William (Will) Bosi (born 27 December 1998) is a Scottish professional
rock climber specializing in
sport climbing,
bouldering and
competition climbing. Bosi is only the second British sport climber in history to
redpoint a
9b (5.15b) graded sport climbing route (King Capella in 2021), and by 2023, was one of only a small group of climbers in the world to have completed a
V17 (9A) boulder (Alphane in 2022, Burden of Dreams in 2023, and Return of the Sleepwalker in 2024).
Early life and education
Bosi was born in Edinburgh to Alison and Martin Bosi. His mother is a nursery nurse from
Inverleith. Both parents took him and his 3-year-old brother Alexander to an indoor climbing centre in
Newhaven, Edinburgh when he was 6 years old. He attended
Broughton High School, Edinburgh. By 2011, Bosi was the British Champion in the Youth Climbing Series (a competition climbing event for boys aged 11 to 13) and also the Scottish Youth Climbing Champion.[1]
Climbing career
Sport climbing
In 2016, Bosi came to attention when aged 17 he redpointed
Steve McClure's famous British
sport climbing route Rainshadow, becoming the youngest Briton to climb a
9a (5.14d) graded sport route.[2][3]
In 2020–2021, Bosi became only the second British climber in history, after Steve McClure, to climb a
9b (5.15b) grade sport route with his repeat of
Adam Ondra's La Capella, and followed up by his
first free ascent of King Capella (a route initially considered a possible 9b+), both of which are in
Siurana in Spain.[4]
Bouldering
In 2022, on a trip with
Adam Ondra to his home crag of
Moravský Kras in the
Czech Republic, Bosi
flashed the
8B+ (V14) boulder, Charizard (he failed on Ondra's as yet unrepeated 8C+ boulder, Terranova).[5] That year, he also created Honey Badger in the English
peak district, which he graded at
8C+ (V16).[6][7]
In November 2022, Bosi became one of only a handful of boulderers in the world to have climbed a grade
V17 (9A) boulder when he repeated
Shawn Raboutou's Alphane, which he felt was easier than his own 8C+ graded route, Honey Badger.[8] In April 2023, he made the first repeat of
Nalle Hukkataival's Burden of Dreams, considered the world's first-ever
V17 (9A) boulder, and which at the time of Bosi's repeat was still considered the world's hardest boulder.[9][10][11] In February 2024, Bosi made the first repeat of
Daniel Woods' Return of the Sleepwalker, which he felt was easier than Burden of Dreams, but harder than Alphane, with Bosi stating that Woods' route was definitely at a V17 grade.[12]
King Capella –
Siurana (
ESP) – March, 2021. First ascent, which Bosi felt was at 9b+,[4][16] but the grade was settled at 9b after repeats by
Alex Megos (2021), and
Jakob Schubert (2021).[17][18]
La Capella –
Siurana (
ESP) – February, 2020. Third repeat of
Adam Ondra's 2011 route, and the second-ever British climber to climb a 9b route (after
Steve McClure with Rainman in 2017); sometimes considered closer to 9a+.[19]
Free at Last –
Dumbarton Rock (
GBR) – July, 2022. First ascent. A long-standing unsolved line beside Dave Cuthbertson's famous 1983 route, Requiem (E8 6c), and
Dave MacLeod's 2006 equally notable route, Rhapsody (E11 7a); Free at Last became Scotland's hardest route.[20][21]
Brandenburg Gate –
Raven Tor (
GBR) – November, 2021. First ascent. The line was regarded as a "holy grail" of British sport climbing.[22]
Mutation –
Raven Tor (
GBR) – October, 2021. First repeat of
Steve McClure's ground-breaking 1998 route, which Bosi suggested was "at least" 9a+ (and possibly harder), making it one of the
first-ever 9a+ sport climbing routes in history.[23][24][25]
First Ley –
Margalef (
ESP) – February, 2021. Repeat ascent of
Chris Sharma's 2010 route that is popular with aspiring 9a+ climbers.[24]
La Furia de Jabalí –
Siurana (
ESP) – February, 2021. First ascent, which Bosi felt could be 9b, but the grade later settled at 9a+ after repeats by
Alex Megos (2021),
Jakob Schubert (2021), and
Adam Ondra (2022).[4]
Rainshadow –
Malham Cove (
GBR) – May, 2016. Became the youngest Briton to climb at 9a when he made the fifth repeat of
Steve McClure's iconic 2003 route, aged 17; Rainshadow is considered the "benchmark" for aspiring 9a sport climbers in Britain.[2][3][26]
Burden of Dreams – Lappnor, (
FIN) – April, 2023. First repeat of the world's
first-ever V17 boulder problem by
Nalle Hukkataival (2016), and in 2023, was still considered the world's hardest boulder;[9][28] Bosi practiced on a replica 3D version in Britain.[10][11][29]