When you’re feeling good enough to rip holds off the wall and then you actually rip a hold off the wall…🫣. @blackdiamond @frictionlabs @theboulderfield #whipper #trad #climbing
Couple of my favorite jumpy moves from @theboulderfield the last few months. Most of them from the @tbfmasters series. The first clip is a move that I set for The Greatest Flasher that was just a bit too low percentage for a “flash only” competition so I reused the idea for The Modern Climber (2nd clip). After almost 20 years of route setting I still feel like a kid in a candy shop playing around with interesting ways of moving on the wall. @blackdiamond @frictionlabs @walltopia
Midnight Lightning… still one of the best after all these years. I’ve probably climbed this one well over 500 times now and it never really gets old. #yosemitebouldering @blackdiamond @frictionlabs @theboulderfield
Going to start dropping the rest of the uncuts from Spring in Swiss on my youtube, but here’s a start. Manson 8A. Climbed this one on my first trip in 2010 but didn’t get any footage of it. It’s truly one of the best out there and a joy to repeat. @blackdiamond @blackdiamond_climb @frictionlabs @theboulderfield
To interrupt your daily dose of the hard hard, paddle dynos, memes and “a muerte” sends take a moment to celebrate one of the best out there. This one’s a personal favorite and definitely in my Top 5 for the grade worldwide. Höhenrausch 7B in Magic Wood, CH I climbed it for the first time in 2010 and after many trips to Magic Wood I never miss a chance to pull on those crisp edges. This clip was from a few weeks back. @blackdiamond @frictionlabs @theboulderfield
From Dirt Grows The Flowers V15 was established by @dave_graham_ in 2005 and along with The Story of Two Worlds was declared by Dave to be “the new standard” for V15 after many of the first of that grade had been downgraded. As a young climber both of those problems along with Dreamtime were always the top of my list for hard boulders. Turns out it would be the last one for me to complete. Grade and history aside, I have always been drawn to “From Dirt” because of its uniqueness within the hard boulders of Ticino. The crystal band that forms the lower part of the climb is distinct and powerful and is probably around V13. Once at the sloping lip you reach the real test which is a frustratingly subtle V11 mantle to gain the exit slab. I absolutely love boulders that manage to encapsulate both high end power and tech. Not many manage to do it at an equally high level. In early 2013, shortly after finishing Story and making the first ascent of The Kingdom V14/15, I fell off the mantle of From Dirt multiple times from the start on my final day in Swiss that year. It’s lingered in my mind ever since. Returning this year, it was my highest priority. One promising session was followed by one terrible one, and it seemed unlikely that it was going to happen. I waited for a single cold day at the end of the trip and after feeling stiff and tired in my warm up, I pulled on and perfectly executed every move to the top. It was the most weightless I’ve ever felt on the wall and one of the most pure moments I’ve had in climbing. It reminded me of how much I love pushing myself in bouldering. Prop to Dave for being way ahead of the game when he made the first ascent of this one. It still stands as a perfect test piece of hard bouldering and one of my favorite boulders that I’ve climbed. @blackdiamond @blackdiamond_climb @theboulderfield @frictionlabs
From Dirt Grows The Flowers V15 was established by @dave_graham_ in 2005 and along with The Story of Two Worlds was declared by Dave to be “the new standard” for V15 after many of the first of that grade had been downgraded. As a young climber both of those problems along with Dreamtime were always the top of my list for hard boulders. Turns out it would be the last one for me to complete. Grade and history aside, I have always been drawn to “From Dirt” because of its uniqueness within the hard boulders of Ticino. The crystal band that forms the lower part of the climb is distinct and powerful and is probably around V13. Once at the sloping lip you reach the real test which is a frustratingly subtle V11 mantle to gain the exit slab. I absolutely love boulders that manage to encapsulate both high end power and tech. Not many manage to do it at an equally high level. In early 2013, shortly after finishing Story and making the first ascent of The Kingdom V14/15, I fell off the mantle of From Dirt multiple times from the start on my final day in Swiss that year. It’s lingered in my mind ever since. Returning this year, it was my highest priority. One promising session was followed by one terrible one, and it seemed unlikely that it was going to happen. I waited for a single cold day at the end of the trip and after feeling stiff and tired in my warm up, I pulled on and perfectly executed every move to the top. It was the most weightless I’ve ever felt on the wall and one of the most pure moments I’ve had in climbing. It reminded me of how much I love pushing myself in bouldering. Prop to Dave for being way ahead of the game when he made the first ascent of this one. It still stands as a perfect test piece of hard bouldering and one of my favorite boulders that I’ve climbed. @blackdiamond @blackdiamond_climb @theboulderfield @frictionlabs
The last few months 📸…. Took a little break from posting. Needed a little reset and time to think about my underlying motivations for sharing. And more importantly the motivations for capturing in the first place. As demand for content grows and supply picks up to meet it, it’s hard to not feel like the things we create become less valuable. More recently I felt the need to hold onto the things I’ve captured so they feel more important and personal. There’s probably some truth to both of those sentiments but they run contrary to community. They can also stifle creativity. Moving forward I would like to start sharing a bit more but I’m unsure of the avenue.
The last few months 📸…. Took a little break from posting. Needed a little reset and time to think about my underlying motivations for sharing. And more importantly the motivations for capturing in the first place. As demand for content grows and supply picks up to meet it, it’s hard to not feel like the things we create become less valuable. More recently I felt the need to hold onto the things I’ve captured so they feel more important and personal. There’s probably some truth to both of those sentiments but they run contrary to community. They can also stifle creativity. Moving forward I would like to start sharing a bit more but I’m unsure of the avenue.
