I met up with my good friends Justin Evidon and Luke Haun at Taylors Falls on Sunday with the intent of finishing up some business. I have been working the Cave Traverse on and off for the past two and a half years. It has been my nemesis and I have tried it approximately thirty times. The rock was quite cold, but the temps were great. I had a few really bad burns before I started to warm up. At the point things were starting to improve, I made a few minor errors and was losing power. My foot popped while trying to lock-off the last hard move and crimping with the right hand was straining my tendons, which were inflamed. Coming off a week long trip to Bishop, I was feeling mentally strong, and just as I was about to give up on the Cave Traverse, I gave it one last go and magically pulled through the crux only to greet the welcoming jugs to finish this classic test piece.
Apparently I was quite happy.
Click on the following link to view a facebook video of my send:
I left for Bishop on March 19th with Liz and Ross to experience bouldering at its finest for six days. The drive was pretty epic: approximately 28 hours if you don't speed like a mad man. We arrived at the Buttermilks Saturday (March 20th) evening and it was very cold. Upon waking up we were finally able to look around and realize how amazing the surroundings were. At ~6,600 feet, the Buttermilks is cluttered with gigantic, proud, free-standing boulders as far as the eye can see, not to mention the snowy-capped 13,000+ ft. peaks looking over the boulders.
Pollen Grains Overview
Day 1 We took it pretty easy in the Pollen Grains area in order to give our puerile skin adequate time to adjust to the sharpness of the quartz monzonite. We warmed up on The Original Route V0, not only for our muscle's sake, but to get our head into the highball mental game. Then we headed over to the classic highball Jedi Mind Tricks V4, a must do for any climber; again, more mental preparation. The remainder of the day consisted of the group trying Suspended in Silence V5, Drone Militia V6, and The Beekeeper's Apprentice V5/ The Beekeeper V6. Suspended in Silence is a problem featured in King Lines where Chris Sharma does a double-hand dyno. I was fortunate enough to stick the hold with one hand and then hold the swing to pull off the flash..... super psyched.
Day 2 We tried some problems on the Green Wall, located in the Buttermilks main, and I was happy to flash the notoriously difficult Green Wall Essential V2 thanks to my reach. Most of our group was hoping to get on High Plains Drifter V7, possibly one of the most famous boulder problems graded V7 in the world. Surprise! Another four star line in my opinion..... Bishop owns.
High Plains Drifter V7
I kept falling on the "drifter move" after a decent flash go and then joined by a bunch of annoying Californians. I totally lost my mojo and sat on my crash pad for an hour soaking up the sun. Jonathan P. Williams observed I was going for the wrong part of the last "bad" hold. Two days later when we came back to the Buttermilks I knew exactly how I wanted to sequence High Plains Drifter and sent first go of the day.
On top of the Drifter Boulder
Day 3 A break from the Buttermilks at the Sad Boulders. I had not heard of any of the problems in the Sads except for Anti-Hero so I was not quite sure what I wanted to try. Damon and Jon were syked on Pow Pow V8. I immediately dismissed this problem because it didn't look close to my preferred style of climbing (Yes, I am slowly becoming a rock snob). I tried campusing the crux move for fun and surprisingly stuck the hold. Five tries and ten minutes later I found myself topping the boulder. A very pleasant surprise indeed. Pow Pow V8
Day 4 And back to the glorious Buttermilks. This was an amazing day for me!
Howard Carter Sit V6 Second Go
Flyboy Stand V6 Second Go
High Plains Drifter V7 First go of the day
Flyboy Sit V8 Second Go
Flyboy Sit V8
Day 5 In the Happy Boulders, known for The Hulk V6, Morning Dove White V7, Red Rum V6, Acid Wash V10, Atari V6, and the list goes on, I was very pleased to make quick work of Morning Dove White. Following the send, I proceeded to waste a lot of time on Toxic Avenger V9. At the end of the day, I unexpectedly flashed Action Figure V6 and did not have nearly enough power to give Cholos V9 any serious attempts.
Atari V6
Day 6 The final day of bouldering. Checkerboard V8 was the main goal of the day. I came close to sending Checkerboard multiple times, but did quite have enough gusto to send it. My skin was in decent shape, however, I had no energy (a slight problem when bouldering). After Damon sent Soul Slinger V9 (I envy his strength), I took a nap in the middle of the day to recuperate. As the Sun started to set, I worked on projecting Stained Glass V10 with Dr. Jon. I didn't think I would be able to do any of the moves, but I felt stronger on the dime-thin edges than previously imagined. After a session of four goes, I called it a day. Stained Glass has me motivated to become a better climber. Even though I didn't end the trip with any noteworthy ascents, renewed motivation will have to suffice. Here is a time capsule video I put together of the trip:
I like numbers, and even though the V-scale for bouldering suffers slightly due to minor subjectivity, if a boulder problem's grade has reached a consensus among a group of experienced climbers, all that is left for one to do is speculate. That being said, I chase the numbers because I use them, as most I am sure, to mark personal progression. There are a few boulder problems in particular that make it on my lifetime tick list.
1. Power of Silence V10 Hueco Tanks El Paso, TX
It is short, sweet, and powerful. When I tried this problem March 2009 I got shut down. Here is a video with the conventional beta
2. Free Willy V10/11 Hueco Tanks El Paso, TX
I worked Free Willy for three days and found the dyno very challenging: you have to bear down on a small, sharp crimp and I could not generate much power on the hold. Hopefully I will have another opportunity in the near future. There is footage of Chris Sharma flashing this problem in Best of the West.
3. Evilution to the Lip V10 Buttermilks Bishop, CA
I am leaving for Bishop this Friday and can't wait to try this!
