Amazing New Tahoe South Shore Zone

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I have a nice gift for all the South shore locals to keep you psyched for when the snow eventually melts:

Echoland. The biggest Jackpot of my life.

What follows are photos and descriptions of a new area that I discovered and am developing. I have told close friends about this area, but with the exception of Joel Zerr who has made it out once before the snow came, I've mostly been developing solo.


above you can see the main cliff which will need to be developed. It has amazing features and very good route potential. The boulder in the foreground has not been touched yet... There are probably a hundred boulders and hundreds of new lines to do.


Look at this overhang! If anything goes here, it will be very hard.


Tall. amazing 4 star proj on the right with many other lines all around.


4 star TALL slopey pockets and eyebrows/rails.


Great potential.


Very nice overhang higher in the talus.


The boulders extend down to the forest floor. This is a big boulder.


Quality Granite. Project.


"Hitotsu" 4 star V7. Tall and proud. The first line I did. Solo mission.



Massive Talus boulders up to 30' tall! Fixable landings for the most part.


Sick hanging Proj that Joel and I worked. Top out is the crux!


"Futatsu" V8. The second line I did, solo. Really intricate climbing up perfect slopers. Very Fontish.


The "Ninja Warrior" V9. Also a nice line with a really cool swing move.


Cool projects.


More projects. Kind of overwhelming to be honest.



This is a tricky spot to get to. I have hiked in 3-4 different ways looking for the best way. It's about 30' hiking. Too hard to describe where it's at, but this area is much more extensive than Eratica or Caples and with better stone.

I made it out there 4 times before the snow came this year and told some good friends about it, but there are so many projects going up and lines to repeat that we have mostly decided to save this area for next summer!

Perhaps we can hook all the crews up and develop this astounding new zone in time for the eventual Dave Hatchett south shore and satellite guides.

Finding and developing new zones and lines is a passion of mine, and Tahoe has been an amazing place to contribute to the climbing history.

For Tahoe, it truly is a golden age of rock climbing.

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Klem Time V10

Joel and I scoped a new zone it at Doyle, CA the other day and discovered a zone with about 50 new problems.

Joel got the ultimate score with his quick send of "Klem Time" V10. I pretty much did all the moves in the biting cold, but did not have the gumption to go for the link. Joel, on the other hand, manned up and got down in a big way! Dude dug DEEP! Screaming and cutting loose several times on horrible holds, rebating his way up the technical power face. Check it:

This is the position of the stand start (about V7). The sit adds 3 burly moves on bad holds with negligible feet smears and a lot of footwork. Sick!


Klem Time is definitely hard for the grade, and we contemplated slapping 11 points on it, but its nice to have solid grades... We shall see what others think. Either way it's a three star classic that pays homage to a climbing legend who has impacted our sport in such a positive way. Plus, you've really got to try hard on this one!!!

After the crux is a heady V4 top section over a so so landing. We only had two pads, but ideally, you should have 3 or more.

Here are some more pics:



One move in from the (crouch) start.



By the time you get up high, you are on oppositional holds that are mostly secure. Heady!

After this sweet line, we went and put up a nice crimper V8 with exceptional moves and enigmatic sequences. "Semi High Profile" is a must do V8! These problems and many others will eventually make it into a future Dave Hatchett Tahoe satellite guide.

There are still many problems to be done at the new spot, and of course there is the as yet unfinished "Diamond Project" which is likely in the V12 range. I can't wait to see this one. Doyle is a massive zone with mostly so so rock. The climbs are really great though, and there is so much rock that there has to be a ton of good lines... and there is!

Lastly, kudos to Jesse Bonin for taking down a really cool line in South Lake called "Solasit" ungraded. Jesse suggests V9 for this climb but is awaiting consensus. this climb is low down in the Mountain Beavers and has been waiting for a true first ascent (I had done a high start in summer at about V7, but the classic line starts on good holds down low. Nice one, Jesse! Weather and conditions permitting, This new line is high on my list!

That being said, I hear we are getting up to 6 feet of snow this weekend.

