Brave New World
After coming agonizingly close to sending my current project at Little si it looked as if I wouldn’t get another chance for months! The little cartoon clouds and rain had moved in on my favorite weather forecasting site and taken over. It seemed as if we were doomed to live in a perpetual state of saturation. I threw my arms up in disgust and gave myself over to the idea of maybe taking some rest and then getting back into the gym and training some more. But I couldn’t let this near success elude me. After an extremely nice day this past Saturday I put my feelers out and found some partners AND was lucky enough to witness a little history taking place.
My good friend Erich Sachs tuned me into his plan to bolt the ‘king line’ at Little si, and a long with the help of the climbing Phenom Drew Ruana, he was going to see his creation come to life. Justin and I arrived at World Wall this past Sunday amidst sun and occasional squalls. Drew was just entering the new part of the climb and marking spots for bolts. Shortly after he came down from doing all of the new links of this massive new line, Erich went up and sunk some bolts in to stitch together what is ostensibly a master piece and creating the hardest route in Washington.
The new line!
The line starts on The Whore of Babylon; you do the heinous V.10 boulder of that line BUT instead of going straight up into the start of porn star, you add four movements shooting out left onto some bullet stone to a small rest on incut crimps and then blast straight up into the middle section of Pornstar avoiding the giant jug out right. You climb the sustained part of Pornstar and into the last boulder on that route but instead of crossing through to the pocket you head just slightly left and link into the crux on Flatliner and then finish on Lost Horizons. It is easily the most sustained route on the wall and the hardest bolted line in Washington as of this post. It essentially links the hardest climbing of the Whore of Babylon with Pornstar, Flatliner and then finishes on Lost Horizons. Now, the tragedy here is that you could traverse in a couple of spots to gain rests, but really, it wouldn’t change the grade that much. The true challenge is not succumbing to weakness and trying to link this power endurance test piece as it is. There aren’t any boulders on the line that exceed V.10/11, but it’s basically stacked, the grade run down goes like this: V.10/11 to a mild rest, then sustained 5.13+ climbing to a V.6/7 boulder problem on heinously sharp and small crimps to join the V.6 boulder crux of Flatliner and then right into the V.9 boulder on Lost Horizons. It’s a bouldering marathon and just pumps you stupid. It’s unique because like all of the other hard routes on the wall it has no rests (as long as you don’t traverse cheat) and is basically just a long patch work of linking boulder problems.
Drew cruising the boulder on the Whore of Babylon, with wet holds, sheesh.
It is quite the stunning line when seen from above. The fact that it adds new movement to old lines and throws in some of its own unclimbed territory makes it refreshing and new. It also opens up several new link ups, like linking Psycho into Pornstar and it gives you a new twist on New World Order. By adding four bolts Erich essentially opened up 20 new variations and link ups.
Drew sets up for a mega-drive-by to a good incut crimp. One of the only moves that was giving him trouble on the new link. SUCH a rad move, adding length and difficulty to the Whore boulder.
Drew clipping the first bolt on the new link. This basically signifies the first 'rest' after completing the new and improved Whore crux (V.10/11).
I was so excited to see Drew making quick work on this rig. He did all of the moves of the new sections
and now it’s just a matter of time. I know
where I will be once the wall dries though, I want front row seats to when he
starts giving it send burns because it’s going to be a ‘palm sweating’ good
time!!
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