Mt. Evans

Posted on 08. Sep, 2010 by in News

It was a great weekend of sending up in the high country. Daniel Woods did the FA of Warrior Up V15. This is an amazing roof problem on excellent rock. The first move is the crux, and it involved a massive reach off of a flat undercling in a very steep roof to what could be generously described as a non-hold. A great new problem and Dave Graham made a repeat later in the day. Dave described the problem to me as a one move V12 or V13 to a V12. Dave also added a new compression arete, Freak Attack V12.
As I described in the previous post, I added a nice problem left of Small Arms called Honey Badger, which I was tempted to call V12, but I will take the more conservative approach and suggest V11.

Honey Badger V11, Mt. Evans FA from Jamie Emerson on Vimeo.

Perhaps new beta will be discovered, or it simply wasn’t as hard as I thought. Regardless, it’s a fun problem and I have some video of it to share. Saturday I climbed my namesake problem although I was quite tired. I think Nick Duttle’s problem Jamie Emerson is probably V10. This problem was repeated by Sam Johnson, Justin Jaeger, Luke Parady, Chad Greedy and Angie Payne. Kaelen Williams added a sitstart at hard V10. I also believe that Rebellion, a classic V8 or V9 has a new direct finish which climbs onto another boulder. Dave also did all the moves on The Ski jump project which will probably be V13 or V14. And there are still a bunch of unclimbed lines waiting. I will do my best to take more pictures when I get out.

20 Responses to “Mt. Evans”

  1. jlzcn

    08. Sep, 2010

    Congrats for your first v14 and this FA.
    What’s the name of the song?

  2. Robin

    08. Sep, 2010

    Great news! Thanks for the video, what’s the music? Remix of Sigur Ros?

    Cheers

  3. CJS

    08. Sep, 2010

    All these spectacular reports of hard sends get me super motivated, but also make me wonder: Are there moderates going up all over the area too, or just high end lines?

    It’d be sick to make a trip out there one day to spend some time projecting at my limit, but I also enjoy getting on things from V2-V7. Is your crew so strong that FAs at this level don’t even register or aren’t worth naming, or is it just that we’re not hearing the reports because these kind of lines aren’t as newsworthy?

    In either case, SO motivating to watch what unfolds up there. Good work.

  4. Mathieu

    08. Sep, 2010

    Year of Silence – Crystal Castles.

  5. B3

    08. Sep, 2010

    @CJS One topic that has come up a few times is this idea that we don’t climb on anything easier. I think all of us climb on the easy things if they look good. Certainly my interest is towards the more difficult lines but I have put up a number of moderates as well. Sparrowhawk V8, Red Herring V6, The Idiot V5 (which I thought was an FA but was not, although I can’t seem to find a name for it), an unnamed V9 below Exfoliator, For Frodo V7, and the slab which faces Evil Backwards which is probably V0, and Lenin V4 which are some that come to mind. If it’s good, I’ll climb on it, regardless of grade. And yes Years of Silence-Crystal Castles.

  6. Scott

    08. Sep, 2010

    Thanks for the update. I suppose it might be time to update your “Colorado’s Hardest” page, no?

  7. sock hands

    08. Sep, 2010

    lots of moderates. many of which are good to great. check 8a.nu for attempted location descriptions.

  8. abe

    08. Sep, 2010

    H-B looks very similar to EB . . .

  9. B0oulderite

    08. Sep, 2010

    Could someone provide a concise definition of the term “compression problem” please? It seems quite fashionable at the moment to apply this term to anything rated V10 or harder. Are there V2 compression problems? What, exactly, is being compressed? What happens when it expands?

  10. Davin

    08. Sep, 2010

    Way to sort out the varieties of possible beta on Honey Badger! There were a lot of options there, very confusing.
    Congratulations on Evil Backwards! A great first 8b+

    I would consider a compression problem something that involves opposition pressure of separate holds inward, toward the center of the body. Squeeze a prow, opposite heels pulling “in” under a roof, even a left edge and a right toe scum could compress towards each other for example. Black holes also compress inward so be very careful not to pull too hard.

  11. Chris

    08. Sep, 2010

    A compression problem is one that revolves mainly around squeezing two opposing holds, with the forces being applied in the direction of your body. Odds are that if you’ve ever slapped and heel-hooked yourself up an arete with sidepulls on either side, you’ve climbed a compression problem. Big Worm V14 at Mount Evans could be classified as a quintessential compression bloc, whereas Terremer V15 at Hueco Tanks is definitely not a compression bloc. Here’s a video of both problems just to give you an idea: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yBFxG0brpU

  12. Tye

    08. Sep, 2010

    Compression… involves squeezing. Usually on aretes, but sometimes in a roof.

    The standout characteristic of a “compression” problem would be sidepulls, or any two holds facing opposing directions. The grade of said problem is completely irrelevant, depending only on the orientation of the holds and the actual shape of the boulder.

  13. Kaelen W

    08. Sep, 2010

    The Jamie Emerson sit start is called Duttle, just for you, Jamie. B0oulderite: a compression problem is one that involves squeezing opposing and generally slopey features. Big Worm is a classic example: http://vimeo.com/5398117 (notice that Jade, also in the video, is not a compression problem). As far as moderate compression problems go, the best example that springs to mind is Atari in Bishop, which is V5. I’m sure there are easier ones out there though.

  14. Nietzsche

    09. Sep, 2010

    Jamie,
    I did the FA of the Rebellion “Direct” (the quotes are because it ends on another boulder that sits directly onto of the boulder where Rebellion starts. I called in Revolution 9 at V9.

    t

  15. MikeM

    09. Sep, 2010

    Damn you for using this song before me…had it all lined up.

  16. matt

    09. Sep, 2010

    mulabundah (sp?)

  17. B0oulderite

    09. Sep, 2010

    Thanks for the clarifications, with videos no less! Seems like “compression” is a fancier term for “squeezing.” Nothing wrong with a little jargon.

    I’m also found of asking mountain bikers and climbers what the difference might be between “technical” and “tricky.” The main distinction in my mind is that “technical” is the word that an insider would use, while “tricky” works better for describing the same qualities to, say, your parents.

    It’s a really technical problem with complex compression movements and sophisticated beta.

    Or

    It’s a tricky climb and you have to squeeze the holds.

    Take your pick.

  18. joeyjoejoe

    10. Sep, 2010

    The problem with saying “squeeze” is that it is too vague. You can have a problem with pinch holds you have to squeeze without it being a compression problem. I do agree, though, that “tricky” is pretty much a good synonym for “technical.”

  19. Shawn Seifert

    10. Sep, 2010

    I find compression to be about using opposition on non-holds to create a body position you can hold. Any one hold isn’t adequate to remain in position but the squeeze between two flat hands or a toehook/heelhook opposition to a sloper or even bicycling can be compression. It magically makes the impossible possible.

  20. A_W

    10. Sep, 2010

    I disagree about tricky. There are plenty of dynos that are “tricky” but are not technical. I feel that technical is usually balancy, thin and often reachy. Requiring technique nor power. Tricky is more like akward or just hard to read. My $.02

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