Katie Lamb Smashes Hardest Female Ascent in Bouldering History

Yosemite National Park, California — Just inside Camp 4, one of the most popular camping spots in Yosemite National Park, lies a bouldering problem that few have accomplished. The Dark Side, graded at a V16, is one of the world's trickiest problems. At the end of March, professional climber Katie Lamb lifted herself over the boulder's edge and made history. Only three other people have been able to successfully solve the problem that The Dark Side poses, with Carlo Traversi being the first in 2023. Fewer than 10 women have climbed even a V15, so the second that Lamb stepped foot on top of the V16 boulder, she was marked as one of the strongest boulderers in the world.  “I was overcome with euphoria and felt the giddiness of liberation from the year-long process I’d undertaken,” she shared with AdventureOnSI “I wanted to do something that I knew would be hard — not because it would look good. Because it mattered to me.” Starting in February 2024, the 27-year-old climber dedicated her spring and winter to lear