Owen Whaley has repeated Creature From the Black Lagoon (V16), the problem Daniel Woods put up in 2016 in Upper Chaos Canyon, Rocky Mountain National Park. It's Whaley's third V16 after Grand Illusion and Sosa.

He first got on it in July during a summer of alpine bouldering in Colorado and was surprised how good it felt in the heat, because the holds aren't that sharp. Once he had the moves dialed, he came back when the weather cooled. Upper Chaos is a long hike, conditions are hit and miss, and the problem is so physical that Whaley only got four or five real attempts per session.

On send day he nearly did it first go, then worried he'd blown his energy. He came back in the evening, tired, with a breeze blowing into the cave, and quit expecting anything. That's when it went. He also climbed it all the way to the top. "Don't know why people don't top this one all the way out," he said. "Victory romp!"

Sources: Gripped, Climbing History, UKClimbing