There is a project on this boulder that I had done all the moves on previously but never linked the whole problem so I was stoked to get back on it.
We did a quick warm up and then got on the highball I did a couple years ago, which I think I called "The Party Bus" at the time because we had a going away/ birthday party for Liam on the party bus the day we climbed it.
The moves are not really hard on this problem at all... but it is really quite high and the top-out is the hardest par by far. Jamie showed no fear whatsoever as he got to the top out on his first go then dropped off... while me and Bruneau were dropping off without even getting up to the top out...
Then on just his second attempt on the problem Jamie sent the whole thing, with far fewer pads than when the problem was first climbed.
Here's a video of Jamie's Send.
Kelligrews High-Balling from Dave Stack on Vimeo.
Once Jamie sent me and Bruneau decided we would rather work on the new project... which definitely had nothing to do with being scared of the highball..... cough...
So we got to work on the project. It took me a little while to remember the moves, and they felt just as hard as they had last time, but I was confident the problem would go quickly, if not in that day then in just a couple sessions.
Bruneau developed his own tall person beta involving a big reach off a hard lock off, while me and Jamie tried to heel hook and squeeze our way up.
The individual moves all went with both versions of the sequence and soon we were all stoked we could send it and were competing for the first ascent.
A couple of split tips took Jamie out of the game early and it was down to me and Bruneau. Bruneau had stuck his big reach move from a stand start but was having trouble sticking it after doing the first moves. But he was getting closer every attempt.
After going back and forth coming close Jamie said he had to leave in order to make it back to work, so we had one more go each. Bruneau came agonizingly close to sticking his crux move but didnt quite make it. Then I managed to pull through and stick my version of the crux move... and after a slight dilemma where I could not find a hold to help with the easy top out moves I eventually managed to make it to the top for the first ascent.
We named the problem "It's always sunny in CBS" because as we were driving out of St. John's in pouring rain we kept saying "sure it's rainging here but it's always sunny in CBS." Half joking and half hoping that if we said it enough it would be true... and sure enough when we got out there the rock was dry and the sun even managed to part the clouds a few times.
It's Always Sunny in CBS from Dave Stack on Vimeo.
So two days into September that's one project down, hopefully it's a sign of things to come.
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