Breakdown
Climber: Vini Campos 5’9”/+2
Wall angle: 45°
Holds: Pete’s Geo Complex Series, Rock Candy Diatom Incuts Large B
RIC: Risk 1, Intensity 5, Complexity 5
This boulder was designed to merge intensity and complexity to create a high difficulty experience. Intensity is high because of the steep angle of the wall combined with a majority of the holds being flat edges. Complexity is present because of the specific body positioning needed to maintain tension. There are a multitude of micro adjustments that can be made based on climber size. Risk is low on this boulder because most movements can be done in a controlled, high percentage manner.
Influence/Aesthetic:
Vini and I approached this boulder from equal points, form and function. Aesthetically the holds are used as a set to create a visually overwhelming cluster on the wall. The holds appear to almost all be attached to one another, which can make reading the sequence challenging. The intertwining of holds lends itself to the climb having numerous small, compact movements in a small space.
Hold Selection:
The Geo Complex set was used to create a high complexity scenario. These holds are meant to be aligned together to reduce the usable surface of certain areas. This can be seen in the placement of the large triangle jugs in the beginning and certain ledges throughout the remainder of the boulder. This produces situations where holds can only be grabbed from certain angles, or are made less positive to encourage certain sequences through them.
Get Horizontal
Vini begins the boulder by bringing his right foot up and setting a left heel hook. This releases weight from his hands and lets him begin moving left.
He grabs the positive jugs to begin moving his body leftward. This moves his body over his midline.
Once he reaches the first left facing edge he can begin to start turning his body to the right.
Big Bumpin’
Vini begins this sequence by removing his left heel and placing a right heel. This allows him to push more tension into his right hand.
He bumps his right hand higher and subsequently is able to bump his left hand to the next edge.
Moving his heel hook slightly inwards allows Vini to begin repeating the prior sequence by moving his right hand up again to the smaller crimp.
Rinse and Repeat
Gaining the small crimp in conjunction with toeing down and straightening his legs gives Vini enough height to bump to the farthest left edge.
Setting a right toe hook keeps his body weight from falling too far from the wall as he moves his right hand up to the volume.
Loaded Up
Vini begins this sequence by moving his left hand to the volume; this lets him begin walking his feet leftward for opposition.
Once his right foot is brought up, he is able to flip his right hand to the bottom of the volume to generate tension between these two points.
The double underclings allow him to pressure the higher smear feet and reach out to the far right hand gaston.
Tricky Toes
Setting a left toe hook creates enough cross-body tension for Vini to release his left hand and move upward to the next edge.
He swaps his left toe hook to a right toe hook by utilizing a smear foot on the volume. This keeps his hips closer to the wall as he bumps his left hand up again.
Taking the Top
Once his left hand is on the positive ledge, Vini is able to bring his right hand up to match.
He is able to reach the finish with his toe hook still placed, but it must be released to gain the distance to match with his left hand.
Final Thoughts
Setting collaborative boulders is an effective way to get fresh perspectives on movement and ideas. Vini’s climbing style lends itself more to flexible movement and small box climbing as opposed to my preferred wide and controlled style. Working on this boulder together made it effortless to transition between restricted and spacious positions, giving the climb a varied feel. While routesetters styles might not always compliment each other, lessons can always be learned by gaining insight into other’s processes.