The last few months 📸…. Took a little break from posting. Needed a little reset and time to think about my underlying motivations for sharing. And more importantly the motivations for capturing in the first place. As demand for content grows and supply picks up to meet it, it’s hard to not feel like the things we create become less valuable. More recently I felt the need to hold onto the things I’ve captured so they feel more important and personal. There’s probably some truth to both of those sentiments but they run contrary to community. They can also stifle creativity. Moving forward I would like to start sharing a bit more but I’m unsure of the avenue.
The last few months 📸…. Took a little break from posting. Needed a little reset and time to think about my underlying motivations for sharing. And more importantly the motivations for capturing in the first place. As demand for content grows and supply picks up to meet it, it’s hard to not feel like the things we create become less valuable. More recently I felt the need to hold onto the things I’ve captured so they feel more important and personal. There’s probably some truth to both of those sentiments but they run contrary to community. They can also stifle creativity. Moving forward I would like to start sharing a bit more but I’m unsure of the avenue.
The last few months 📸…. Took a little break from posting. Needed a little reset and time to think about my underlying motivations for sharing. And more importantly the motivations for capturing in the first place. As demand for content grows and supply picks up to meet it, it’s hard to not feel like the things we create become less valuable. More recently I felt the need to hold onto the things I’ve captured so they feel more important and personal. There’s probably some truth to both of those sentiments but they run contrary to community. They can also stifle creativity. Moving forward I would like to start sharing a bit more but I’m unsure of the avenue.
The last few months 📸…. Took a little break from posting. Needed a little reset and time to think about my underlying motivations for sharing. And more importantly the motivations for capturing in the first place. As demand for content grows and supply picks up to meet it, it’s hard to not feel like the things we create become less valuable. More recently I felt the need to hold onto the things I’ve captured so they feel more important and personal. There’s probably some truth to both of those sentiments but they run contrary to community. They can also stifle creativity. Moving forward I would like to start sharing a bit more but I’m unsure of the avenue.
The last few months 📸…. Took a little break from posting. Needed a little reset and time to think about my underlying motivations for sharing. And more importantly the motivations for capturing in the first place. As demand for content grows and supply picks up to meet it, it’s hard to not feel like the things we create become less valuable. More recently I felt the need to hold onto the things I’ve captured so they feel more important and personal. There’s probably some truth to both of those sentiments but they run contrary to community. They can also stifle creativity. Moving forward I would like to start sharing a bit more but I’m unsure of the avenue.
The last few months 📸…. Took a little break from posting. Needed a little reset and time to think about my underlying motivations for sharing. And more importantly the motivations for capturing in the first place. As demand for content grows and supply picks up to meet it, it’s hard to not feel like the things we create become less valuable. More recently I felt the need to hold onto the things I’ve captured so they feel more important and personal. There’s probably some truth to both of those sentiments but they run contrary to community. They can also stifle creativity. Moving forward I would like to start sharing a bit more but I’m unsure of the avenue.
The last few months 📸…. Took a little break from posting. Needed a little reset and time to think about my underlying motivations for sharing. And more importantly the motivations for capturing in the first place. As demand for content grows and supply picks up to meet it, it’s hard to not feel like the things we create become less valuable. More recently I felt the need to hold onto the things I’ve captured so they feel more important and personal. There’s probably some truth to both of those sentiments but they run contrary to community. They can also stifle creativity. Moving forward I would like to start sharing a bit more but I’m unsure of the avenue.
The last few months 📸…. Took a little break from posting. Needed a little reset and time to think about my underlying motivations for sharing. And more importantly the motivations for capturing in the first place. As demand for content grows and supply picks up to meet it, it’s hard to not feel like the things we create become less valuable. More recently I felt the need to hold onto the things I’ve captured so they feel more important and personal. There’s probably some truth to both of those sentiments but they run contrary to community. They can also stifle creativity. Moving forward I would like to start sharing a bit more but I’m unsure of the avenue.
The landing is half the fun. 🫣 @blackdiamond @frictionlabs @theboulderfield
The Overlook V11 (First Ascent) – Independence Pass, CO. Just a taste of a new one from a few weeks ago. Uncut is on my YouTube which I will be updating more regularly from now on. Mostly focusing on the hundreds of Uncut send clips I’ve captured over the years. I spent a few weeks in mid-June exploring new zones in Colorado. I climbed a lot less than usual but really enjoyed experiencing parts of CO that I haven’t spent much time in the past. After years of being on the usual Front Range alpine program chasing the next “problem of the moment”, the shift to a less structured approach was refreshing. @blackdiamond @blackdiamond_climb @theboulderfield @frictionlabs
Ticino 🔜. Headed back to the land of perfect granite blocs and couldn’t be more stoked. Photo from the day we stumbled upon this beautiful problem in 2010 which would later become one of my favorite first ascents, Heritage. Photo by Connor Griffith.
The girls sending in Cresciano 🇨🇭. @marymeck @see.zay.play @christa_marye
The girls sending in Cresciano 🇨🇭. @marymeck @see.zay.play @christa_marye
The girls sending in Cresciano 🇨🇭. @marymeck @see.zay.play @christa_marye
Took a few weeks “off” after my trip to Colorado, but have been slowly ramping up in the past week. After dealing with a slight finger tweak for most of the Spring, which didn’t affect climbing outside but didn’t let me crimp indoors, it’s been nice to return to the small grips on plastic. This one @theboulderfield set by @davewetmore1 felt impossible a few weeks ago, but it was nice to see it through yesterday. Relatively basic power bloc on bad grips. Hard to tell from the video but the bottom section is 55 degrees and the top is 45 degrees overhanging so a bit steeper than it looks. Looking forward to leveling up for Fall projects. @blackdiamond @blackdiamond_climb @frictionlabs
