Slivers V9

Slivers was one of the early "hard problems" that I worked on. Back in the day I had to pick problems I could work by myself since there were only a few other boulderers and most of the time I was working things out by myself after work with no spotters. This meant that most of the hard problems had to have a crux near the ground...

Slivers has an awkward start with the right foot wedged between a ground boulder and the main rock and the other sort of dangling below you. Pull up using two small slopers and then place your right foot onto the stone.

First move is a thrutch up to a decent left side pull then a high step and move up to the "sliver hold". This tiny edge sits high and directly over your starting right foot hold. Gain this sliver and then use a funky back step to get your left hand onto a good high shelf. From there grovel to the top on V4 moves.

The first time I got my left hand onto the shelf it broke off - sending me into a twisting backwards fall onto my tiny old school crash pad. I waited two weeks until I could find some spotters to try again.

Cool moves, slightly contrived but pretty sweet.

Slivers boulder is located just uphill and slightly past the visitor center off the main parking lot. Arrow shows approximate location.

EMOPU V6

This is a little know and rarely repeated problem done by an unknown climber years ago. I can't remember his name, but he wandered around the notch always wearing dress shoes with no laces. I asked him once about it and he replied very seriously "I don't like laces. I really don't like laces".

He named this route "emotionally and physically unstable" and it is. Wander up the left hand blunt arete until you can gain the top half of red cross. Harder than it looks. I'm not sure if there are more than 3 or 4 people who have ever sent it.

Primate V4

Primate is one of the classic problems in the notch - it starts low left sit on this boulder and then ascends the edge to the top.

Red Cross V9/V10

red cross - street view

This is a classic test piece (in my opinion) right off the road near the top of the notch. It was first pointed out to me by Marc Troob - a St Mike's student at the time and one of the notch regulars (and FA primate). At first we thought it would go straight up from the start holds and I spent hours scrubbing the stone above the start holds looking for a way to go straight up.

After several weeks I borrowed a trick from Sherman and broke off a tree branch that was exactly as long as my arm span. From a ladder I traced an imaginary circle around my high point and then started searching for a way out.

Close to my left arm limit was a small bit of moss that didn't look like it could possible have a decent hold under it - but after pulling off the moss, there was a tiny sharp quartz crimp that had been hiding out. This crimp turned out to be the crux hold - allowing me to put together a sequence that in turn let me get my left had again into the series of sharp quartz teeth lined pockets farther to the left. I still think this is one of the harder and more interesting lines at the notch.

History: When I first started climbing at the notch - there was a 3' long finger shaped piece of stone that had been balanced below the quartz pockets. Standing on this tooth allowed you to bypass all the hard moves and gain the first jug hold several feet off the ground. Above this at the very top was a rusty 1/4" bolt and old hanger. Turns out that this was a popular TR problem back in the day - with no one ever thinking about a way to put the traverse together to bypass the cheater block.

I named it Red Cross for a few reasons - one, I put a lot of blood into the problem while working on it. Two - I think i was working on this thing around the 9/11 time.

Rhode Island Ripper V7

Locate the striking, left-angling finger crack on the left side of a tall face above Green Egg. The face that houses this thing has a line called "z crack" on the right hand side - i've TR'd it along with a few others - but as far as i know z crack has never been soloed.

i've seen a lot of strong climbers try this and have seen a lot fail. If you do it the way the FA went i'd be hard pressed to call it anything less than V7. 

This was supposed to be a gift to a RI native i'd been climbing with for a year or so. he was heading back and wanted an FA before he went. I'd seen this a year before and hadn't even touched it - thinking it was V0- not worth pulling on. We figured he'd bag this quick and we'd try to find something more stout later. 

An afternoon later and he had to leave without either of us sending it (he ended up going knife fighter - a rarely done high ball to the left of bejeezus). I spend several days and finally ticked it. Just wish it was a little bit longe

Bejesus V4-5

One of my favorite lines in the notch. Worked on this one with Colin years ago - we were each gunning for the FA. Looser than Tammy Faye Bakers Face (smith) - this one kept breaking as Colin and I each got a bit higher.

Colin finally ticked it  - sending a classic. The trick is to start sit - then go up and traverse slightly left (otherwise you end up on a jug just up and to the right from the start -missing out on the fun if you trend slightly left. Once you gain the high quartz "thank god hold" it is a high run to the top - low angle and awesome. Stop to enjoy the view at the top just before you pull over.

The Green Egg V7

Start low on the large rail system and work your way out into a pocket that allows you to pull onto some crimps and left into another rail system before topping out. 

I saw sherman do his own second ascent of this problem (the same day i sent impossible). his beta was as described - he followed rail up to the high point in the center of the overhang, then dyno'd for a blind ledge up and behind his head. The day he was there he wanted a pic of him sending it - so carefully setup a camera uphill from the problem then set up out pads. There were three of us spotting him with one running the cam. Sherman gets to the high point and without warning hucks huge up and out for the blind toss. His spotter was too busy watching him climb and totally missed sherman coming off and he falls straight down flat on his back - from where i was standing (by camera) it looked as though he had split his skull like a melon. I fully expected to see him dead. Instead he was totally out of breath and lying stunned on the ground. missed each rock by inches and was fine. The rested for about 5 minutes and without saying a word, got back on the sent it second try.

Howler V7

Scary high ball if done "correctly" (ie the only way I could think of when trying it with Colin years ago). On the asteriod boulder - start on the blank face just right of pulled pork/boomerang. Step up on thin crimps and do a high left step onto a sloper and start groveling for a high left hand sloped finger hold. After doing the high rockover (crux) move your right hand up to the highest decent crimp and slowly move your right foot up. After getting balanced, turn the high crimp into a press down (turn your right hand and press down with your thumb on the highest crimp. Move your right foot up a bit more and then go up with your right hand to the blind ledge just below the top lip. Hitting this ledge is pretty joyous from that high and led to the name "Howler".

The Impossible Problem

Was first done in 1990? by bp after it was shown to me as "it goes this high and then it is impossible from there".