Josh Bouldering TR
John Black
last day of our trip it broke 80 in the park (in spite of the fact that
our water froze during the night).
We did some hiking and some roped climbing, but the most intense experiences
for me were on the last day when I went bouldering alone.
My Cordless crash pad had not yet been used for anything but lounging,
although I'd bought it several months ago. Today was to be the first time
I was truly glad I'd bought it.
I started out on Stem Gem in HVCG. Being a 5.10 climber at-best, I knew
chances were slim that I could actually do this 5.11+ problem; but it is
such a COOL problem, I felt drawn to it. I had tried it last year
and couldn't even get off the ground. This time I did a little better:
facing OUTWARD allowed me to get both feet off the ground! However, the
pressure on my right palm was so severe that when I fell (repeatedly) I
lost a lot of skin there. After a few face-first dives on to my pad, I
decided I'd better stop before my palm went completely raw. (And many say
that this is not even the crux of the problem: the friction moves out right
are allegedly harder!)
Next up was Dynamo Hum, aka Triangle Boulder Left, rated 10+ or 11- depending
on which guidebook you're holding. I had done this thing last year with a
top-rope, but couldn't remember the sequence, so I worked it out with
repeated attempts, getting higher each time. At 17 feet and overhanging,
this problem feels quite airy from the halfway point onward. I reached the
crux about 12 feet up and refused to go higher, despite the fact that jumping
on my pad from here was quite comfortable still. I kept worrying that,
without a spot, I might miss the pad! How do others feel about this? How
high will you go without a spotter?
Next I wandered over to Turtle Rock; Vogel's guide indicated a fair number
of problems here. I ran into a guy named "Joe" from Idaho; thin, wiry, and
redpoints 12b. Joe showed me a few problems he'd done, which were mostly
moderate. Then we went to work on "Turnbuckle".
Turnbuckle is 11- (Gingery) or 11+ (Vogel). You start with an undercling at
about 6' and fight to get your feet up; as your feet get higher, the
undercling gets better (of course). Then slap up and left for a rounded 1"
hold which you then mantle. Both Joe and I got this thing 3rd try. Since
I don't climb 5.11, I think it must be 10d at the hardest. What do others
think?
More moderate problems followed, including a 20+ foot 5.8 on the wedge
boulder that I just could not get myself to do. After about 15' my
crashpad started looking like a piece of gauze...
We finished on Jump Chump J1/B1. What a cool problem! The idea is this:
you take a running start, push off the rock with one leg, and then launch
for a dark-colored plate at about 13 feet. Joe never got higher than 2 feet
off the ground, but after a life of volleyball my jumping muscles were in
a little better shape. We decided not to even bother with climbing shoes.
After a few tries, I started getting high enough to touch the top of the
plate, but the left end of it (which was also the lowest and therefore the
easiest to get to) was rounded off. Also, the landing kind of hurt, so Joe
began sliding my pad under me after I lifted off.
If you try higher and to the right, the edge is better. However, I only once
touched that high, but was too timid to try and hold on. The rock is quite
abrasive and if you tried hard and slipped off, you'd earn some flappers
for sure.
Has anyone out there done this thing? Where on the plate did you stick it?
Already planning to go back and nail these things...
john//