Barely 16-years-old, Brian Sandona is already mastering the art of bouldering in his dedicated and focused way. While he lives in Wisconsin with his parents, he has a close connection to the bouldering here in the Southeast. He began his outdoor bouldering experience on a recent trip to Rocktown, GA where he managed ascents of problems in every grade from V1 to V9 including "Roughing the Rottweiler V8" ,"Sherman Photo Roof V7", and "Turkish Resin V6/7". These tics are all the more impressive when you realize that these were his first attempts at climbing real (not plastic) rock.
Brian has been keeping very busy training for climbing competitions. He recently placed 16th at the ABS and often places in the top three in regional events. Brian does most of his training and climbing indoors, but has managed to find a few boulders hidden in the Wisconsin landscape. These tics, along with his sends on recent road trips have amounted to an impressive list that keeps on growing:
In the past few months Brian has completed:
Unnamed V7 - Devil's Lake
Venus Rising V8 - Devil's Lake
Burst of Joy V9 - Rocktown
Meatrope V9 - Carter Lake
Microrope V9 - Eldorado Canyon
Perfect Medium V10 - Devil's Lake
Unnamed V10 - Flagstaff Mountain
Pulling Pebble Route V5 - Flagstaff Mountain
Worst Show on Earth V6 FA - Devil's Lake
and
Greatest Show on Earth V11 - Devil's Lake
Brain is working on several other projects. He hopes to soon send the acclaimed "Singular Objective V11" at Gross Resivoir. Like many good boulderers he is also working on several routes, including:
"Table of Colours 5.13b" and "Hypnosis 5.13a" at the Red River Gorge.
Brian Sandona is a fun and energetic guy with lots of potential. He plans to get back to his roots this fall and make another trip to Rocktown and the newly reopened HP40.