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Noah's Ark, new V10 @ Bliss

Before I even moved to Tahoe about 7-8 years ago, I didn't know much about the scene except for what my good friend Jesse Bonin showed me and all the amazing new lines he was putting up.

Noah's Ark V10 FA @ Middle Bliss



I bought the guidebook and started checking out the established zones always thinking of moving out here since I knew the potential was vast.

After doing the harder lines at Bliss, I decided to add a sweet problem which had been overlooked for good reason. From a distance, it looks like an impossible slopey top out, from close up, it looks just as unrealistic. Surprisingly, though, and after a good scrubbing, some Fontainebleau like slopers and a really good technical mantle revealed itself. The end result was the stand start to this amazing line which felt about V8. It's a really neat, hard to fathom problem that is insecure up bad slopers. In great conditions, the line (now) feels more like V7.

Shortly after the FA, I spied the obvious sit thinking "someone will surely add that!" Well, I finally added the sit start the other day, and let me say; It is a terrific addition! We called it "Noah's Ark" since the weather forecast was for a deluge in Tahoe.

Locals Dave Hatchett and Mitch Underhill repeated the stand quickly and Mitch is looking great on the sit as well.

The moves and grips are really cool and the line will probably see a lot of attention. It is a must do double-d for the local connoisseur or visiting hard(wo)man alike.

We had been blessed with another snowless winter so far in Tahoe-land, but alas, the snow has come and it is officially road trip/B-town/Doyle and other desert areas time...

Keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming post about a MEGA new area I found and have been developing in Tahoe on the South shore. This is a total jackpot find! Pics and post coming.

So much to do in Tahoe!




Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Insanity V11

Congratulations to Joel Zerr on his recent second ascent of the very difficult Tom Herbert line "Insanity" V11. This is a great and very powerful 3 move power testpiece in Northern Nevada off 395 at a small boulder called the Cow Pie. Joel also repeated a three star V9 there called "Bomb Squad" That I did in the past. It is very good.

Nice work, Joel!





Insanity, V11




Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Crossfire Hurricane V12

I recently sent the stand start to a longstanding steep cave line at Sugar Pine one. Anyone who has been there will instantly recognize it, and many of us have been trying it for years.



Crossfire Hurricane, V12 (stand)

Unfortunately, the climb has been moist with the recent storms and secondary to its aspect. There is an ultra classic V8 sit start that definitely adds a star and must be done. I did all the moves fairly easily, but the final move (the stand start) is a V11 move in its own right (for me.) This move is RADICAL. Climbing into this crux will likely add a grade.

IF you are 6'2", good at dynoing off small crimps into a full-span overhanging iron cross, from a bad heel hook and scrunchy position, well, this may be V11 from the stand. It is a surprisingly complex move; both technical and powerful. The crux can also be done with an alternative sequence that is likely V12-13. Jesse Bonin and I worked this line together years ago and he looked really strong on it (surprise surprise,) so I am sure there is beta for shorter climbers. Honestly, though, this thing is morpho and just sick if you are not a tall gangly bastard such as myself.

Huge hat tip to Isaac Caldiero who got us re-energized on this oft tried, seemingly impossible line. Also, Clay Josephy for helping prep/restore the line this year after freak natural events briefly obstructed the line.

This line is right near the Beast (and therefore Focal Point.)

It is about a 5 minute walk from Kyle O's amazing sloper testpiece: Polar Opposites, V11.

Here are some more pictures of the amazing holds and the climb itself. The sit will be legendary and is solid 12 bangs, although all of these grade speculations need consensus:



Massive hoss to an iron cross, or delicate slopey dead points for shorter beastly types.


The crux hold: Space peanut? Side pull crimp.


Sit start with two rad gastons.


Left hand side pull for the second move. Such a cool grip!


Amazing pinch jug halfway up the steep wall.


...There is a rock behind the problem; this is looking down on the line. The rock does not get in the way, and although I have fallen off of every move, I never hit the rock. HOWEVER* On the FA of the stand, I did dab the rock on my swing. It was inconsequential and did not help, but I topped the line out anyway for a tainted FA. The line really should go from the sit anyhow, and I will definitely be back ASAP, weather permitting to wrap this thing up.

