Shauna Coxsey climbs The Boss (Font 8B+/V14)
- Thursday 2nd May 2024
Shauna Coxsey has climbed The Boss (Font 8B+/V14) at Yarncliffe Edge in the Peak District making her the first woman to climb the grade on British soil.
The Boss was first climbed by Coxsey’s husband Ned Feehally in 2020 where it was suggested at the time to be the hardest problem on gritstone. Shauna has claimed the 8th ascent of the boulder and is the first woman to climb the boulder problem. Her ascent is also the hardest ascent ever by a woman on a gritstone boulder problem.
Commenting on her ascent, Shauna said: “The Boss has been on my list ever since Ned did the first ascent. It is such a gem! The climbing is steep and powerful with some bad holds. It feels improbable at first. The last move is a huge blind slap overhead from a horizontal position. It is really committing and a bit spooky”.
The Boss, named after late gritstone legend John Allen, is Shauna’s second Font 8B+ of the year, having climbed Fotofobia Sit in La Pedriza, Spain (see news here) in March and her third climb of the grade having done New Base Line (Font 8B+) at Magic Wood, Switzerland (see news here) in 2014 before committing herself to competition climbing. This journey saw her win numerous World Cup competitions and compete at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Shauna has also climbed multiple Font 8Bs in the past year, including the limestone problem Fat Lip (Font 8b) at Raven Tor, Derbyshire in a single session.
Compared to her other Font 8B+ ascents, Shauna added: “It felt hard! I have been waiting a long time to believe I was strong enough to even try The Boss. It’s hard to compare it to the other Font 8B+s/V14s I’ve done as it’s a very different style but it sure felt a lot harder than Fat Lip, a local Font 8B/V13 which, although on different rock, climbs kinda similar”.
Shauna is planning to hunt more challenging projects throughout the year in the UK and abroad so stay tuned…