Jill Church Waters, Fight Club

Jill Church Waters, who moved to Bishop last year with her husband and baby daughter, recently climbed Fight Club  (highball v10?) on the Saigon Boulder at the Buttermilks. This problem, first done by Randy Puro around 11 years ago, soon gained a reputation for being near-impossible after a lack of repeats and the break of a small edge used on the first ascent. With the boost of v11 in the guidebook, the line saw more interest, but few if any repeats per season.

With a vague beginning--it was originally done as a jump-start to slopers--Fight Club's start is somewhat indistinct (impossible if you are too short to leap to those holds). But whether you begin with both hands on, or one hand, or none at all, you still have to pull the crux mantel to get onto this undercut boulder. How hard is this mantel? With conditions being critical on the problem and because the rock sits in the sun all day, it normally feels impossible! Under better conditions, it may not be too bad ... Jill suggested that it felt closer to a v9 for her, after checking it off on a super-cold day, but go try it... very few succeed! Make it through that techy mantel and you have the highball slab to negotiate. Getting to the top is quite an adventure. A proud ascent by Jill, for sure!

Jill has been getting after it recently with ascents of Beefy Gecko (v11), and Bubba Gump (v10), to name a couple, but also declared her ascent of Lydia's Mouth (a reachy v3 at Pollen Grains) one of her hardest to date!

Climbers' Coffee with the BLM

I received a note from Becky Hutto at the Bishop office of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) telling me about the free coffee mornings the BLM are providing for anyone who wants to join them at the Pleasant Valley Climbers' campground (a.k.a. The Pit campground).

Please drop in starting around 8:30am for a fee wake-up brew (of coffee!) and take the opportunity to pose any questions or concerns you have about the management of the Happy and Sad Boulders (which the BLM are responsible for).

The BLM have been great at working climbers for the preservation and enjoyment of these areas for all and I urge everyone to help keep the areas as clean and unspoiled as possible. Please also take the chance to say hi.

Normally the BLM does these coffee mornings once a month, but during spring break these are EVERY week, please click the image to see the dates, thanks!

Saigon Superdirect ground-up by Dan Fong

Matt Mersel wrote to me with a link to a vid of 19-year-old UCLA student Daniel Fong (originally of the Bay Area) climbing Saigon Superdirect in ground-up style. Matt says, "We were out a few weekends ago and Daniel gave it a few burns and took some steep drops, but he got it first go last weekend. Never used a rope!"

As far as I know, the FA of this line was done ground up by George Ullrich in 2008, after half-hearted efforts by all the top names in the game, but it still rarely gets climbed and certainly sees few serious attempts in this on-sight style. Though it is above a flat landing, it's a very bold line, differing from the regular "direct" by gaining the good pinch with the right hand and slapping over the lip to a sloper where the regular direct goes right. See also a pic of Charlie Barrett on this. Nice work Dan!

Above: Daniel Fong holding the sloper after the big move on Saigon Superdirect (v9/10). Image by Edward Cheung.

Here's a vid Matt shot with a GoPro:

More Happy Highballing, Laka, Boom Shaka (V3?)

Zach Miller wrote recently after reading about other people's highballing adventures. Back in November he and friends did a little exploring of their own, including a pretty spectacular FA by Zach of  Laka, Boom, Shaka. Here's the note from Zach:

