Noah Wheeler

BURDEN OF DREAMS V17/9A Some moments are so surreal that they feel unfinished even after they’ve happened. Sent 2 goes after my dab “link.” Had a flight booked for 6AM the next day. Really had to push my headspace to find sufficient presence for the send. Right now I am just grateful for the places this sport has brought me and the wonderful people I have met along the way. Content and striving for more. 📸 @henkkaask 🙏. Big thanks to @yannick_flohe and @hamish_mcarthur for being my boulder buddies. @mountainhardwear @evolv_worldwide @tensionclimbing @asanaclimbing @rungne_official

SHAOLIN V17/9A ~Second Ascent~ Rock climbing is a process of self discovery for me. When trying at my limit, I’m forced to delve into unknown dimensions. To intuit the exact capacity of my body on the wall. To develop a strange and unique ritual that best facilitates blood flow. To master and often manipulate my determination, anticipation, and anxiety. Shaolin forced self-mastery more than any boulder prior. Although I could stick the crux move (an accurate v13-level left-hand throw) 75% of the time in iso, climbing a stout v13 sequence into this was a whole other beast entirely. I was forced to learn and utilize my strongest grip position on the crux hold, to understand exactly how much force and pressure I could or should generate through my feet. To calibrate a given go in relation to all other experiences on the boulder. Once this move was eventually done from the start, only after I understood my body enough to enforce pre-session and mid-try confidence did I complete the last thruchy V11/12-level throw and take it to the top. An hour later, invigorated by my experience, I managed to make my way up Trieste Sit V14/15 as well. Coming into Shaolin, I sought to prioritize my enjoyment of the process in seeking the final goal of sending. I leave Shaolin with a different goal - although I climb to master the boulder, I do so in order to better understand my self. @mountainhardwear @tensionclimbing @scarpana

Return of the Sleepwalker V17/9A A one-minute dream floating on a lifetime of anxious sweats and all-nighters, a decade of reluctant youth practices that turned to stone obsessions and intense dedication. All of which aloft the good will of those around me. @tensionclimbing @scarpana @hitorii.design @beta_labs #bouldering #climbing

Good Link

Nuthin’ But Sunshine V13 Flash ⚡️ Great time in the park before I head out to Finland. Been board climbing non-stop recently so it was nice to get outside again. Feeling ready! Did the campus move after the flash of course😅 @mountainhardwear @evolv_worldwide @asanaclimbing @rungne_official @tensionclimbing

BARNDOOR 2000 A classic southern stone testpiece from this winter. My pick for the best climb in the world (among those I’ve tried). This climb + my flash of brass knuckles + Jorogumo FA are in a video on the @wheel.rock patreon now. A slightly different version will go up on our youtube soon! P.S. slab is easily crux. Got jump maybe 3rd time getting past the slab.

Vecchio Leone 8B/V13 Flash 2 months ago I fully ruptured my left ring A2 pulley. I only started climbing on the ring finger 2 weeks ago. Rather than to seriously climb, I came out to Switzerland for a short @mountainhardwear shoot (of whom’s incredible pants I am wearing in this vid). Despite this, I could not contain my psyche and ended up hopping on one of the most legendary boulders of the grade with little expectation. Sufficed to say, my finger may be more prepared than I expected! Excited to come back to Switzerland ASAP with a healed pulley to take down some of the climbs I was able to scout! @mountainhardwear @evolv_worldwide @asanaclimbing @rungne_official

Jorogumo V15/8C FA AKA Orb Weaver SDS. Haycock, Pennsylvania is the crag in which I began climbing outdoors. The stand, Orb Weaver, is one of the first climbs I ever sent outside. My brother and I had known of the sit project - deemed the Venom proj - since this initial encounter. But I always figured the climb was legitimately impossible. The holds are tiny - 10mm at the largest. Worse yet, they are flat. Most of the force register on the crux move comes from a 2mm sized opening you have to jam your skin into. It was only until I returned to the boulder this year, with a reshaped perspective and much stronger fingers, that I realized the boulder might be possible. The climb consists of a v8 or 9 intro move into one of the most difficult crimp moves I have ever done - what feels like a sharper, crimpier, left-handed Burden-style move. Maybe 1 move V12/13. The last two pictures in the slide are the left hand you throw to and cut on, and the right hand you throw from. From here, instead of matching into the stand start, the ideal beta is to load all of your weight into the flat 8mm left hand and deadpoint to a decent sloper - a 1 move 11 or 12. Unfortunately I am sidelined for the season due to a nasty pulley injury which occurred only a few days after the send - and possibly due to it. Despite a broadly melancholic feeling at the moment, I cannot but look forward to the unknown ways in which I will and must expand the depth of my climbing. 📸 my mom and photographer @vikkisloviterphoto

Brass Knuckles V14 Flash ⚡️ Psyched to have done this board-style @zachgalla rig first try! Based on what I had heard and seen about the boulder (its basically a steep Tensionboard climb), I suspected I had a good chance at flashing this one. Despite only being in Tennessee for 1 real climbing day, I was lucky to get great weather. Combined with some more intentional preparation, the climb ended up feeling as though I had a lot of margin. Video coming on @wheel.rock soonish. 📸 @kevin.salami @benn_wheeler @mountainhardwear @evolv_worldwide @asanaclimbing @rungne_official

A close go from my 2nd session on Burden of Dreams V17 (when it was dry enough to try.) I had the absolute honor of spending a few weeks in Finland this fall attempting to try Burden of Dreams with my great friend @hamish_mcarthur . Unfortunately, the weather was such that we were only able to have about 3 total sessions. As you can see in the video, the boulder was actively seeping even when we could pull on it. I was accompanied by the amazing crew at @tensionclimbing , who have released a video entailing our experience. @quinnspad and @mikerosay wonderfully capture the essence of our trip and the unique and at times absurd nature of being a traveling professional climber. Give it a watch on their YouTube! Concerning my experience with the boulder, the climb felt more suited to me than perhaps any difficult climb I have ever tried. Every move went down within a few tries! Needless to say, I will try to come back this spring, hopefully with drier conditions. @tensionclimbing @mountainhardwear @evolv_worldwide @rungne_official

Pinky Perky 8B Flash I had a wonderful time sampling the legendary School Room in Sheffield the other day - much to the credit of a wonderful crew and culture. Given how much of the current bouldering sphere can be traced back to the School Room and climbs like Perky Pinky, it’s an honor to have flashed the climb! I’ve documented my session in a Wheel Rock video that will out today! I flash a few other climbs including another classic 8B 👀. @mountainhardwear @evolv_worldwide @rungne_official

Pegasus V15 I had a fun and unexpectedly productive 1.5 days of climbing at Joes Valley Fest with the @mountainhardwear crew! After supporting and checking out some warm New Joes boulders on day 1, I knew I had a very short window to attempt Pegasus the following day. Sending was largely a matter of skin and temp management. It was pretty hot for most of the session, and I quickly wore through my skin on the disgustingly bad crux hold of the sit line. Once decent temps eventually rolled in, I knew I only had 2 tries or so before I split. After falling on the last hard move, I pulled out some tryhard and sent the second time I got through the V12 sit sequence. I tried this climb a bit a few years ago and my fingers would always get painful and inflamed almost immediately. Psyched to see that my work towards making that a non-issue is paying off! @evolv_worldwide @rungne_official @tensionclimbing