Daniel Woods (born August 1, 1989) is an American professional

rock climber Rock climbing is a sport in which participants climb up, across, or down natural rock formations. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a usually pre-defined route without falling. Rock climbing is a physically and ...

who specializes in

bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help sec ...

and is considered one of the most important climbers in the history of bouldering. Woods has climbed over thirty bouldering problems graded or harder, making him one of the most prolific climbers of hard boulder problems. He has also won several competitions, such as the U.S. National Bouldering Championship and some international competitions. In March 2021, Woods achieved the

first ascent In mountaineering, a first ascent (abbreviated to FA in guide books) is the first successful, documented attainment of the top of a mountain or the first to follow a particular climbing route. First mountain ascents are notable because they en ...

of a low start to ''Sleepwalker'' . He named the problem ''Return of the Sleepwalker'' and proposed the

grade Grade most commonly refers to: * Grade (education), a measurement of a student's performance * Grade, the number of the year a student has reached in a given educational stage * Grade (slope), the steepness of a slope Grade or grading may also ref ...

, making him one of only two boulderers at the time to have climbed that grade.

Early life

Woods was born in

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the University of ...

, and was introduced to climbing through the cub scouts. In 1997, when he was 8 years old, his family moved to

Longmont The City of Longmont is a home rule municipality located in Boulder and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. Longmont is located northeast of the county seat of Boulder and north-northwest of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver. Longmont's ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

. Woods then began competing and was part of a junior climbing team coached by

Justin Sjong Justin may refer to: People * Justin (name), including a list of persons with the given name Justin * Justin (historian), a Latin historian who lived under the Roman Empire * Justin I (c. 450–527), or ''Flavius Iustinius Augustus'', Eastern Rom ...

and Jimmie Redo.

Climbing career

In 2003, Woods climbed his first bouldering problem rated , ''Fuck You Finger''. The following year, at the age of 15, he made the first ascent of ''Echale'', grading it . He won the American Bouldering Series national championship in 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012 and 2013 and the

Teva Mountain Games Teva is the Hebrew word for nature ( he, טבע, "nature"). Teva may refer to: Companies * Teva Footwear, American footwear manufacturer * Teva Naot, Israeli footwear manufacturer * Teva Pharmaceuticals, Israeli multinational pharmaceutical co ...

in the bouldering category in 2006, 2007 and, 2010. On June 19, 2007, while traveling in the Chaos Canyon area of Rocky Mountain National Park, Woods made the first ascent of ''Jade'', formerly named ''The Green 45 Project'', a project he had worked for several years with Dave Graham. He graded it , making it his hardest ascent at that point. The consensus for the rating of Jade is now . In early 2008, at the age of 18, Woods moved to

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; bar, Innschbruck, label=Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian ) is the capital of Tyrol (state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the ...

, Austria, and spent part of his time training with

Kilian Fischhuber Kilian Fischhuber (born 1 August 1983) is a professional Austrian sport climber and rock climber. He participated in bouldering and lead climbing competitions. From 2005 to 2011, he won five Bouldering World Cups. No other male climber was ever a ...

and

David Lama David Lama ( ne, डेभिड लामा; 4 August 1990 – 16 April 2019) was an Austrian sport climber and mountaineer. He won the European Championship in bouldering in 2007 and the European Championship in lead climbing in 2006. He ...

. In May 2008, he made the first ascent of ''In Search of Time Lost'' at Magic Wood in Switzerland and graded it . In November 2011, Woods began filming a climbing movie called ''Welcome to the Hood'' with Paul Robinson, Guntram Jörg, and Anthony Gullsten. The filming lasted five months, during which the group climbed at some of the most famous and difficult bouldering sites in the world. The first part of the film was set in Magic Wood, Switzerland, where Woods climbed ''Somewhere in Between'' .

Competition

Despite primarily focusing on hard outdoor bouldering, Daniel Woods is one of the most accomplished American male competition climbers. He won the ABS National Championship 9 times, the SCS National Championship, and competed in many IFSC World Cup events, earning a gold medal in the Vail World Cup in 2010. Woods also has the most open wins at the Hueco Tanks Rock Rodeo, his most recent having been in 2017.

Notable Ascents

: :* ''Return of the Sleepwalker'' - Black Velvet Canyon (

Red Rocks Red Rocks Amphitheatre (also colloquially as simply Red Rocks) is an open-air amphitheatre built into a rock structure in the western United States, near Morrison, Colorado, west of Denver. There is a large, tilted, disc-shaped rock behind th ...

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

) - 30 March 2021 - First Ascent : :* ''Grand Illusion'' - Little Cottonwood Canyon (Utha) - June 2021 - Third ascent. :* ''Off the Wagon Low'' - Val Bavona (Switzerland) - March 2020 - Third ascent. :* ''Sleepwalker'' - Black Velvet Canyon (

) - 16 January 2019 - Second ascent :*''Box Therapy'' -

Rocky Mountain National Park Rocky Mountain National Park is an American national park located approximately northwest of Denver in north-central Colorado, within the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. The park is situated between the towns of Estes Park to the east and ...

