How Long Until DNA Is Downgraded?
Photo from Black Diamond After a monumental effort by Seb Bouin (150+ days to be exact), the world now has it’s second 5.15d. Now for those who haven’t caught up in a while, it would be the third , but Alex Megos’ Bibliographie has since been downgraded to 5.15c, prompting the question: will DNA’s grade stand? Elite grades have always been fickle. It seems that every few months history is rewritten. Flex Luthor may have been the first 5.15b, Open Air might replace Biographie as the premier 5.15, and Hubble (the “first” 5.14c) is now consensus 5.14d. Bouldering is even worse, with V16 and V17 more imaginary than decided, as shown by problems like Gioia and Soudain Seul. Another thing that sows doubt in my mind about DNA is its resemblance to Bibliographie. Both are the “hardest route I’ve ever tried” (according to the first ascensionist), took MANY days, and aren’t as comparable to Silence in bouldery difficulty. While pure power is not the only factor contributing to a hard route, the
