Toru Nakajima Sends Paint It Black (V15) in RMNP
Japan's Toru Nakajima has repeated Paint It Black (V15), a Daniel Woods first ascent in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado. [Photo: Nakajima on Clan of the Cave Bears (V13)]
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Japan’s Toru Nakajima has repeated Paint It Black (V15), a Daniel Woods first ascent in Rocky Mountain National Park, Colorado.
In a video detailing his bouldering in RMNP, Woods describes Paint It Black as “a 65-degree overhang that shoots out of the hillside; a ship’s prow-like boulder. Very short, compression-style climbing.” Woods says the crux is the process of unlocking the moves— because the problem’s height and angle make the holds too distant to reach from the ground, each individual move must be practiced in sequence.
Paint It Black has seen repeats by Ian Dory, Paul Robinson and Dave Graham since Woods established the problem.
Nakajima eschewed the “quit while you’re ahead” adage and sent The Grey later the same day. First ascensionist Dave Graham originally suggested V14, though others have disputed the grade and called it both V13 and V12.
No stranger to hard climbing in RMNP, Nakajima has also repeated Big Worm (V14), Ice Knife (V14) and numerous other double digit boulders on a previous trip in 2012 (check out the video below).
Nakajima climbs on the cutting edge of bouldering, with hard ascents like The Big Island (V15) in Fontainebleau—a Vincent Pochon extension to Dave Graham’s The Island (V14)—and Dai Koyamada’s Tokoyo (V14) in Kasagi, Japan. His other hits include: The Traphouse (V14), Gecko assis (V14), The Traphouse Short (V13, flash), Elephunk (V13), Satan I Helvete (V13), Sideways Daze (V13), Partage (V12), and Fata Morgana (V12), to name a few.
Watch Daniel Woods make the first ascent of Paint it Black (V15)
Watch Nakajima crush RMNP classics:
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Cover photo: Toru Nakajima on Clan of the Cave Bears (V13). Screenshot from video above.