apAdventures

Time for a quick update on the climbing front. Paul and I are still here in Bishop, frantically trying to wrap up our long, long ticklists. We’re hoping to ditch out of here in about a week and move on to our final climbing destination: Yosemite Valley. So needless to say, the pressure is on. At this point in the trip we’ve pretty much cleaned up all the easy/moderate Bishop classics. So all that remains now is the hard stuff. Yikes!

Since we arrived Paul and I have spent the majority of our climbing days up at the gorgeous Buttermilk Boulders. Honed for the gymnastic Hueco-style climbing that we usually frequent, the technically-challenging Buttermilk climbing is quite a special treat for us. (Really! Sending v2 has never felt soooo good!) This combined with an amazing setting with the Sierra Nevada Mountains as a backdrop, we just can’t seem to get enough of these boulders.

I think I can accurately say that I’ve managed to tick each and every one of the easy and moderate Buttermilks classics I had on my to-do list. A few of the noteworthy sends include the tricky Buttermilk Stem (v1), the technical face-climbing highball Good Morning Sunshine (v1), Monkey Dihedral (v2) on the Saigon Boulder (an outstanding little stem problem recommended to us by Grit, Manu and Anke), the beautifully crimpy Green Wall Essential (v2), Birthday Direct (v3), King Tut (v3), and of course, everybody’s favorite (or not!), the Iron Man Traverse (v4)….(which I *finally* just did last week, THANK goodness. I was starting to stress over this one!) If I were to leave Bishop having only completed these easier classics, my trip will have been a success. These are some of the best climbs I’ve ever done under the most aesthetic setting imaginable.

H O W E V E R, having said that,…..if I were to leave Bishop having completed possibly just one more little climb….saaaay…..perhaps…..one of the most famous climbs in all of Bishop, potentially in all of the country…..a climb whose moves I literally have been dreaming about in my sleep…..just one more climb to add to my tick list…….a fun little ditty by the name of……..High Plains Drifter (v7)…..which is loads more than just ‘fun’ and by most, including myself, probably not to be considered ‘little’ by any means……hmmmm……well then…..my trip would be indescribable by the small word “success.” It would be freaking amazing!!!! So yes, one week and only the hard stuff remaining. And for me, this means one climb and one climb only. High Plains Drifter. Fingers crossed. I’m sooooo close!

Enough about me, let’s talk about Paul. He too has quite an extensive ‘moderates’ tick list. He’s ticked off twenty v6’s since we’ve been here! Sheesh! Green Wall Center being #20. Also included is the ultra stellar Saigon, a repeat for him (I’m so jealous). If I might say, I personally think Paul’s extensive ticking can be attributed solely to him avoiding boredom by climbing any and all climbs adjacent to the climbs I’m working…..and working and working and working. A perfect example is Iron Man. Throughout my epic go’s spent flailing and falling, Paul ticked off just about all the other climbs on the stinkin’ boulder, which is quite numerous (and comical) if you’ve ever looked in the guidebook, haha. How about this description: Iron Man Footless (v6), two stars, “Surprisingly, the traverse is not that much harder without using your feet, if you move fast!” Yep, ticked.

Last week during more flailing and falling attempts by me on Soul Slinger (v9), Paul dodged boredom once more by getting motivated to try out Soul Slinger Right (v8), “Cold, cloudy day? Begin as for Soul Slinger and make a big pull from the two good incuts to a rounded hold on the right wall.” It was indeed cold this day and yes, cloudy. Add this one to Paul’s tick list too.

Running around ticking v6’s out of boredom isn’t all that Paul’s been up to though. I’ve gotta give him a little more credit. I think most days are really spent trying to re-grow skin on his fingertips from his Mandala (v12) attempts. And somewhere in there he finds time to throw in a few harder sends, like Center Direct (v10), Acid Wash (v10), Mandance (v11). Saturday we went to the Sad Boulders for the first time and he promptly cleaned up on Beefcake (v10). Not bad. But also not The Mandala. Like me, for him too only the hard stuff remains….relatively speaking.

So one final week here in Bishop. I almost can’t comprehend it! Ahhh! The pressure!!! We’re resting today, hoping to rejuvenate whatever last drops of energy our muscles still have remaining. We’ll be back on the boulders tomorrow….

Paul contemplating which Iron Man line to do next

Me sending Buttermilk Stem, v1

Me falling off Saigon, v6…again

Paul loosing skin on the wicked sharp Junior’s Achievement, v7

The Mandala, v12

Paul’s Molly, v5 repeat. Bored?

Paul celebrating his send of Beefcake, v10

posted by arr

This entry (Permalink) was posted on Monday, November 17th, 2008 at 6:49 pm and is filed under Bishop-California, Bouldering. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response , or trackback from your own site.