Is Will Bosi’s Graffiti-Covered Project the Next V18?

Why It Matters

A confirmed V18 would rewrite the upper limits of bouldering difficulty, reshaping how athletes, sponsors, and gyms benchmark elite performance. It also fuels debate over grading standards, influencing future route development worldwide.

Key Takeaways

• Defying Graffiti is Bosi's hardest project to date
• Located on a graffiti‑covered boulder at Dumbarton Rock, Scotland
• Bosi already boasts five confirmed V17 ascents worldwide
• If graded V18, it would set a new benchmark in bouldering
• Elias Iagnemma's Exodia remains unverified, keeping V18 status uncertain

Pulse Analysis

The V‑grade system in bouldering serves as the sport’s most visible metric of difficulty, with V17 representing the current pinnacle of verified achievement. Only a handful of climbers have ever completed a V17, and the community treats any claim beyond that with cautious skepticism. In 2025, Elias Iagnemma introduced Exodia and proposed a V18 grade, but without broad consensus the ascent remains a subject of debate, leaving the V18 threshold officially unclaimed.

Will Bosi’s résumé reads like a chronicle of modern bouldering milestones. After his first V17 on Shawn Raboutou’s Alphane in October 2022, he added a second V17 on Burden of Dreams, opened Realms of Tor’ment as the first V17 FA, and repeated other iconic problems such as Return of the Sleepwalker and Spots of Time. His latest endeavor, Defying Graffiti, combines brutal crimps with a more fluid finish, set on a strikingly painted boulder at Dumbarton Rock near his Scottish home. The project’s hybrid character tests both raw power and endurance, qualities that define elite‑level bouldering.

If Bosi succeeds in confirming a V18 grade, the impact will ripple through the climbing ecosystem. Sponsors and gear manufacturers often leverage groundbreaking ascents for marketing, while gyms may introduce training programs aimed at replicating the physical demands of such extreme problems. Moreover, a verified V18 would force the grading community to refine its evaluation criteria, potentially leading to a new era of route‑setting that pushes the sport’s physiological boundaries. For athletes, the prospect of a new benchmark ignites fresh ambition, ensuring that the pursuit of the impossible remains at the heart of climbing culture.