Black Stuff Low Start by Jarod Arnsten

Jarod on the new line (both pics)

Just heard from Jarod Arnsten that he did a super-fun addition to the Sads, by climbing The Black Stuff from a low start. "I noticed that the cavern had some sweet start holds at the very bottom," says Jarod. The climb starts down in the "hole" with a good left hand crimp and a good right hand crimp plus a big dish hole for the left foot. It climbs the face using long lock offs to what Jarod describes as "a sweet crimp with a good thumb catch," and then uses, "some cool trickery to get into the start to Blackstuff." Jarod thinks the line might go at around the v6/7 range. Please check it out and report back!

Thanks to Jarod for both the images.

Rock Creek mid-week

Ian Cotter-Brown, Dude v9/10

Conditions were pretty good at Rock Creek mid-week, despite Bishop heat. Good enough for a session on the Boy Named Sue Boulder where pointless traverse link-ups are the name of the game ... Last year I linked The Groove into Boy Named Sue, and Charlie Barrett linked Boy Named Sue into The Groove and later Blood Brothers. Life Ain't Easy has since been linked into The Groove, and now the race is on to link Life Ain't Easy into Blood Brothers! Ian Cotter-Brown, shown here sticking Dude (v9/10?), fell on almost the last move of the latter link up with his foot up on the slab. Jeff Sillcox was also close.

Dude went down easily to Ian, who had always thought the problem was near-impossible, but with the added friction of the late evening temps, that all changed and he quickly stuck the move twice out of two! He used a right-foot-only method for the jump, left foot off. Nice. Tony Lamiche's eliminate dyno, to the right (beginning on The Fluke), remains unrepeated, but surely not for long ...

UPDATE: Ian completed the traverse link on Saturday 25th. Life Ain't Easy into Blood Brothers = Blood Sport ... (v11?)

Jesse Bonin in the Aquarium

I heard from Jesse Bonin that last Saturday he climbed Aquarium (v11/12?) which begins with Aquatic Hitchhiker and tops out the boulder by climbing left from the "jug" backward through the Beefy Gecko traverse to join Beefcake all the way to its end. As far as I know, this is the first time the boulder has been climbed from start to summit without using the back wall, and it's almost certainly the hardest line done at the Sads.

"A whole lot of squeezing and heel-hooking," says Jesse. Asked about the obvious possibility of linking that same start (Aquatic Hitchhiker) into a topout through the gap directly above (Light At the End of the Tunnel, v8-ish), Jesse feels this would be the "real gem link-up." But he added, "I did not have nearly enough pads to even try that stand start. Kinda freaky looking last move. Everything would have to be coated in pads."

It is also worth noting that the start to this line (same as Aquatic Hitchhiker) is not the LOWEST possible starting point, and so you could add a couple more very hard moves there: "It looks totally doable," Jesse commented.

Cory French, Spectre v13

Quick note to say congrats to Cory French for his ascent of Spectre (v13) on Monday 13th.

Nice work Cory. I believe Cory figured out the problem over three or four days and used a roll-through move at the start allowing easier placement of the key right toe, before matching the small crimps just before the crux. He moved right above the lip before topping out up the high slab.

Lisa Rands climbs Xavier's Roof

Lisa Rands climbed Xavier's Roof (v11) this afternoon. Despite feeling exhausted after a couple of long drives to an event near Las Vegas and back, she headed out to Dale's Camp and was surprised to quickly figure out the top of the problem using the right crimp beta. After sticking that crux move late in the day, Lisa thought there was a slim chance she could save herself a return trip by making the send before it got dark. She just managed to bust it out with a hard fight making the long lock-off past the miserable slopey nothing.

Alex Johnson, A Maze of Death

In an astonishing feat this afternoon, Alex Johnson climbed A Maze of Death v12 in five tries (really five tries, that is, beginning from the start each time!). She had watched Jeff Sillcox on the problem a couple of days ago and went over his beta before trying it. Jeff had perfected new beta over a few days. "It was crazy!" said Alex, "It's kind of straight-down crimping. It was the perfect problem for me. Totally my style."

Lisa Rands, Haroun and the Sea of Stories

Lisa Rands braved the surprising early spring heat to climb Haroun and the Sea of Stories, v11/12 at the Buttermilks this morning. This spectacular line is unquestionably one of the best in the Bishop area. It went in the guide as a v12, but subsequent ascents have tended to peg it at v11 (including mine, though that's not conclusive). The rating is not really the point with a line of this quality: it's just one of those rare pieces of climbing that you simply won't find too often. Beginning with funky and disorienting moves on shallow huecos using an overhead heel-hook, it rises up the underside of a huge block on fused golden rock, passing fingery patina to a pumpy finish twenty-five moves in. A recent break near the top forced Lisa to alter her sequence, and she found herself screaming to stick a long move to gain the lip. From there, an okay rest comes before a relatively easy topout.

These are some shots of Lisa working the moves earlier in the year:

Jeff has some pics of the actual ascent on his blog.