Breakdown
Climber: Lance Chou 5’6”/+2
Wall angle: 5° Overhang > Flat
Holds: Teknik Big Curled Slopers, Teknik Curled Slopers, Teknik Skinny Mini Pinches, SoIll Smooth X-Large, SoIll Smooth Super
RIC: Risk 1, Intensity 3, Complexity 3
The focus of this boulder was footwork and body positioning. Intensity is present through the use of tensioned movement with toe hooks, high feet, and lateral body positioning. These qualities challenge the climber to find comfort in positions where their hips are not square to the wall. The sloping nature of a majority of the holds emphasizes the necessity of technique to maintain positive grip positions. Complexity comes in the form of nuance and micro-beta. Small adjustments to foot and body positioning can be the difference between success and failure because of the directional emphasis of movement and holds.
Influence/Aesthetic
The concept for this boulder originated from a pure movement perspective with little aesthetic consideration. After searching through the selection of green holds, the largest one was the jug placed at the bottom for the toe hook. Utilizing this hold in a unique way while using smaller holds to compliment movement via grip difficulty was the goal. There are a few lines and clusters of holds, but as a whole, the boulder has aesthetic imbalance with a chaotic visual position of holds.
Hold Selection:
Determining hold choice was dependent on the movement involving the toe hook. The toe hook has to be good enough to take the weight off the climber’s hands and the hand holds have to be sloping enough that the climber is unable to brute force their way through the movement. The Teknik Thin Pinches are ideal for this because they offer a sloping surface that is thin enough to gain a thumb catch which slightly improves grip. The remaining larger slopers create a feeling of hold-type consistency throughout the entire boulder.
Trust the Toes
Lance begins by setting a left toe hook, this allows him to pull against the right-facing hands to establish.
He begins tracking his hands in to move his hips closer to his feet and align his body vertically.
Stick and Move
Once Lance’s shoulders and hips are positioned above his feet, he is able to tension his shoulders.
This shoulder tension transfers a majority of weight to his hands, allowing him to swing his right foot up and oppose his left hand.
Sliding Sideways
Lance continues to bring his feet high and right to fully weight the right-hand pocket.
Putting his body in a lateral position with high feet set him up to create dynamic momentum for the next move.
Going Big
Lance sinks his body downward, as he moves back up he simultaneously pushes and straightens his legs to quickly move upward to the next sloper.
Bringing his right foot up and pointing his knee and toe begins to bring his hips closer to the wall.
Taking the Top
Lance continues shifting his weight over his right foot while flagging his left to keep his body optimally positioned beneath the slopers.
A high left foot allows his right arm to fully lock off and shift his hips high to finish.
Final Thoughts
This was a particularly hectic day as we were down one person to set a boulder zone. This meant the team had to set a few more boulders than normal with a more of an efficient mindset. I felt that this reflected on my boulders and made them more cemented in movement rather than aesthetics. The boulders I set that day, including this one, had one “focal” movement and the remainder consisted of simple movement. I was pleased with how all of the boulders came out from this set because the speed required to meet the quotas resulted in concise movement. Simplicity can help break modern climbing back down to the fundamentals.