More news updates from Fontainebleau. Sean McColl has done two 8b+ boulders in a day, ‘Gecko Assis’ and ‘Super Tanker’. He noted that Gecko Assis ‘took about an hour and Supertanker is a link up traverse so it was just about figuring out a few moves.’
Sean McColl continues to tear it up in Font, flashing Elephunk (8b/V13). This is the second boulder of this grade Sean has flashed, after climbing Nagual in Hueco Tanks first try back in 2012. Here is what he had to say about Elephunk on his Sendage page:
Discovered this line in 2012 with Marshal and have been eager to try it since then. Went there with Josh, Ronnie and Jwoo who gave me all the beta and literally showed me the moves. A perfect line lost in a perfect forest.
Quite a day to be a Canadian professional climber. Sean McColl has reported that he made a quick ascent of The Traphouse” (V14, 8B+), in Font, France.
Photo by Josh Larson ©
This video features Nate Woods from the Lower Mainland doing the first ascent at Elbow Lake. According to Marco, this problem is similar to No Troblems but with 30+ ft of climbing. Nate added a hard sit start to an old classic, Suspension of Disbelief V10. Not sure of the new rating but it definitely V10+. Filmed and edited by Marco Lefebvre.
Hope, BC in all its glory. Photo credit unknown.
When Squamish Climbing Magazine first had the idea for the first issue, Marco Lefebvre was one of the first people to get in touch. Marco has long been a developer of the boulders in Hope, BC and it is him to thank for the feature on Hunter Creek in issue two. Last week, Marco got in touch again and we are pleased to have him back as a contributor for SCM.
Rumours have been circling of a new area in hope called ‘The Grid’. After speaking to Marco, ‘The Grid’ is a new section of the Hunter Creek chain. Marco reported that there is a lot more to develop in this area but gave us a sneak peak of a few lines on his radar. Despite being close to the city, the boulders in Hope never see as much traffic as Squamish. With regular updates from Marco, we are hoping all that changes.
The folks over at Climb Base 5 are reporting that Matt Johnson and Grant lalonde have both completed The Mandala (v12) in Bishop, CA. Nice work fellas! This problem was first climbed by Chris Sharma, and at the the time, that was a pretty big deal!
Israel Cruces is a prolific developer in the Sea to Sky Corridor. He spends days following up leads, bushwhacking in the rain just to find the perfect line only to spend days cleaning, and then waiting for everything to dry out. Here is one of his latest north of Squamish, BC. Always elusive with grades, this one is a two handed problem.
As the author of the original guidebook, Kelly Sheridan has long been a staple of the Leavenworth climbing scene. I don’t think there has been a time when I have driven down icicle canyon without seeing Kelly’s Subaru on the side of the road. When I do see his car, I know that another cluster of great boulders has been discovered. Not only is Kelly a climbing ‘sommelier’ of the Northwest, he is also one of the nicest and approachable guys around. Since the publication of Central Washington Bouldering, Leavenworth has become a must on any climbing road trip to the Pacific Northwest. Over the past few months, the buzz has started regarding the publication of the new Leavenworth guidebook and Squamish Climbing Magazine thought it best to catch up with the man himself.
Myles Byam airing it out above Icicle Creek on The Sleeping Lady. Photo courtesy of Aaron Matheson ©
Nalle Hukkataival recently made the first ascent of the Mud Springs project in Red Rocks, Nevada, naming it Kintsugi (8C). Source: Menagerie Climbing
Daniel Woods has made the first ascent of the Bishop, CA mega project on the Grandpa Peobody boulder in the Buttermilks (source: UKClimbing). Daniel can be seen climbing this project to the top in the film Exposure II (check out our review here). Looks like the training at home paid off.
Peter Winter / Leavenworth WA / Grand Wall Boulders / 25 V4 Circuit / Home Campus Board
Hope BC / Jeremy Smith / Scrub your Face / Godman Creek / Ring Workouts / Wiretap