itself consists of a few nuanced moves on sloped crimpers anchored by a very bad heel-toe-cam, followed by a gnarly throw in a style I am accustomed to. Best of both worlds.”
This sequence of moves – the slopey crimps with a tricky heel-toe cam to big throw – reminded Ruana of one of Canada’s hardest boulder problems. Ruana said the problem is “Lincoln Lake’s version of Squamish’s Singularity [V15].”
Earlier last month, Wheeler made the seventh ascent of Burden of Dreams V17 (9A). It took him seven sessions across two trips to unlock the problem. The V17 was his third of the grade. Last year, he sent both his first and second V17s, Daniel Woods’ Return of the Sleepwalker and Sean Bailey’s Shaolin, both in Red Rock, Nevada. In 2024, he topped Insomniac V16 at Lincoln Lake, Colorado and Sleepwalker V15/16. He has sent nearly a dozen V15s, including a first ascent of Jorōgumo in Haycock, Pennsylvania.
Drew Ruana on Big Arms V14/15
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