Bouldering Montana

First off, let me get this out of the way.  Don’t be an asshole:

Whoever left the above mattress at Whiskey is an asshole.  I don’t care if you want to use a mattress for a crash pad, but whatever you use take it with you when you leave.  Don’t be an asshole.

Alright, back to the fun stuff.  Peder, Jess and I made it out Saturday and hit up a nice combo of old and new at Whiskey.  We did the obligatory Wave Runner warm up then headed to the Fagatron roof.  Like many at Whiskey, completely inappropriate name, but totally appropriate fun.  If you’re looking for an obscure excellent problem, check it out.  Although it’s dabby most of the time, it’s nice to have a few pads and a spotter.  I punted off after the crux, missed the pads, landed on my butt on the rock slab below and just about fell into a small pit next to the problem.  Luckily Jess saved me from anything other than a bruised butt.  I had a mini-epic getting back, but pulled it together and sent.  The guide has it as V4, but it felt a grade or two harder.  Peder and I also did Pillow Biter, which heads up the right side of the roof.  Fun, but not nearly as good as the Fagatron.

A few moves before my fall off the Fagatron

Peder - Pillow Biter

Next we headed to the massive area south of Whiskey Proper, which is known as Southern Comfort.  We made stops at the Optimist boulder, where all three of us flailed on a V6-ish problem.

Jess - the Enthusiast

Then onto Redneck Yacht Club, a new problem Peder put up last year.  I ascended the Club and Peder added a new V6/7 crimp problem just left of it – Ruckus on the Levee.  Nice work on the new ones peder!

Peder on the FA of Ruckus on the Levee (Redneck Yacht Club is the chalked arete to the right)

On the way back towards the Tuna Juice boulder (where Peder crushed a new-ish V9 variation Tuna Tartare)  we stopped at Black Eye, an excellent problem with a cool hueco that Ryan Holm put up a few years ago.  We were thinking it will settle in at V3.

Peder - Black Eye

Jess - Black Eye

You start Black Eye matched on a sidepull with a giant food ledge, then head up into the crux move shown above.  Peder decided to try it without the foot ledge and somehow this was the result:

???

Jess and I went back out Sunday as well, but there were no photos, so we’ll just say nothing happened.  We made it back in time to see the finals for the Prince and Princess of Plastic competition at MSU.  Peder came in second to some unknown dark horse name Jeff Ho.   If you want the full story of the amazing-ness the Ho-Master pulled off check out K-Feds write up by clicking here.  Sarah Ho won the woman’s side so there’s a couple Ho’s holding the crown of the Prince and Princess of Plastic.  Nice work Hos!

-EC

We got in a couple more days at Whiskey before the snow came today.  I made a solo trip on Friday itchin’ for some new stuff.  I got my fix in the Red Valley, a short five minute walk from Tuna Juice.  I did a few problem there last winter and knew there could be a few more, but it ended up being a lot better than I remembered.  I put up seven new ones.  All were worthwhile, but two of them were well above average.  Here’s a couple screen shots of “Montana Cancan” a sweet V4 with a very cool dyno.  As a side note, I usually take a lot of video when I’m alone, but only put a little bit online, so I’ll start posting more screenshots from the vault.

Setting up

Montana Cancan

I had a pretty crazy work week so I was planning on working Saturday and heading back out Sunday.  Long story short, I shuffled things at work cause Sunday looked like crap (and it was…) and made it out Saturday afternoon.  I couldn’t believe it when I got there.  NINE CARS at Whiskey!  There were at least twenty different people out there.  There were about 10 Bozeman boulderers out there, so according to a recent Rock & Ice article every single boulderer from Bozeman was at Whiskey Saturday. While I’m on the subject, Jeff Ho got the FA of the Green Monster (vision & cleaning by Ryan Holm), Joe Meiners last name has two e’s in it and Fruh’s line in the Canyon is called “Der Fruh Lowe” not whatever they put.  Just a few of the errors…  Great photos by Ben Herndon though.

Anyways, I spent the day climbing with Peder, Jess, Molly and Brandon.  Shortly before I got there Peder and Jess continued their Whiskey crushfest with Peder getting the second ascent of Ho-masters “Just for Men” V9 and Jess finishing off the Emphysema Traverse Low V4+.  Jess also crushed her season long project “CCC” V5.  Pretty cool to see her put that one down.

Jess sending CCC

After that I talked them into heading to the Red Valley.  We started on a problem that I put up last winter, Full Gravity Daze V?.  It’s a great compression arete with the one of the coolest moves I’ve done for the crux.  It’s a giant reach to a tiny crimp above the lip off of a toe hook.  Unfortunately the crux and even the move before the crux is very height dependent.  It wasn’t too bad for Peder and I, but everyone else who is shorter than 6′ struggled with the crux.

Molly on the first reachy move of Full Gravity Daze

Jess - Full Gravity Daze

Brandon - Full Gravity Daze

Molly on the reachy crux of Full Gravity Daze

Peder - Full Gravity Daze

Peder sticking the crux - Full Gravity Daze

Molly just about sent a nearby project as well.  Next go for sure.

Peder on the project

Molly on the project

We finished up on Montana Cancan with a few sends of the namesake.  Molly also added a nice V5/6-ish problem just right of Montana Cancan (it’s the diagonal seam/finger crack cut off on the right side of the first two photos).  She said I should name it so unless I hear otherwise, we’ll go with “Slots of Doom”.  Always like the Doom theme at Whiskey…

K-Fed (Kevin Macartney) put up some good photos of the crew he was climbing with as well.  Click me.

-EC