Horse Pens 40 Bouldering! - Day 2

Our second day of climbing started out a bit cold and miserable.  The sun decided to never come out, our fingertips were completely raw and it was cold! It took us a bit before we finally got out motivation but once we did we were ready for a good day of climbing.

Kevin and Victory warming up

I forgot the name...

Growing Stone V2?

Groove Rider V3

As part of our slabby expedition we tackled Groove Rider first. You start climbing up the crack on the right and then make a transition to the groove when you are high enough to get your foot on the good edge. The problem is easier if you got a bit more vertical but I got in a few tries! If you want to experience some groove climbing this is a good one to work on.

Earth, Wind, and Fire V4

We decided to get the "groove" going so we decided to tackle Earth, Wind and Fire. This is a HP40 classic and I would recommend people give it a go. The climb is actually not too hard but fun. As with many slab/groove problems the placement of the foot is key to move up higher. I got it on my 2nd go!

Swirls V4

This was a pretty tough climb! The beginning portion of the climb is filled with slapping frictions and then you have to do a moderately hard top out. It seems like different people have problem with different portions of the problem. To me the slopey portion felt hard and the top out pretty easy but some people seem to have a much harder time with the top out.

The Slag V5

This is the first V5 I did at Horse Pens 40! There are 2 different ways to complete the climb. One is method is a hard dyno and the other is a hard static crimp. Victor sent the climb by doing the dyno move but since dynoing is not my strong point so I tried the crimpy method. It is a bit balancy and you do need to crank on your right hand a bit but definitely easier than some other V4s in HP40.

Excessive taping is futile!

After climbing for so many hours our hands were completely raw! Taping one finger may not hinder your friction too much but taping almost all of your fingers is not advised...

Genesis V3

The last climb of the day for me was ironically the first climb ever established in HP40. The climb is not something I would consider amazing but I really wanted to finish the climb for it's historical significance. The climb is a fairly short one with a dyno. It actually took me more tries than I thought. If you have a hard time sticking the climb you might be just hitting the wrong spot. I'm just glad I eventually got it!