Technically, and I believe this, the pure FA has yet to be done! Get after it!

Hopefully, we can snag a vid of this despo line.

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Isaac and Laura's Tahoe Video

Hats off to Isaac & Laura! Their Tahoe/Sierra's climbing vid is one of the best trip vids I've ever seen.

Watch Isaac crush, me do some FA's around Tahoe, and Siemay and Laura represent as well. There's also some minor surgery...

Great vid. Check it out:

Northern Sierra Mtns. Bouldering from Shibidaang on Vimeo.

Let them know what you think in the comments!

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Gotta Start Somewhere...

Yeah, I rule.



Discovered this classic 1990 video during Thanksgiving family video review.

Pathetic!

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Deadbeat Dads V9

Well, Joel flashed it with better beta! I repeated it, and it is now V9 although more consensus is warranted! Instead of the huge throw like I did, Joel grabbed the left hand crimp and went again. I repeated fairly easily and crossed off the crimp... still a mega line!




(Handlebar Mitch under DBDs. The problem starts down and left on the underclings...)

The sesh today started at Welcome to the future:


(Jon Thompson crushed this thing, but had a dab on a spotter and manned up and jumped down to keep it pure.)

Everyone pretty much did the stand (classic V9) and Joel and I did the sit (V11.). It was a good sesh and everyone made a lot of progress. I enjoyed the climb so much that I ran a lap on it, doing it twice from the sit!



(Mitch on the slopey intro moves to this Tahoe Mega line. Hat tip to Jesse Bonin for the vision on this one. The landing is perfect now, so get out there!)

Mitch Underhill crushed the V9 stand and is looking strong on the sit. It's good to get one of our hard route climbing brethren out here on the boulders for some pebble wrastling.

Snow's a coming, so the whole crew is Bishop bound this weekend for more project work. ...Local Jake Novotny is close on The Swarm, V14 and Joel is almost done with The Buttermilker, V13 and looking strong on The Specter, V13. I also want to finish the Buttermilker which has always looked so hard to me. I'm psyched to have the beta now and put in some effort down south since the Tahoe season was meh...

Lastly, a fond farewell to our close friends Isaac and Laura from Utah. Isaac Caldiero is an old friend and it was great having him out. He flashed many a hard V10 and 11 while here and polished off some harder lines as well. He briefly worked on the V13 or 14 proj at the Ronin, and came up with sick beta that us locals may be able to use to work the line into submission this winter.

We will be traveling to St. George this winter to hook up with these crazy cats and I will share the amazing Tahoe video edit that Isaac and Laura are working on when it is done. I only wish they could have had slightly better weather! Either way, they loved Tahoe and canceled the rest of their road trip to stay here longer. Isaac had an amazing end of trip send of Luminance, V10 Flash (ground up.) It is hard to realize how proud this is unless you climb V10 and go look at how balsy this climb is. Sick job, bub!

These are the days to enjoy, my friends!

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Deadbeat Dads V10

Today I had a caught a sesh with my good friend, Mitch Underhill. We started at Mamma Cat and I showed him some of the sweet new lines on that block. He had a quick send of Dano's Arête V8 and then some good attempts on Deja Vu V9 (which was in the sun and a little warm.)

After warming up, we cruised up to the Local's Area; the big split boulder off the North side of the road in Hope Valley, west of the Mama Cat on Hwy 88.

Since we were feeling strong and since the temps were so nice in the shade, we decided to attempt an old project to the left of the big arête. This amazing line cleaned up well, despite the initially grainy rock. I have been trying this thing off and on for years, but it finally went down today. Mitch was very close as well, and I'm sure he will finish this climb soon!

I felt the grade was probably V10, but it could be easier or harder, we will need some consensus, so go do it and let me know!

Here is a photo sequence of Mitch on the route:




start on rad under clings with jibby feet.



Cool lock move to small pinch



Bamn! Left to another sweet undercling crimper.



Throw a massive move to a big rounded jug, or make a hard move to a good crimp (pictured.)

Or...


BIG move. Radical.



Then a nice V3 to the top with cool holds & nice height. (This was the established line on the bloc.)

