It sometimes feels silly to talk about classic climbs in a place like Hueco Tanks, which has become a living museum of climbing history.
Yet the area’s routes remain the gold standard for bouldering grades, and it’s no small thing to send a V12 in this rocky desert paradise. In this send, Puccio battles her way through the power endurance testpiece that is “Shaken, Not Stirred.” This 35-foot problem is mostly roof hanging right above the ground (which is partly why visibility is so bad for the first 30 seconds or so).
It might also be the first female ascent. (Ashima Shiraishi apparently had her send invalidated three times for consistently hitting a nearby tree during a hard swing. She was 9 years old at the time.)
Whether it’s a female first ascent hardly matters for Puccio, a Bouldering World Cup winner and one of the U.S.’ best competitive climbers.
Runtime: 3 minutes
