Lucy Drury Sends V11 Highball FA 'Something Bolder' on Classic Smuggler's Notch 5.14 'Something Wicked'

By: Amalia Wompa

It’s rare that climbers question the potential of routes that have already been bolted, graded and sent time and time again. Usually, we trust the instinct of whoever achieved the first ascent to have examined and predetermined the best possible route to the top. 19 year-old Vermont native Lucy Drury is an anomaly to this rule, having carved a new way to climb the Smuggler’s Notch 5.14a: “Something Wicked”.

“The climb that I did is like 90% the same, except like, I traverse to the right at the end,” said Drury.

This is a humble way of saying that she claimed first ascent on what she believes is a V11 now named, “Something Bolder.” A giant monolith of a rock, “Something Wicked” towers over climbers at 53 feet (16 Meters) according to Mountainproject.com, making this climb both an intimidating highball boulder and a densely packed sport route. Its' first ever lead ascent was completed by Peter Kamitses in 2006, with Ben Blackmore following nearly 12 years later, who climbed on the same team as Drury at Petra Cliffs in Burlington. 

“I remember when I was climbing there, it kind of felt like the place to be. Everyone there was super psyched.” said Drury on her time growing up at the gym. 

Its homely concrete walls and tight-knit community has produced plenty of accomplished climbers, with Drury following the pack as a stand-out youth competitor. Her notable placements include a third place medal at the 2024 USA Climbing Youth Bouldering National Championships, and a string of first place victories at almost every youth regional championship between 2020 and 2025. While she’s transferred this same discipline to the outdoors, Drury simultaneously trains with the University of Vermont climbing team where she’s incredibly close to classic crags like Bolton and of course, Smuggler’s Notch, where she’s continuing to pursue new goals in her home-state. For her, climbing “Something Bolder” was a feat she was surprised nobody had completed before. 

“It kind of felt like I was expressing myself by doing it…it felt a little artistic. I could influence people with my style. It’s really not crazy to think of doing it as a boulder.” said Drury. 

After occasionally attempting her route on lead and top rope throughout the year, May 16th was the day she decided to send. Drury explained her confidence came from the realization that the hardest moves were closer to the bottom, with the no-fall-zone only carrying the weight of a V2. Although still a nerve wracking portion of the climb, this made the possibility of falling a little lower. The pads sat on an incline, meaning that in the event that she did fall, it would be relatively unpredictable and definitely terrifying. 

By May, her climb became her Spring project. The night before, Drury tediously piled all 25 pads, which she collected from friends and coworkers, into her Honda CRV. Two of her friends, Charlie and Loyd, tagged along and helped set up as well as ease any nerves in her system. 

25 pads were used for Drury's FA: "Something Bolder" at Smuggler's Notch, VT, May 16th, 2026 (Photo courtesy of Lucy Drury)

“I wasn’t sure if it (nerves) was something I should lean into, or try to ignore…or try to remedy. I really didn’t wanna be scared when I was up there, and like, I didn’t end up being scared, I was just really excited.” said Drury. 

Audrey Callaway, Drury’s partner and also a member of the UVM climbing team, had wished her luck the day before. 

“I trusted that she had it, but it was still really cool to see all the effort pay off,” said Callaway, “All the attention to detail and energy that went into making sure that the only thing she’d be thinking about while doing the climb was just trying hard and doing it.” 

After a repelled rehearsal, some comfortable go’s on the first move, and a few crag games, Drury stood at the base of her project as the day came to an end. The first few moves, which she mentioned were the hardest, were finally completed with ease. Perfect foot placements propelled her into a far gaston on a crimp before a very calculated deadpoint. It was at this point that she knew she had to either commit 100%, or back down. 

“If you have the first move, you’re ready to do the whole thing,” said Drury. 

It took Drury only four attempts in total to send “Something Bolder”. Watching her YouTube video of the climb, it’s difficult to sigh of relief until the first rest, which doesn’t seem to be until 15 feet. The air was quiet, with only the sound of occasional cars passing and the breeze of early Spring brushing by. By the time Drury had reached the top, nearly five whole minutes had passed. For any climber, that’s a long time to be on a route. 

A screenshot from Drury's YouTube video (link at top) of Drury closing in on her FA of "Something Bolder" at Smuggler's Notch, VT, May 16th, 2026 (Photo courtesy of Lucy Drury)

Drury wants to encourage others to pursue projects even if nobody has tried it before or completed it in a way that’s your specific style. 

“I think I was really lucky to find a project so aligned with my vision,” said Drury. “It’s okay to project things you think are above your limit, because you can get stronger. Over the course of 2 years—you can get so much stronger.”