In the Footsteps of John Gill

One of the side-affects of this blog has been publication in print including an article recently published in the Alpinist. I want to write more about this essay later but through it, I met the historian Kerwin Klein, currently teaching at UC Berkeley. A long-time boulderer, Klein was in Boulder researching material for a book on the cultural history of climbing. He writes a blog about climbing history called alpinehistory.com and his most recent entry is about the relationship between late 20th century American history and Gill, neatly tying it into an ascent of the famed Left Eliminator at Horsetooth, a problem he had been thinking of for 20 years.

The (Shorter) Reverse Undercling Traverse V9

The (Shorter) Reverse Undercling Traverse V9 from peter beal on Vimeo.

This is a very good powerful R to L traverse that exits into the Consideration, a classic old-school V3. The proper start is in the low cave on the far right end of the wall and tacks on an extra V grade. I have not been able to figure out the sequence to get through the corner so far. Eventually I will work more seriously on this option. Beta suggestions are welcome.

If you are interested in seeing a particular problem added to this blog, I will try to film it, either myself if I can do it, or someone else if feasible. Let me know. The videos on this blog are intended more as a resource or guide,helping people locate problems or figure out sequences, so the more the merrier.

Boulder Climbing Festival?

After witnessing the success of the Battle in the Bubble two weeks ago, I am sure I was not the only one wondering why it is that Boulder, which is such an important center for climbing in the US, has no annual event celebrating the sport. At this point, the number of cities and climbing centers holding such events is in the dozens at least. It seems to me that given the geographical location of Boulder with tons of world-class climbing nearby, numerous outdoor companies, proximity to a major airport, and of course thousands of local climbers, that such an event could be a huge hit, not just regionally but nationally, even internationally. I have discussed this with a number of local figures in climbing and will keep readers posted on my findings. Please let me know what you think and what you would like to see at such an event.

Positive or Negative?

In the world of climbing, it seems that anything, be it a new route, a problem, a film, a book, whatever, elicits strong reactions. I was struck by this recently in reactions to a post by the Climbing Narc on a new film from Big Up called the Insiders. I was one of the first to respond to the video, saying that while all the pieces were in place, I felt something was missing.

Battle in the Bubble Review

For the first time, Boulder, Colorado has hosted a climbing event, The Battle in the Bubble, that reflects its position as one of the country's premiere climbing destinations. Simply put, everything went perfectly from a spectator's point of view.

The Battle in the Bubble

As anyone who has been following the competition circuit or the climbing scene in Boulder knows, the Spot is producing a big outdoor competition, The Battle in the Bubble. This will be held today at the Spot and tomorrow at the Boulder Reservoir and promises to be a big show, possibly a breakthrough for involving the area public as spectators.