Ω Oliver Miller has climbed the neo-classic Grampians test piece, Ammagamma V13. Here’s a video of him crushing:
The Grampians: Ammagamma from Oliver Miller on Vimeo.
I think that makes him the latest Kiwi to climb 8B, the first in the Gramps since Sticky Dale Pudding. I wonder what ProBlog will say? Ω
Ω Stuart Kurth has posted a post on his semi-problog about the weather at Castle Hill. Plus a lot of sendage. Here Ω
Ω Pro blogs. So awesome Ω
Ω Ben Moon had dreadlocks, in the 1980s! Then all the cool kids wanted them. I think Colin Pohl had some for a while, in the 1990s. Derek Thatcher certainly had them for a while, although I think that was more about minimising personal admin to maximize climbing time, rather than a fashion. Now Zac Orme and Mark Pugh-Williams have them. Will the concept every get old?
From rastas to Rastus. Burn that is. It has some bouldering, not world class but worth a look if you’re in or around Queenstown. It’s most of the way up the Remarkables Ski Field road. Here’s a picture that Tom VD send us. Enjoy Ω
Ω The central character in Francis Ford Coppola’s epic film is the (assumed) insane rogue US Special Forces Colonel, Walter E. Kurtz. Some critics say that Kurtz embodies the horrors of war, others say his crazy jungle stand glorifies America’s war in Vietnam. One man’s maniacal derangement is another man’s glorious power.
And so it is with Zac Orme’s latest monument to boldness at Flock Hill. The Horsemen Of The Apocalypse is all shits and giggles until somebody falls 15 metres to certain doom. Fortunately Zac didn’t fall. V10, apparently. Large queues at the bottom, no.
I know nobody (except me) gives a f&%k about bouldering in New Zealand. If it’s not on a rope, it’s not worth mentioning. Better to report about clipping rings and jamming cracks. But Zac’s Apocalypse is a serious achievement; even more so because it doesn’t have any bolts or gear and there are no ropes. So, hangdoggers, shove that up your jumper! Ω
Ω Some people went to Elephant Rocks on the weekend. One of them pretended to be a cow. Here’s a picture. WTF LOL whatevs Ω
Ω Was reminiscing the other day about my favourite bit in Dosage 2. This almost gets there:
Awesome Ω
Ω James Morris has climbed one of the great Flock Hill projects, Moby Dick. This ‘long a project’ line is on the arete/bulge right of Psychic Tealady and has been tried on and off for 10 years (give or take). That means James was about 3 years old when it first got brushed. Now he’s gone & done the FA. Funny how the youths grow up, crush the projects of yesteryear and move on. Not funny ha ha, funny in that other way. A bit like this post. Anyways, good job James, except for the miserly V11 grade. V13 minimum, surely? Sharma couldn’t do it. COME ON!!! Ω
Ω No, not Ewan Sinclair. And not Bob Keegan either. They’re both very mellow. That’s right, it’s Oliver Miller’s new blog Ω
Ω After a couple of years of effort, Liam Dickson has claimed the 3rd or 4th ascent of Col’s Traverse V10 at Froggatt Edge. The eponymous project of racing car driver and merchant banker Colin Pohl was first climbed by Australia’s hardest climbing pie-scoffer Sharik Walker around 2004 or 2005. According to 8a.nu, it was repeated in 2007 by “User Deactivated” and again in 2010 by Stoo Kurth (who for some reason gave it another name, Paper Tiger). Col’s original objective was to do the traverse from a standing start. Sharik did that, then linked Mister Meaner V8 into the traverse to produce a harder sit start version. The stand has been repeated by James Field-Mitchell (and possibly others?). Liam is a brand ambassador for Motiv - click here for the news report Ω
