This week’s video comes from Switzerland’s iconic Val Bavona region where Emil Abrahamsson takes a deep dive into Off the Wagon, arguably the most famous boulder problem in the world. Since his breakaway from Eric Karlsson’s YouTube channel, Emil has gone on to compete on the world stage for his native Sweden and has taken his outdoor game to new levels, documenting the entire journey through his own channel. This latest video is a testament to how far he’s come with the Wagon boulder being reserved for the most elite climbers in the world. 

Originally found by Dave Graham in 2005 and first ascented by Nalle Hukkataival in 2012, Off the Wagon captured the climbing world’s attention in the film Dosage IV which documents Chris Sharma’s failed attempts on the boulder. These attempts cemented the problem’s status as cutting edge, defining bouldering’s hardcore simplicity with two moves of extreme difficulty. Like Emil, we’ve all tried to replicate moves from iconic problems in the gym or on a systems board but finding out how the replica stacks up against the real thing is the crucial moment of truth for Emil, check it out and enjoy!