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New Scottish Bouldering 8b+ 'Gutbuster' at Dumbarton

Gut Buster 8b+ (note protection!)

Malc Smith has just climbed the hardest problem in Scotland to date, aptly named Gutbuster and more akin to hard power-yoga without the ground as support! It's a truly sapping excursion through the upside-down caves at Dumbarton Rock and the first problem to break into Font 8b+ territory. It anticipates the imminent arrival of the magical 8c grade as Malc already has spied another link-up that may not survive much longer. After a long time sitting in the dank BNI through-cave in mild autumn weather, Malc took advantage of a cold and breezy day on 27th September to bite into the angular basalt and complete the problem.

It is an inspiring natural challenge to any highend boulderer, logically linking his own Serum of Sisypus 8a+ through the crux cave sequences of Perfect Crime and up the 8b of Sanction which Dave MacLeod did in 2007. With MacLeod beavering on a possible contender for hardest Scottish problem in Glen Nevis, it was left to Malc to rejuvenate this project, a video of which will be posted by XtraLarge Recordings on this blog, so check back soon!

Malc is actually on the 8b+ for about five minutes, 3 of which are an ab-busting upside down rest on a painful kneebar, before committing to the desperate and tenuous hooking and slapping of Sanction, which leads to the mantel onto the BNI slab - the easy bit! - where he fell off several times on the redpoint before succeeding early on Saturday morning.

On the cave section crux 1

Congratulations to Malcolm on his continued enthusiasm and success in breaking our bouldering boundaries and bringing them closer to the global benchmarks of the high eighth grades.

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