12.26.2008

Rumbling Bald-Some East Side Bouldering

12.18.08: Today I met up with Robert H, Chris D. and Ben (hey, Ben--what's your last name?) up at the Wishing Well Area. Chris Had just sent the sit down start to Ned's Arete (normally a V8 from the standing start). He had been working the project for over a year, and this was the climb he badly broke his ankle on a few years back (and got a helicopter ride out of the crag!). So a big congrats to Chris on sending this psychological beast. I think he named the sit "It is Finished"...or something like that.

We then all headed over the below the Cereal wall and climbed Sunny Side Up. Is this thing really V8? You can just reach over the lip and traverse to the top out! It's an eliminate, i guess. It felt like V3 or V4 at best.

We then got on Razor Burn (V8) and Bic (v7). I was able to send Razor Burn from the unofficial starting hold. You can actually start it like 2 moves down the boulder, but it actually detracts from the climb, if you ask me...and it adds little to the difficulty. We all sent Bic after about a half an hour right as the sun was going down. It was great day with temps in the 50s, but dropping quickly as the sun went down.

12.21.2008

"New" Climbing Area. Access Sensative?

12.14.08: Today we went to a "new" climbing area in Hickory Nut Gorge. It's actually been around for over a decade, I think; however, it's gone through a number of private ownerships in that time. Most recently, a developer that was going to put homes on the land went bust and suddenly access is open...for now. Since I'm not sure of the actual status of this place, I hesitate to give too many details about going there. As of now, there aren't a lot of routes, but the potential level seems high for those willing to put in some major time and effort.

One of the plum lines is still (as of this writing) an open project reported to be in the high 5.13 range, with some saying possible 5.14a. We'll see. Pictures of Dave Sharrat and Robert Holcomb can be seen working it below: