Burden of Dreams (climb)

This article is about a boulder climb. For the 1982 film, see Burden of Dreams.

Burden of Dreams is a 4-metre (13 ft) red granite grade 9A (V17) bouldering problem at Lappnor near Loviisa, in Finland. It was first climbed by Finnish climber Nalle Hukkataival on 23 October 2016, who spent four years projecting the boulder,^[3] and features in the 2017 climbing film, The Lappnor Project.^[4][5]

Burden of Dreams
Location	Lappnor, near Loviisa, Finland
Coordinates	60°25′26″N 26°08′08″E
Route type	Bouldering
Vertical gain	4 metres (13 ft)[1]
Rating	9A (V17)
First ascent	Nalle Hukkataival, 23 October 2016[2]

Climbing awarded Hukkataival a Golden Piton [fr] in 2016 for having the courage to grade it at 9A (V17),^[6] making Burden of Dreams the world's first-ever boulder problem at the 9A (V17) grade.^[7][8]

After resisting further attempts by the world's strongest climbers for many years, including by Shawn Raboutou and Stefano Ghisolfi,^[9] it was finally repeated by Scottish climber Will Bosi on 12 April 2023.^[10] Bosi practiced on a 3D-printed replica of the key holds and movements of the route in the United Kingdom, before attempting the actual boulder in Finland.^[11][12] Bosi also confirmed the grade of V17 (9A).^[13]

After Bosi's repeat, climbing hold manufacturers began to offer highly accurate 3D-scanned replicas of the holds on Burden of Dreams to the public; and by altering the gradient to vertical, instead of a 45-degree overhang on the real route, it was estimated that the grade of difficulty is softened to almost V2 (5+).^[14]

Ascents

Burden of Dreams has been ascended by:

• 1st. Nalle Hukkataival on 23 October 2016.^[3][6]
• 2nd. William Bosi on 12 April 2023.^{[7][11][12][13]}
• 3rd. Simon Lorenzi on 27 December 2023.^[15]
• 4th. Elias Iagnemma on 25 March 2024.^[16][17]

Filmography

• Documentary on the first ascent: The Lappnor Project (Motion picture). Blue Kangoo Films. 2017.^[18]

See also

• History of rock climbing
• List of grade milestones in rock climbing
• Midnight Lightning, famous V8 (7B/7B+) boulder in Camp 4 (Yosemite)
• Dreamtime, famous V15 (8C) boulder in Cresciano, Switzerland
• The Wheel of Life, famous V15 (8C) boulder in the Grampians, Australia