| "Stained Glass" V10, Buttermilks, Bishop, CA is one of my top five all-time favorite boulder problems. It was at the top of my tick-list until I finally did it in 2004. Why: 1. The Buttermilks are undeniably one of the top classic areas in the U.S. 2. The Problem is Classic in history: Fred Nicole did it, and so did Tom Klinefelter, the former calling it V12 the latter V9. Fred apparently dynoed from the two good crimps, Tom did the stand-up at first. Who did it first? Who knows. 3. The setting is as beautiful as it gets. You top out to one of the best views of Mt. Tom in Bishop. 4. The climbing. Every move is very hard, precise and committing. The last move is massive off of a bad hold. 5. Start on a jug, end on a jug. 6. The rock is so clean and polished, you could lick it and it would feel like glass. 7. The feet are numerous yet dismal and require concentration on body tension. 8. Technique & Power come together. 9. Many think it is harder than the Mandala. 10. Sheer effort can not get you up it. Belief helps. 11. The day I did it, Matt Birch was giving me beta (that was too hard for me to use effectively) and although I didn't send in the am session, I rested all day and went to watch Matt try "The Swarm" V13, then still unsent. He got close. I got motivated. But the hike was long back to "Stained Glass," and it was getting dark. Oh yeah, it was our last day in Bishop. By the time I got there, running and out of breath, I was mega-psyched. I knew I was going to do it first go. I had been falling off the last move, mostly because I could not feel my fingers, but partially because I was simply not trying hard enough. I sent. First go that night. When firing for the finish jug, I stuck it with three finger-tips, the same way I had stuck Hale-Bopp in Font. I turned and looked down while I was in the sticking process to spot my landing, but I held! I was screaming for joy as I topped out and everyone was stoked. I saw Wills Young from the top of the boulder walking up the hill shouting congratulations. His truck was stuck in the ice over near "Get Carter." I tried to go and help him push his pick-up out, but to no avail. We gave him a ride back into town after that. Siemay was shooting some pics, it was just a really neat and gratifying full day, even though I had only warmed up and then tried "Stained Glass" about 4 times that day. (That's a lot of attempts on such a sharp boulder problem!) 12. I had wanted to bag that problem for 10 years. Longer than Midnight Lightning even. 13. I was an intern in my residency in emergency medicine and had been spending little time cranking. It felt great to send a hard problem despite feeling fat and out of shape. |
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