Hey Wills,
Since the lastest has been about potential highball FA's.  I have one to report.  A little late, but back in november, my friend Jeff and I went scoping for lines along the Happy's rim past "Atari" and "hard crack" (which is qiute a scary one, I might add).  We brought some ropes to look closely at a particular pocketed wall that you can actually see from the happy's parking area.  After climbing some crusty pockets and fun but not so ideal climbing (on top rope), we turned to this particular walls southeastern buttress.  The line looked good. I cleaned it up and climbed it a couple times on TR.  Now what remained was to climb it without a rope. The next day, after manicuring the landing zone to avoid falling on impaling rocks, I brought some more friends (Matt Deshazo, Jesse Whirl, and my friend Jeff Brennan) and some pads.  I made the heart-felt ascent first go.  It was very exciting!
The climb goes out an overhanging prow about 20-25 feet tall.  However, it feels more like 40-50 feet due to the hill side giving away much like the established neighboring climbs (Atari and Hard Crack). And the landing zone is just big enough to make it safe.  I recon the climb is only about V3 but would get a couple heart flutters. 
My buddy Matt Deshazo, after my apparently inspiring ascent, decided to go for it as well.  He climbed all the way to the top and hesitated to finish.  And to our amazement after crying out in despair, he dropped from the top of the boulder and landed perfectly on the set of pads carefully placed on a perhaps 5' by 5' LZ.  He was okay!  And without much more hesitation, he got back up there and sent it.
I highly recommend this climb to anyone that wants a good thrill.  Its not as difficult as other highballs in the area, however has some really good moves high off the ground. If your tring to find it, follow the rim past hard crack.  You should be able to see the wall from "hard crack".  The problem itself is on the opposite side of the wall (the eastern side).  Bring at least 4 pads and a couple spotters (mainly to keep the climber from tumbling down the hill).  The climb is very picturesque as Mount Tom and the wheeler crest rest in the background.

Below are two videos, the first showing the drop from the lip, the latter the second ascent by Matt Deshazo. All I will add is, please take care on that rock out there, it can be pretty fragile!!


Laka, Boom Shaka V3 2nd ascent attempt from Zacharias Miller on Vimeo.



Laka, Boom Shaka V3 send from Zacharias Miller on Vimeo.

Shaddow Ayala, new highball at Happy Boulders

The Happy Boulders canyon in Bishop's Volcanic Tableland is less famed as a highballing destination than the nearby Buttermilk Country, but there are some great highballs to be done here of course. One of these is the classic and oddly named I Am Leaving for Constantinople Tonight (a v0 on the east rim). To the left of this line is a tall wall that now sports a new highball, Stoney Pony, recently completed by Shaddow Ayala at around v3 or v4.


Happy Boulders first ascents part 2 of 4 from One Man One Dog Pictures on Vimeo.

Says Shaddow: "The wall the the left of 'I am Leaving for Constantinople Tonight' has always caught my eye. 'Stoney Pony' is a new 30ft. highball with solid rock quality, even though the rock surrounding the line is total choss. After working out an obvious start at the base of the wall, I hung a rope over the line to check out the top moves. The landing is less than ideal and the steep nature of the line makes things very committing even though the moves are reasonably moderate (v3 to v4). A long move high off the deck is sure to grab your attention. Bring lots of pads, spotters, and your highball head."

See the guidebook, 2nd ed page 149.

Ian Cotter-Brown, Scare Tactics (v6 highball)

Ian Cotter-Brown has added a sweet-looking new line to the Lower Smoking Boulder (2nd edition page 286). This is the boulder just below the Drifter Boulder with the Croft Problem and the Cosmonaut. There is an obvious shallow ramp on the boulder's south side that trends up and right. Ian took a line that goes straight up crossing this ramp, naming it Scare Tactics. It begins with a v6-ish vertical section before crossing the ramp to a steepening headwall  (photo below).

Above: Ian Cottter-Brown beginning the dicey section of Scare Tactics. Photo: Shaddow Ayala

The headpoint crux comes at this upper section with some delicate and very committing moves on slopey holds. The ramp below makes this extra-intimidating. Ian took a rope to rappel down the line and clean it up, but says to take care. "The upper part feels dramatic and exposed," Ian told me.

There's a line in the guidebook listed at v2 on this face. I can't remember doing it, but it might have begun on the left and followed the ramp to this upper crux or past it ...?

Thanks to Shaddow for the image.

New Variation to He Got Game

There's a good variation people are doing on the Therapy Roof boulder to He Got Game (2nd edition page 116). You climb out the roof starting as for He Got Game, then instead of climbing directly up the wall using a shallow glassy pocket, you trend rightward and around the lip using holds below and right of that pocket. It's basically a right version to He Got Game and seems to check in at around v11 according to reports. Here are some images of Ian Cotter-Brown doing this variation:

Get the decent pocket plus key foot out right

 

Get ready for the swing

 Hold the swing

The problem needs some pads and spotter due to the rocky landing. Thanks to Ian/Rock Warrior Films for the info and images. Anyone else done this? Any other suggestions for rating/name? Thanks!