5-23-09: Kudra

Lyn Verinsky on Kudra [v6]

It is Memorial Day weekend and the hordes have invaded Yosemite Valley. No, not just the hordes of tourists, but the hordes of mosquitoes as well! It is time to catch up on some posts from the spring valley season - so stay tuned!

Kudra is a cool arete up in Candyland that Matt Wilder put up a few years back. It has a scary tiered landing, but that is more of a mental crux than anything else since I have never seen anyone land on the upper tier of the landing. The climb culminates with a commiting move to a good jug a few feet below the lip.

-Raza

12-15-2008 Changing Corners

For anyone who climbs in the Valley, these are dark times. The weather seriously crapped out on Friday, but even so, a hardcore group of us hit the road early Saturday AM in hopes that the reality wasn't as bad as the forecast. Receiving the message from a kind soul in the Valley that "it's wet, there's an inch of snow on the road and it's currently snowing" fifteen minutes out of Oakdale, we reluctantly turned around and headed home. The next couple weeks look grim: snow and rain.

So now what? Although I don't have any video footage of Drive On (isn't that one of the problems shown in that Dosage V movie?), I do have a couple clips of another awesome climb. Located on the same boulder as Shadow Warrior in Candyland, Changing Corners is an enigmatic piece of climbing that is greatly satisfying to unlock. It's all about one key sloper that feels incredibly insecure until your right foot gets about elbow level. Use the first video as a lesson on what NOT to do at the top. Amazingly, Mike was completely unscathed from his crazy fall and after taking a few more, only slightly less spectacular, diggers, sent the rig.

Mike Wickwire on Changing Corners [v8]

And now here's video of Tim Medina making it look easy with his impeccable Yosemite footwork and technique.

 

Tim Medina on Changing Corners [v8]

- Lyn

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

11-27-06: Candyland

Randy Puro on Shadow Warrior [v12]

Candyland is a new area developed by Matt Wilder in the spring of 2006. The gem of the area is Shadow Warrior, a steep overhanging prow that sits right in front of a beautiful view of El Cap. It's not easy to find the area that is between the Sentinel Boulders and the Cathedral Boulders. Park at the third pull out past the Cathedral Boulders parking. Head straight into the hills and if need be use the following gps coordinates:

[N 37º 43.163, W 119º 37.764]


Robyn Puro on the classic Once Upon a Time [v3]

This might be the only the only boulder problem around that you could time people with a sun dial. While the climb isn't that hard, figuring out your sequence is.


Randy Puro on Happily Ever After [v7]

To the right of the classic dihedral lies this cool arete. The crux is hitting a shallow pocket from the sloper on the arete.


Daniel Soto on A Land Far Away [v3]

Yes, there are warm-ups too. There are more problems than I have room for here so you should go and check it out. It's worth the hike (~15 minutes).

-Raza