A legit new addition to the hard circuit! Deadbeat Dads!

Get some! Let us know in the comments what you think of this cool new line

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Joel Zerr crushes the Tsunami Wall & Bangs out a sick new FA!

Congratulations once again to local hardman, Joel Zerr, for getting it done on the Tsunami Wall and elsewhere. Check out this great Thompson vid which captures the FA of a new V12 that Joel added to this intense wall and aptly named "Point Break:"



These lines are epic! Cool holds and a really nice peaceful setting. The line to the right of Point Break is still a project and perhaps the hardest big line on the wall. This is the third and highest tier of the popular but relatively unknown Castle Peaks/Boreal bouldering area (See Dave Hatchett's guide when it comes out.)

Congrats to Joel for also repeating a North Shore Charlie Barrett V12 called "Boyz in the Hood." Joel crushed this line and a nice V10 to the right of it called "Humble Mumble." "Boyz in the Hood" used to be known as the "Woodpecker project" before Charlie took her down in the mid 2000's.

Joel's other four star V11 FA called "Progressive Disillusionment" is just below the Tsunami a little ways. Nice work, Joel!

In other news, my old friend Isaac Caldiero and I went to Jesse Bonin's Tahoe Testpiece "Welcome to The Future," V11 today... It was restored! Someone, ostensibly the perpetrator of the excavating crimes, has filled the gaping excavation mess below the problem with dirt and sticks. The landing is perfect once again, if not as aesthetically pleasing given the dearth of tall green grass that once was...

...I fell off the V4 move going to the lip after sticking the crux move to the pocket from the low start. Heartbreaking. It felt pretty easy today actually, and although I have done the original stand many times (V9), I am psyched to add the legit start to this Bonin Masterpiece. Isaac had a great flash attempt but was thwarted by somewhat manky conditions, little light and not enough rest! I think this thing will go down first try for both of us next sesh.

Lastly, a big shout out to Ian Cotter-Brown for the third ascent of Kyle O's wonderful Sugarpine sloper problem "Polar Opposites" V11. The grade on this one is in flux since the problem is so slopey and weather dependent. (In fact, many grades from hard ascents from this summer are in question since the climbs have been flashed, repeated and sussed!)

Take all grades with a big grain of sand. They are merely suggestions!

So much more to come.

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Tick Marks

From my friend Matt. A friendly reminder about the dangers of the rookie stripe.


Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Amazing new lines

Here is a great new video from Jon depicting many of the new lines that went up this summer around Tahoe in the V7-9 range. If these lines inspire you, buy Hatchett's guidebook when it comes out since all these problems and areas will be included.

Check it:




Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Burning Man 2012

*WARNING*. Non-climbing post to follow.

This pretty much sums it up. Incredible burn this year, can't wait for the next!

Burning Man 2012 - Aerial from Heliprod on Vimeo.

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Disgrace

Welcome to the disaster.




This is Jesse Bonin's Tahoe masterpiece "Welcome to The Future" V11. Unbelievable. This is a highly sought after area testpiece for many visiting climbers. The slopey granite feature is reminiscent of Font and the rock is perfect. This climb was number 25 on the DPM top 100 problems in the US (for what it's worth.)

The offender, who has since been arrested and fined $20,000, would not listen to climbers after we confronted him peacefully several times and told him this was illegal and just disrespectful to the land. Apparently he found buckets worth of Native American pottery artifacts.

We finally involved John Q. Law and the community came together and dealt with this douchebag legally and without violence. Apparently, he faces stiff fines up to $20,000 and jail time.

Hat tip to Brad Perry for really getting things done! Give him a handshake when you run into him at the Push wall and thank him for a job well done.

I can't wait until the grass grows back and this boulder is as beautiful as it once was. Such a line!





Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

More New Stuff...

Check it. Another fine video chronicling the rampant development in the Tahoe basin. Hat tip to Jon Thompson. This is truly the golden age of Tahoe bouldering.



and here is another amazing Kyle O line that I recently repeated:



4 stars! This line is one of the best for the grade in Tahoe. It is long and puppy on golden crimps for the first half and then slippery slopers for the finish. Amazing line!