(USA) - 31 October 2018 - First ascent :* ''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' -

(USA) - 27 September 2016 - First ascent :* ''The Process'' -

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(USA) - 17 January 2015 - First ascent :* ''Hypnotized Minds'' -

(USA) - 21 October 2010 - First ascent : :* ''Direct Hit'' -

Ubatuba Ubatuba is a Brazilian municipality, located on the southeast coast, in the state of São Paulo. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Vale do Paraíba e Litoral Norte. The population is 92,819 (2021 est.) in an area of 723.88 km², of whi ...

(BRA) - 13 December 2019 - First Ascent :* ''Finnish Line'' -

Rocklands (South Africa) Rocklands is a popular bouldering destination in South Africa. It is located under 200km from Cape Town, on the edge of the Cederberg Mountains. The area is known for its abundance of bright-orange sandstone boulders. Boulderers have frequented Ro ...

- 30 June 2018 - Fifth Ascent :* ''Topaz'' -

Wild Basin Wild, wild, wilds or wild may refer to: Common meanings * Wild animal * Wilderness, a wild natural environment * Wildness, the quality of being wild or untamed Art, media and entertainment Film and television * ''Wild'' (2014 film), a 2014 ...

(USA) - 12 October 2016 - Second ascent :* ''Spray of Light'' -

- July 2015 - First ascent :* ''Noise Vs Beauty'' -

- 14 June 2015 - First ascent, V14/V15 :* ''Lucid Dreaming'' -

(USA) - 28 January 2014 - Second ascent of Paul Robinson's boulder (2010), downgraded from 8C+(V16) :* ''El Diablo'' -

Peñoles Peñoles is a subsidiary company owned by Grupo BAL. Peñoles is the second largest Mexican mining company, the first Mexican producer of gold, zinc and lead and the world leader in silver production. Peñoles is a company with active mines wit ...

(MEX) - 19 January 2014 - First ascent :* ''The Nest'' - Red Rock (USA) - 18 December 2013 - First ascent :* ''Defying Gravity'' -

South Platte The South Platte River is one of the two principal tributaries of the Platte River. Flowing through the U.S. states of Colorado and Nebraska, it is itself a major river of the American Midwest and the American Southwest/ Mountain West. Its ...

(USA) - 16 November 2013 - First ascent :* ''The Ice Knife SDS'' -

Guanella Pass Guanella Pass (elevation ) is a high mountain pass in central Colorado, in the Rocky Mountains of the western United States. The pass is located in southwestern Clear Creek County, in the Front Range west of Denver and south of Georgetown. T ...

(USA) - 2 November 2013 - First ascent :* ''Delirium'' - Mt. Evans (USA) - 18 September 2013 - Second ascent :* ''The Wheel of Wolvo'' - Mt. Evans (USA) - 9 September 2013 - Second ascent :* ''The Wheel of Life (original)'' -

Grampians The Grampian Mountains (''Am Monadh'' in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic) is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. T ...

(AUS) - 23 July 2013 - 9th ascent of Dai Koyamada's boulder (2004), downgraded from 8C+(V16) :* ''Hydrangea'' - Shiobara (JPN) - 14 February 2013 - Second ascent of Dai Koyamada's boulder (2005), downgraded from 8C+(V16) :* ''Witness The Fitness'' -

Ozark Mountains The Ozarks, also known as the Ozark Mountains, Ozark Highlands or Ozark Plateau, is a physiographic region in the U.S. states of Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma and the extreme southeastern corner of Kansas. The Ozarks cover a significant portio ...

(USA) - 5 January 2013 - Third ascent :* ''White Noise'' -

(USA) - 18 September 2012 - First ascent :* ''Monkey Wedding'' -

- 13 August 2012 - Fourth ascent :* ''Paint it Black'' -

(USA) - 29 February 2012 - First ascent :* ''Big Paw'' -

Chironico Chironico is a former municipality located in the district of Leventina in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 1 April 2012, it was incorporated into the municipality of Faido along with the former municipalities of Anzonico, Calpiogna, Ca ...

(SUI) - 24 November 2011 - Second ascent :* ''La Force Tranquille'' - Magic Wood (SUI) - 15 October 2011 - First ascent :* ''Ill Trill'' - Magic Wood (SUI) - 19 April 2011 - Third ascent :* ''Practice of the Wild'' - Magic Wood (SUI) - 16 April 2011 - Third ascent :* ''Warrior Up'' - Mt. Evans (USA) - 4 September 2010 - Second ascent :* ''Desperanza'' -

Hueco Tanks Hueco Tanks is an area of low mountains and historic site in El Paso County, Texas, in the United States. It is located in a high-altitude desert basin between the Franklin Mountains to the west and the Hueco Mountains to the east. ''Hueco'' is ...

(USA) - 27 February 2010 - First ascent :* ''The Game'' - Boulder Canyon (USA) - 10 February 2010 - First ascent :* ''Terremer'' -

(USA) - 30 January 2010 - Third ascent :* ''In Search of Time Lost'' - Magic Wood (SUI) - 9 September 2008 - First ascent

References

External links