Brian Hedrick, Mandala Sit (v13)

Brian Hedrick completed Mandala Sit Start (v13) today via the new version, considered by most to be around v13. Tony Lamiche thought his original version was v13 when he did it in 2002, but others later suggested harder. The two versions climb almost like different problems. Anyway here's some video of Brian on the Mandala Sit and Gregor Peirce climbing Form Destroyer (v12):


WEEKEND WARRIORS from Gregor Peirce on Vimeo.

Gregor Peirce, The Buttermilker (v13)

I have to report that Gregor Peirce climbed The Buttermilker (v13) yesterday, declaring, "I've become man enough for the real start."

Nice work Gregor! Charlie tells me you made it look easy, despite refining the beta on the fly! Hey, anyone who declare's Wills's Seam (at Way Lake) "the best boulder problem I have ever done," deserves a mention on here! Gregor, you are the best! Thanks for that, and good luck on your next projects! Hope you send everything!

Oh wait a minute ... now he's saying The Buttermilker is probably his favorite problem so far... Lame ...

Sit Start to Grindrite

Tore Årthun, over from Norway on a bouldering tour for a couple months, asked me if a sit start to Grindrite at the Happy Boulders had been done  (v3, page 125 in the new guide). I wasn't sure, as I had seen chalk on those holds below the regular (high) start for a while, but hadn't done a sit myself or known anyone to do it.

Anyway, Tore went back to complete the line: "The way I climbed it was from a sit start at the big undercling under the roof," he says, "slapping up right to a nice sloper, then moving left hand into a big undercling and slapping with the right to join the stand start." He suggested the difficulty was probably somewhere in the v8 to v10 range, though was more likely at the upper end of that.

Not sure if this is an FA, but it's not in the guide, and certainly should be now! Tore has suggested, Slave to the Grind as a suitable name, unless it was previously climbed. I'll go with that unless someone tells me otherwise. Thanks for the info Tore.

Karma, v6/7 by Matt Arnold

Matt Arnold told me about this line at the Happy Boulders a while ago, but not soon enough for me to include it in the new guidebook. Matt named it Karma, and I went to check it out today with a few others. We found a striking line--an overhanging double arete--that is climbed using a bit of trickery, a bit of slapping, and some staying power to pull the lip. The moves are fun and the rock is solid, though a bit rough. Matt's original beta forced the line up the left arete, but a motivated crew today worked out a new sequence that goes at about v6/7, beginning at the obvious horizontal crack and topping out left. It's worth a look if you want something at about that grade--it could be a classic in the making...! Take three or four big pads. You can see the line up on the northeast rim (right side as you walk up canyon), a little beyond the Serengeti boulder.

This is a shot of Ian Cotter-Brown climbing Karma