News & Notes – Bouldering Edition

A few noteworthy pieces of bouldering news for you:

• It’s been about 2 months since Carlo Traversi and Jamie Emerson made the first repeats of Trice (V12) since it’s FA over 30 years ago. As expected, their efforts have made repeating Trice the hip thing to do and link-ups soon followed. Daniel Woods, Dave Graham and James Pearson are among those to quickly add their names to the list. Carlo also returned to add a few move traverse into Trice to create Epoch (V12). Not to be outdone, Daniel recently forged through poor conditions to link the full Reverse Undercling Traverse into Trice to create Epochalipse (V13).

Daniel Woods on Trice

Photo: Steve Woods

• It shouldn’t be surprising that Canada’s Sean McColl has had a very good trip to Bishop. If you remember he flashed Thanatopsis (5.14b) last year at the Red and has won several youth world championships. Basically, he is incredibly talented, motivated and strong. Despite pretty poor weather he recently added the Mandala SDS (V14) to his impressive 2 week tick list that includes 2 V14s, 2 V13s, 5 V12s and 10 V11s. It is also noteworthy that 4 of his ascents were FAs and he is close on another FA which would link Baburre (V12) with Direction (V13). He already linked Baburre with The Mystery (V12) to create The Oracle (V13).
  • Update: on 1/18/08 Sean finished connecting Baburre with Direction to form True North (V13)

Sean McColl finishing up Goldfish Trombone (V14)

Photo: Terry McColl

• Matt Fultz is someone that I have followed for a while on 8a. He is a very strong climber yet climbing appears to only be something he does part time. Instead he chooses to focus on athletics at his High School where is apparently quite good at that as well. When he is not in season he seems to be able to get in peak climbing shape pretty quickly. Last winter he got in shape and made quick work of several hard problems at Swan Falls and Hueco and he still seems to maintain that Fred Nicole’s much repeated El Techo de los Tres B’s (originally V14) is soft for V13. Anyway, he is back in winter shape yet again, and on Wednesday he climbed two of his hardest problems to date at Swan Falls, ID. He established Maniac a soft V12 as well as Legend (V13) which is now probably the hardest problem in Idaho behind James Litz’s Warpath (V15??).

Jeff Smith on what would become The Legend (V13) back in 2001

Photo: ClimbIdaho

• The MVM Premium Area has a new video up with Kevin Jorgeson on two pretty incredible highball boulder problems at Hueco Tanks. Featured is Stick or Stones (V8) and The Duel (V10) which more aptly resembles a route face than a boulder. It is really incredible climbing although I have to say that anything that needs to have 17 pads underneath it has to have a potentially negative impact on the ground underneath it. Here is what Kevin had to say about the problem:

The climbing at the beginning is controlled with small moves between small edges. Half way up, with 20’ of air below your heels, you dig your fingers behind a ¼ pad edge, backstep with your left foot, look up at the pocket, and commit. Miss the pocket and you become a human pinball. Stick the pocket with only 2 fingers and you have a chance. Ideally, you get three fingers in this pocket made for two, grab a narrow pinch next to it, and cross to an Oreo sticking out of the wall. Actually, an Oreo would be thicker than this hold. It’s more like a Ritz cracker. Lock this off to the arête and you’re virtually home free.

Kevin Jorgeson’s “boulder problem” The Duel

Check out the MVM for the full video