Dai Koyamada frees 'Monolith' in Hinokage Valley, Japan

4 years after first discovering the line in the Hinokage Valley in Japan's Miyazaki Prefecture, Japanese climbing legend Dai Koyamada has now finally made the first ascent of Monolith. Tentatively graded 8C/C+, the 48-year-old described the highball as "one of the best problems of my life."

Writing on his Instagram account, Koyamada stated "Deep in the mountains of Hinokage, a massive boulder stands alone on the slope, featuring a strikingly beautiful overhanging wall with clean, sharp edges. The line that runs straight up this overhang was incredibly alluring yet seemed impossible at first glance."

The send did not come easy and at one point he even questioned whether this might mark the end to his hard climbing. "To be honest, I thought that if I ever climb this line, I might quit hard bouldering altogether" he explained. However, the send sparked a new wave of excitement and the very next day, Koyamada was already scouting new rocks and planning his next project before concluding " It seems my time to quit is still far off."

 

 

 

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