Jorgeson steps up to another level ...

Kevin Jorgeson has taken headpointing to a new level at the Buttermilks with his first ascent, solo (after TR practice), of a line dubbed years ago "Ambrosia." The climb, on the east wall of the Grandpa Peabody, begins with v12 bouldering to gain a shallow hueco at the point most would consider the highballing limit. This is followed by a bold v7/8 sequence of huge moves between good edges that quickly covers about another 15 feet and takes the climber through that blurrred line between highballing and soloing. After that, and without significant rest, comes a strenuous section of what Kevin suggests is probably mid-5.12 climbing past pretty patina to the top of the wall, about 45 feet up.

This spectacular gold-and-black-streaked face had once been a top-rope project of Tom Herbert, back in the early 1990s. Herbert had been able to do many, if not all, of the moves, but abandoned the line, imagining it to be in the 5.14 range. He figured he'd take his climbing elsewhere: The Buttermilks, at that time were such a backwater, he told me, that he found it hard to justify dedicating so much time to a TR project no-one else would ever see, or ever be interested in! Nevertheless, he had named the line Ambrosia (food of the immortals) fitting with the Buttermilk theme, and connoting (as the quality and beauty of the line deserves) the very pinnacle of Buttermilk climbing-- More info about this and Kevin's same-day repeat of Luminance at the Big Up Blog.

Tobias Haller, Evilution Direct (ground up)

Austrian Tobias Haller has made the 6th ascent of Evilution Direct (v11) in a proud effort at the end of the day today. After slipping at the last hard moves with his foot skating from the edge of the boulder's lip and taking a frightening fall, he was able to summon just enough energy to get the problem done a short while later. Interestingly he is the first person (as far as I'm aware) to climb the line with no prior inspection from a rope, preferring to watch, learn from others, and go for the boulder ground up. No doubt he was helped in his goal by the recent popularity of the line--plenty of beta, well-chalked holds--and the enormous numbers of pads being brought daily to the base of the Grandpa Peabody. Three-deep is now standard for pads below this face it seems! So why not go for it ground up? Great ascent from Tobias!

Tobias climbing the lower section of Evilution

Tobias climbing Haroun and the Sea of Stories (v11/12)

Matt Wilder, Mandala Sit and Evilution (Original)

Matt Wilder has had an extraordinary trip so far, climbing Evilution Direct (v11) and The Swarm (v14), and following those up just yesterday with The Mandala Sit-start (v14) and Evilution (original version, v12). Matt climbed The Swarm, Mandala Sit, and Evilution in a two-day spell that he describes as, "My best two days ever." It feels all the more satisfying for Matt as he'd taken something of a break from hard bouldering over the last several months in favor of pursuing some trad ascents (e.g. FA of Viceroy, 5.14 in Boulder Canyon), and a bit of endurance training, getting back into the bouldering fairly recently. If that's not over-achieving enough, Matt just finished a Masters degree in computer science and is now moving on toward a PhD. How do these people do it?

Tim Clifford, Matt Wilder, The Swarm (v14)

The Swarm (v14) has had a couple of new ascents in the last few days, first from Tim Clifford (an ex-Brit now living in Squamish, British Columbia), and then today from Matt Wilder (of Boulder, Colorado). "It best represents the hard Bishop crimpy problem," says Tim. "I was really psyched to climb it. I knew I only had a few tries, due to my skin, so had to dig deep."

Tim suggested that the line may not involve such hard moves as the grade implies, but also noted that because of the tiny holds, it requires a patient technique of "waiting and making each go really count."

In case you don't know Tim, he's the climber who made the first ascent of The Singularity, an incredible, and incredibly hard, unrepeated problem in Squamish, once known as The Room Project.

Here is a short slideshow of Tim Clifford climbing The Swarm (the 9th ascent I believe) during his recent trip here. Thanks to Georg from Squamish for the photos!