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Cold Stream part Trois

Another great line out at Coldstream Canyon:



This line is really cool.  It feels like the hardest line I have done out at Coldstream so far and feels similar in difficulty to Red Fern, V11.  I spent 3 days on this rig;  the first day with Kyle and Joel we could not figure out all the moves and we were just trying the stand!  The second day, I figured out some really helpful beta and got psyched.  I tried to rally the brethren for a posse tromp, but alas, it turned out to be a solo mission with the fam.

But luckily, there was sendage!  ...Siemay and I put up several other sweet lines including a really neat one move V8 over near the Fern lines.  Thuggish!  Although the temps are still not right for the truly hard lines, the crew is in fine shape, perhaps the best ever, for the upcoming epic Tahoe season.

Going out to Cold Stream again tomorrow if anyone wants in!

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual

THE MAMMOTH GUIDE

...No, it's not really really big, it is awesome though and will get you to theses amazing problems:


Wave Catcher, V11


Another rad climb amongst many at Way Lake!
Visit http://mammothboulderingguidebook.com/ to order this must have Sierra bouldering hotspot! Mammoth has been the "new" underground spot that locals have been going to. I myself enjoy the bouldering there more than Bishop which is sharp, crowded, and played out with hordes of climbers from LA and the world.

Okay, okay!!! Fine. Bishop is rad, too.

I'm getting a Mammoth Bouldering Guide, are you?

Kudos to Charles Barrett for the hard work and quality job.

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Cold Stream part Deux

More media from this Tahoe gem of an area. Many new lines to be done!

Return of Fern Sit V10:



Maverick Renegade V10, another video edit/angle:






Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.

Cold Stream

There's been a few new North shore spots getting the love these days: Summit Lake is very cool with nice bullet granite and Cold Stream (once briefly known as the "Death March" boulders) has proven to be a new amazing zone with many blocs on different tiers of slabs. There are many steep featured lines of excellent quality and projects all around.

Here is Kyle O'Meara's mega line "Maverick Renegade" V10:



Check out this great video of Jon's documenting some good work on a giant boulder:



Check out these phtogs!:

Another 4 star Kyle O V8 called "Kids These Days" at Cold Stream Canyon. So sick! I love this climb!

Really cool new line I just put up at Cold Stream. "Zun Factor" V6



Siemay Transversing the rail into Jon Thompson's amazing "Rock and a Hard Place" steep compression line...

Even Baby Z loves this place!

The amazing crag behind the first tier boulders that has amazing 5.12-5.14a climbing including Jimmy Hayden and Kyle O'Meara's 5.13a/14a (direct) 4 star "Meteor Shower" route and D. Griff's amazing 13.a "Constant Sorrow.". Sport climbin'!!!

One of the best bouldering lines I saw up there was the 4 star line "Return of Fern" opened by the one and only Tom Fern on a brief visit here with his kids. I recently sent this rad V9 sloper squeezathon, and today added the super cool sit to bump the grade up to a 10-banger. Joel Zerr and Kyle O got psyched also and climbed the new addition quickly. Kyle also did the Fern Transverse, V11; a sweet vario traverse in with amazing moves done by Moses Potter. Moses is cranking after a long trip to Rocklands! Nice Moses!

Today was also a productive and beautiful day with the Team. Joel and Kyle and I developed several classic new lines today in the V6-9 range and tried a hard new project at sunset.

I also did an FA of a radically gymnastic and bold dyno called "Twist & Shout" V9. Though not tall, this 45 degree overhung double dyno has a totally insane swing to control. This line's move is really really cool, and I will try to get a video.

Joel did a sweet steep power V10 on the final approach to the second tier as well. We also did a really nice sloper V6 on the same boulder. I will have more video and photos in the coming days. rock climbing is so much fun!
This area is too difficult to give beta to in the blog, but it will be in Hatchett's guide due for a spring release. It is definitely one of my favorite spots in Tahoe and the bouldering here is secluded and sublime.

Get out and crank! The season is almost here!

Seek perfection of character, respect others & Try Hard. Noah as usual.