Jimmy Webb bouldering Bishop extreme Lucid Dreaming

After nine days of effort, at the start of January 2020 32-year-old Jimmy Webb repeated the 8C highball Lucid Dreaming, established in 2010 by 22-year-old Paul Robinson who originally graded it 8C+. The problem on the Grandpa Peabody boulder at the Buttermilks, Bishop, was first repeated in 2014 by Daniel Woods and subsequently by Germany’s Alexander Megos (2015) and Japan’s Toru Nakajima (2017).

Interestingly Webb, who is quite rightly regarded as one of the most talented and powerful boulderers of his generation, defined this problem as representing his "anti-style" as he has "… always considered myself a terrible crimp climber." The crux is right at the start: "No tricks at all. No heelhooks, no toehooks, no drop knees, nothing. Just small holds and three moves" is how Megos once described it. Low expectations and fingers evidently stronger than he might have believed proved the key to success.