Tim Clifford climbing The Swarm (v14); photos by Georg

I also shot some pics of Matt Wilder climbing The Swarm today (10th ascent). Check these out:

Matt Wilder climbing The Swarm (v14); photos by Wills Young

Got Pads...? Matt Wilder climbs Evilution Direct

Matt Wilder 20ft/6m up on Evilution Direct (v11), Friday Jan 2.

Matt Wilder has made the fifth ascent of the phenomenal Evilution Direct (v11), calling it, "One of the best boulder problems I've ever climbed." The hold he's reaching for in the above image broke about a month ago making the top part of the line slightly harder and more sustained than previously.

Matt on the penultimate hard move.

Luminance (v11 super-highball) by Shawn Diamond

Yesterday, Shawn Diamond climbed what one of his two spotters at the time, Walker, describes as the "scariest thing I've ever seen," and which Shawn describes as "the dumbest thing I've ever done!"

Luminance (tentatively rated v11) is an exceptionally beautiful wall above a heinous landing. It is on the steep west face of a giant block (not in the guidebook) at the head of a gully between the Windy Wall and the Secrets of the Beehive Area. Eyed previously by a few of the best climbers around, it had always been left for another day, or another climber. Shawn threw a rope down the line to check the moves. Then he summoned up the courage to step on un-roped. The wall begins with some long moves to good sloping crimps that lead to the mental challenge of throwing a total-commitment dyno to a hold just below the lip.

The ground drops off dramatically, so spotting is also pretty terrifying. Walker, who was tied into a rope for safety at the time of the ascent, was able to save one fall from just before the most dangerous point, by pushing Shawn away from the worst landing and into a pile of pads.

"There was a moment there when I actually thought to myself, 'what am I doing here?'" Shawn told me, of the moment he arrived at the committing move, and for an instant became aware of his surroundings. He realized he had to give it 100 percent: a controlled lock-off was not an option, the lip could only be reached dynamically. He stuck the move, sinking his fingers into a hidden slot at the back of the sloping rail, and the rest was pretty much a formality.

"I saw that line years ago and had been walking around New York City dreaming about it," says Shawn, who is currently at medical school in the Big Apple. "It was definitely a big step up in my climbing... My most memorable ascent, and a big breakthrough for me."

Here are some more photos I shot of Shawn on the opening moves. See also his other line on this block.

Here's a shot of the boulder, so you can see the steepness of the ledge and fall-zone

Chris Schulte, Buttermelter...

I recently heard from Chris Schulte about some new lines he has done, including an intriguing right start to The Buttermilker on the Cave Boulder at the Main Buttermilks area. Chris dubbed the problem The Buttermelter. We'll have to see if this proves popular, but it definitely seems like a fun addition. It's likely in the v11/12 range.


He says, "Start in a large hueco right of The Buttermilker, on underclings (right hand on a "ball"), lock in a kneebar and udge up and across with the right hand to the "glass dish" on The Buttermilker. Bicycle, left hand up to a sidepull crimp, double toe hooks to bicycle switch, and finish the 'Milker..."

If you can follow all that, you deserve an honorary v12 in bouldering, even if you don't actually do the problem. Good luck! See Chris's blog for more info and photos.

Another fairly hard and cool-looking line that Chris has recently completed is on the west side of the Golden Boulder (to the right of the Iron Man Traverse, if you're looking up hill). This line begins at the crack around on the back left side of this huge boulder and follows a lip up and right to the apex of the boulder before topping out. It's a nice line, and because of the adjacent boulder, even after climbing 20 feet, you will find yourself only a couple of feet above your pad.

Chris writes: "The lip traverse on the Golden Boulder consists of pretty good positive holds traversing along the obvious aspect change. There is a sorta hard move 1/2 way, over the point of the adjacent boulder, then a tough cross, and the last move is also a bit of a grunt... Maybe the last move is easier for the smaller, but a redpoint crux, for sure..."

Chris named this one Constellation, and the rating is unknown (v9-v11 range?). Sounds and looks like a great endurance problem to me. The line beginning at the same place, but heading directly up the slab remains to be done.