Ryuichi Murai repeats Return of the Sleepwalker (V17/9A)

On 23 November Ryuichi Murai climbed his hardest problem to date, Return of the Sleepwalker in the Black Velvet Canyon at Red Rocks in Nevada, USA. Established in 2021 by Daniel Woods, at the time it was regarded as only the second boulder problem in the world to be graded V17/9A, after Burden Of Dreams. It was repeated by Will Bosi in February 2024 and Simon Lorenzi in March 2025. Murai sent the stand start, Jimmy Webb's Sleepwalker (V16) in 2023 and returned this autumn to complete the sit start. The 31-year-old has sent a slew of 8C+, including his own United (2019), Nexus (2021) and Floatin (2021).

After Return of the Sleepwalker he commented "I finally achieved what I came here for. The desert was surprisingly rainy at first, but I stayed fresh every session, physically and mentally, and in the end everything fell into place.

The real crux was the full span sloper after linking into Sleepwalker. The day I finally stuck that move was the day I sent. For a total of five days, I just kept slapping that sloper and falling again and again. Looking back, everything came down to sticking that one move. Behind it were endless micro adjustments and tick tweaks, so subtle they probably looked like nothing from the outside. Still, I threw every bit of technique and creativity I have built up into making that sloper reachable.

On the attempt where I first stuck it, I was too pumped and fell on the last jump. But after a long break and a reset of all the mixed emotions inside me, the next try was the one, and everything clicked.

When I barely topped Sleepwalker two years ago, “Return” felt like a dream. I never imagined I would stand on top of this boulder again. This success reminded me not to put limits on myself.

I would love to say I can head home satisfied now… but Shaolin is still waiting. I do not know how far I can push it, but I am going to enjoy every remaining day."