Ray of Light 8B / V13

Ray of Light is a V13 (8B) boulder problem on the Dihedral boulders at Rocklands, South Africa, one of the sandstone area's benchmark testpieces at the grade. It climbs a steep, powerful line on good rock, stringing together small holds and technical footwork so that a climber has to link several near maximal moves without wasted motion. At V13 it sits solidly in Rocklands' harder tier, the kind of problem that demands refined beta and the confidence to commit through each crux in turn.

History

The boulder was first climbed by Klem Loskot. It drew wider attention in July 2015 when Nina Williams completed it as her first V13, working the problem over eight sessions of falling at every crux before linking it, an ascent she described afterward as sending "a gorgeous line." It was the standout result of a summer she spent at Rocklands that also included three V11s and a V10 flash. Daniel Woods later climbed a variation that exits left instead of right, naming it Spray of Light and rating it 8C, one grade harder than the original line.

On film

Climbing The World's BEST Boulders | ft. Jorg Verhoeven & Katha Saurwein (2017), a short film from Louder Than Eleven, follows Marmot and La Sportiva athletes Jorg Verhoeven, Katha Saurwein, and Jon Glassberg through Rocklands. Ray of Light appears in the edit as one of the session's harder lines, used to show how the climbers sequence a steep, small holded problem and manage rests between its cruxes on a world class testpiece.