Joe’s Valley

Posted on 15. Apr, 2009 by B3 in Joe's Valley

Yesterday was a brief climbing day, but I ticked a problem off of my life time ticklist, The Wind Below V7. This is a gorgeous streaked wall and it took a few days for me to muster up the courage. Jason Kehl got the FA of this stunning line and it could be one of the best of its grade in America.

I also hiked around to some obvious boulders near Area 51 and found some really nice projects, although some of these were an hour or so from the car.

This boulder had faint signs of traffic with a marginal landing built and some light chalk. There are several lines here.

Perhaps an hard and thin crimping line?

Here is the best line I saw, and there was no sign of any traffic.

Here is the same problem from a different angle.

The weather has turned sour and it is snowing in Orangeville as I type. Hopefully things clear up soon. One final note, I climbed a lackluster problem on the Smokin’ Joe boulder called Prophet in a Ditch V10. This was the 250th problem V10 or harder I have climbed, which was an arbitrary, but satisfactory goal. I have spent alot of life climbing rocks and its nice to step back sometimes.

10 Responses to “Joe’s Valley”

sidepull

15. Apr, 2009

250 – sweet!
tommy

15. Apr, 2009

beautiful rock. also, it’s humbling to know that when i tick my first v10 i’ll have climbed .4% of your “arbitrary, but satisfactory goal”.
Nietzsche

16. Apr, 2009

Jaime,
I would very much like to do the tall line in the last photograph. It looks absolutely amazing. Of course that’s up to you.

Congrats on WB. We should do it with hiking boots and crashpads next.

t
sock hands

16. Apr, 2009

who has been taking the shots of you? they’ve been coming out insanely crisp and with good but not artificial saturation. very nice.

that FA block look soooooo wicked. DO IT!

i so hope that i can push my v7 and over master list towards the higher end someday. how old are you, like, 45? i guess i’ve got some time to catch up.
TK

16. Apr, 2009

Great looking stuff!
Battaglia

16. Apr, 2009

Yo Jamie,
I’m headed out to Joe’s for the last 2 weeks of May when my semester is done. I’d like to get on some of these new-ish problems but they aint in a book, are they? Wind Below, where dat? That new v9 that you have a pic of Rylan doing, that’s easy to find? If you know of a mini-local guidebook update sort o thing let me know. If there are some other dope new problems in the v8-v11 range that aint in the old guide book, drop some knowledge on me… if you’d be so kind. –MB
wyclimber

16. Apr, 2009

It seems that The Wind Below has been hailed by nearly everyone as one of the finest boulder problems of any grade in the US. It also seems that the V8 grade is come into question as there is an easier sequence that has unfolded. Though you are the only climber to suggest V7, what gives?
Connor

16. Apr, 2009

Damn those projects look beautiful. Glad to hear the wind below got another ascent. I agree that it’s one of the best problems for the grade, if not one of the best problems ever. Anyone with the bouldering skill (and eight to ten pads) should be required to climb this one!
wyclimber

17. Apr, 2009

Also, I’d like to thoroughly beat a dead horse, about the grade conversions from the french to V-grade. The french scale gets messed up when counting back ward from 8a = V11 on down. V10, V9 and V8 convert just fine as 7C+, 7C and 7B+ respectively, but when we get to 7B this is where things seem to get skewed. As for me 7C and up don’t register much on my radar as they are out of my range, but everything below is not, hence this is where my focus lies. Most americans convert 7B to V7, 7A+ to V6 and 7A to V5, which is where the discrepancies begin. It seems that at this point there are two french grades for each V-grade. This leaves us with V split grades or V plus grades for V5, V6 and V7. Yes I have probably over thought this and will be considered a grade chasing punt by many of your readers. What do you think or are these grades too low to be on your radar?
Fi

17. Apr, 2009

Good job on wind below!!!!!!!!! I knew you could do it.