12-6-2008 Thanksgiving Sendfest

Well, this past week has seen several ascents of some cool boulder problems and since it seems folks enjoy watching video, I'm posting 'em. Was it the ham and Thanksgiving festivities that brought on this onslaught of sendage? I'm not sure, but whatever the cause, the result was awesome to watch. First on the send rampage was Paul bagging Shadow Warrior in Candyland. Truly a beautiful boulder in a picturesque setting with lots of great energy from the crew! You all know about this problem from a previous post (here), so without further ado, here's the send: (love those scissor kicks!)



Paul Barraza on Shadow Warrior [v12]

Courtney got in on the boulder crushing as well by dispatching Zodiac [v10] and Tap Dance [v10] in short order. Zodiac is a crimpy face climb located on the El Cap Boulder along with such classics as Spock Was Here [v6] and some other reachy, dihedral climb whose name I can't recall at the moment (really classic, huh?). Anyway, it was an inspiring night send of a damn tall boulder problem so props to her! And I know Courtney would kill me for not mentioning that the send was much assisted by the outrageously good beta provided by crimp-meister Natasha Barnes.


Courtney Hemphill on Zodiac [v10] FFA?

Tap Dance is a slightly less inspiring line - okay, it's kind of a butt dragger and doesn't have any kind of line at all, but it's still darn fun climbing. Also in contrast to Zodiac, the crux moves are on slopers and technical heel hooks - super cool. It's a rare boulder problem in Yosemite that doesn't require a load of Organic pads to make safe, so for that alone, this problem is a gem. Located on the Wine Boulder, Tap Dance starts sitting matched on an obvious side-pull. Tall people should disregard the beta used below, but for shorties, it's pure brilliance.



Courtney Hemphill on Tap Dance [v10] FFA?

Finally, yesterday Paul ticked off a surprise send of Yabo Roof [v12] made famous in Dosage V. What an awesome climb! After being disappointed by it being wet the week before, we hiked out with some trepidation. Fortunately, all concern was immediately dispelled; conditions couldn't have been more ideal. So Paul, without a fuss, sent on his second try of the day. Sorry for my shaky camera-work, I have excuses, but I won't bore you with them. Kevin came incredibly close to sticking the crux sequence for a double send, but he opted to create more drama by waiting to dispatch. Yes, Justin, you would have run off to puke in the trees if you had seen how close he got.



Paul Barraza on Yabo Roof [v12]

- Lyn