This news has been covered elsewhere I know, but I want to give props to Alex Biale for his ascent of Rastaman Vibration (v12) on the Grandpa Peabody on December 15. It is interesting to note that, although this line was first climbed by Jared Roth back in 2002, it had never before been repeated!
Indeed, Rastaman Vibration begins with one of the hardest moves at the 'Milks, a big move from a miserable pinch to gain a tiny right-hand crimp, feet swinging. Most people now know this move from images or video of Paul Robinson's sit-start to the line, Lucid Dreaming (v15/16?). However, not even Paul climbed Rastaman Vibration before completing the sit. After sticking that super-low percentage start, the upper section heads up the wall and super-highball slab (vibration territory) with dicey low-angle smearing and sloping grainy palm-moves twenty feet up. If you were aiming for the sit, would you really want to do that part twice?
There were probably less than half a dozen people who ever seriously considered a repeat, as the opening crux was so hard that almost no-one could do it and the handful of elite that did stick the move didn't feel like completing the line! Even so, we must thank Jared for his Rasta vision: Though proving one of the least popular lines in the Buttermilks, Rastaman Vibration nevertheless pushed bouldering to a new level and was a significant step toward the ultimate challenge that followed.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Alex Biale, Rastaman Vibration
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6 comments:
Nice achievement for sure! Whether this is the third or the second ascent dousn't make a huge difference, but I strongly feel that Robinsons' ascent of the low down start should count as an ascent of Rastaman too.
I'm pretty sure Paul did do rastaman. The "send footage" in Reel rock tour had been compiled the week or so before the send and was just edited if my memory is correct.
Anon 2: He had done the moves on the slab part of Rastaman, but as for linking the whole of Jared's line, I don't think he did (though I might be wrong).
Regarding the footage in the Reel Rock Tour, I actually took that sequence of him topping out up the slab myself. That bit was filmed the same day as the ascent, afterward.
Got it. I had assumed it was filmed around the same time as the closeup overhead shots. Thanks for correcting that.
According to his 27crags this was his first V12? Ruthless. Strong work.
My name is Alex Biale. This most recent December, I thought I did a problem called Rastaman Vibraitons (V12) in the Buttermilks, CA. Before I started trying the line, I asked around to see where it started, because the guide is a little vague and I wanted to be sure. I climbed through the beta I was given. However, the method I used is not the same method that Jared Roth used when he first put it up. Rastaman Vibrations (proper) starts with a left hand high on the infamous pinch and a right hand low on the undercling. You put a right foot on the start hold of Lucid, pull onto the wall and jump to the crimp. Then you climb a nice V6 to get onto the slab and quest right to meet with Evilution's topout. The way I was told to climb the boulder, and the way I ended up "sending" was this: left hand high on the pinch, right foot on the start hold of Lucid. Pull on, and with only those two points of contact, make the jump to grab the crimp. Same topout. So, I did NOT climb Rastaman Vibrations. I was unaware of this until I heard that my friend Dan Beall was unable to stick the move. For those of you who don't know, Dan Beall is a machine on rock and is eye-opening to watch. Some of the things he can do are unbelievable. Truly an inspiration in my climbing. When he told me that he had not been able to stick the move, I started asking around and doing some research about where the climb actually started. I finally got to the bottom of it! I wanted to contact you so that the truth could get out. I REALLY don't want people thinking that I was lying about my ascent. It was an honest mistake and I am sorry about the confusion. Dan thinks the method I used might actually be V12 and that the actual Rastaman move is MUCH harder. I hope this clears things up. Have a great day!
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