The Down Climb Groove V0-! My first climb in HP40!
The funny thing is I did not flash this problem! LOL! The climb was not hard but it was a friction slab climb. I had to shift my mindset from looking for jugs to looking for any place where I can slap my hand on and use the friction on my hand to climb up. I think in that way this was the perfect climb to start off my HP 40 adventures. I decided to get some more warm ups and decided to go straight for the classic Bum Boy.
Vandala V1
Warm Ups
More warm ups
I can't remember any of these climbs names...
The boulder that the Bum Boy is on is probably the one of the most amazing looking rocks I have ever seen. The whole rock looks like a scaly monster! There are three problem on the most bulbous scaly side of the rock. From left to right it is Bum Boy V3, Centipede V4, and Millipede V5. Some guide books including the Dr. Topo guide list each climb as one grade higher but due to all the sand baggery HP40 is known for they have been down graded a grade.
Crazy looking rock! Bumboy V3
There are at least a handful of ways to go up Bum Boy. The hard but frictiontastic way to go up is to slap up to slopers and somehow magically sticking. :o) If you are looking for a shorter strong person beta move right, get you left hand in the inverted V shape under cling, move your right hand to a decent sloper and then step up high with your left foot and push up on your legs and go straight for the better bulby slopers with the right hand. It took me many different betas before Amanda(I think that's her name... sorry if I got it wrong!) showed me this beta. During my many attempts at Bum Boy I met Will, Liz and their great group. They even fed me! I think it's amazing how many amazingly friendly people I have met during this trip. While hanging out with Will and crew I flashed Chicks V1, Dope V2, Moms V2, Panty Shields V3, and Eight Balls V2.
Panty Shields V3
Arrow pointing at a guy on the rocks!
Lot's of fun easy problem on the Front Slabs Boulder
Will and crew decided to leave a bit early but I still had a lot of climbing left in me. The next problem I attempted was the Crown V3. For a V3 the start move is a bit burly. It's a high twist up with the left hand to a pocket. The problem I was having with the climb was actually not the beginning but was the end! I was trying the tall beta and was failing miserably. The Short man beta that I eventually figured out made the problem seem so much easier. The trick was to place the left foot below the right hand and twist up with the left hand when you are going up to the "crown". I spent a fair amount of time working the problem and this is when I met Kevin and Victor.
Kevin and Victor were on a climbing trip from Indiana. We climb together for the rest of the day and became good friends over the next few days of climbing.
Some of the more fun problems we did that day was a pocketed Hueco climb called the Wasp V2 and the funky start Uniball V3.
Huecos in HP40? Yup! Sandstone friction-y sloper huecos! Wasp V2
The starting move on Uniball V3
I'm glad that Kevin and Victor figured out the beta. Logan told me about the beta but I completely forgot about it. The way you start is with the left hand, right hand right foot match. You then move up with your left hand to an under cling. It's a super cool interesting start! It can be a bit tricky but a lot of fun. What an awesome day of climbing!
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