Vasya Vorotnikov terrorizing Jaws II (5.15A) in Rumney, New Hampshire. Photo: Tim Kemple - KempleMedia.com
Vasya Vorotnikov terrorizing Jaws II (5.15A) in Rumney, New Hampshire. Photo: Tim Kemple - KempleMedia.com
Vasya Vorotnikov Sends Jaws II (5.15a) in Rumney, New Hampshire By David Wetmore
If Vasya Vorotnikov isn’t out on the rock pulling crimps down to his waist, he’s in the lab, diligently studying things like fluid mechanics and unit operations. He is a 5’10”, 160-pound route climbing assassin with the energy of a jackrabbit on steroids, and, whether you’ve heard of him or not, this 20-year-old college student is, even as your read this, crushing just about every hard route in New England. Now he’s nabbed the FA of one of the hardest routes in the country, Jaws II, graded at a brow-raising 5.15a. After over a year and a half of battle, Vasya redpointed this viciously intense powerfest, which soars up Rumney’s famed Waimea Wall (on the same wall are China Beach, 5.14b and Livin’ Astro, 5.14c, among others). This new route is sure to attract some attention from the biggest and the baddest climbers around.
How does it feel to finally be done with a route you have been slaving over for the past year and half? I feel pretty, oh so pretty…I feel pretty and witty. But yeah, I’m really happy! Anyone would be after sending something he or she worked for a long time.
Can you give me a play by play on the send? A play by play on the send? If you’re asking for beta, basically you do a 5.11 climb up to the first crux, clip off the first crimp of the crux, place your right toe above your right hand, throw the biggest drop-knee you’ve ever tried to do, pull as hard as you can, and stab a quarter-pad undercling. The key beta here is to use a thumb-catch on this tiny edge that’s thinner than a credit card (but it does work!). Then you do the hardest 10-inch foot move you’ve ever done, a quick one-arm, and you’re into a ‘relaxing’ V6 boulder problem till you get a few juggy crimps. These are what you rest on. Then, you can actually do the next section two ways. Double dyno to two full-pad crimps, or you can use a little razor sidepull on the left for a huge move, keeping your feet on to those full-pad crimps. Then you just finish up on the second part of a 5.14b…
If you’re asking about what was going on that day — Well, I came to try it, like any other day; the temperatures felt really good, the undercling and two holds following it (at the top) were wet. (I had given Jaws II a good try last spring, but slipped off the undercling as it was wet.) The windy perfect conditions allowed the holds to dry off just enough for me to send, but it depended on a lot more than that. Neil Mushaweh, who’s been with me on most of my 35 or so days working it, was belaying; Jay Conway gave me a knuckle-pound, twice actually; and I was wearing my little necklace my parents brought me back from Nepal. I ended up barely sticking the foot dyno, but zoned in on the rest of the climb, focusing on one move at a time. I could feel voices of people screaming for me (Neil probably the loudest) penetrating my head, but I couldn’t hear them; I was listening to my breath, listening to what I had to say to myself before doing the second crux and the last iron cross section. I just naturally felt like I had to scream once I finished, so I topped out and kept going the top of Waimea wall.
Do you think this route marks the apex of your climbing career after 10 years of experience? This is the hardest I’ve ever climbed, so I have reached the highest point of my climbing career up till now. In the future, if my tendons stay psyched, I’ll surely keep trying to reach new limits. Just remember: if you can do all the moves, then it can be done. So I don’t think this is the apex of my climbing career.
Yo Joe! What the hell happened to Luke “Gomez” Parady? Wasn’t he our compadre and one of our best friends?- Dave Graham
Comin with the ooohhhs and the aaahhwws…good lookin' out hommie! What the hell did happen to that kid?! Straight up! I almost forgot about that guy…(pondering) Yeah, we grew up climbing with that Doot, RIGHT!! HAAAHH, Just Jivin’…That’s about as fresh as a nice, new pair of Scarpa Boosters ($ponsor$)…whuddup?! A question about Gomez…it couldn’t get much better than that Son - feel me spit hot fire.
Gomez is alive and well. Its funny, but that Player is always sending stoopit hard, and with the quickness. Though he has been missing from our little climbing world, hasn’t he? I’m witchoo Dave…I haven’t talked to him in a minute either, but I was living back in the Boulder Bubble and this is the jump off…
Blonde Model: Homeboy has a 6 foot tall, amazingly hot blonde girlfriend that’s a model! Like yo…Gomez’ girl Vanessa “V-Card” Compton…C’MOOONN!!
The girly has gotta be my man’s DREAM GIRL! Hold up for a sec…(Yelling) SHOUTS OUT TO ALL THE DREAM GIRLS OUT THERE!!! You all make us CRAZY-BIZARRE…and thass goooood.
“Fat Cat Theory”: The dude lives life like a cat. Yeah that’s kinda weird sounding, but…f’real. He’s like a feline. Let me drop eardrum bombs…or should I say “optics bombs”?
Cats always seem to find their nooks and curl up in a completely carefree manner. My roommate just got a cat and the thing does its own shit when and how it feels. The cat will be curled up on Chad, warm, comfy, and then flip-mode and go crap in its litter box without hesitating. It’s all about convenience and comfort. Yo! Gomez likes his comfort and convenience and thass no lie. I call it the “Fat Cat Theory”. The “Fat Cat Theory” stems from a few things. He has twin sisters that have always been there for Gomez to holler at when he is maxin’ on the couch and wants a drink. His parents ADORE his ass. I have witnessed them wait on him hand and foot while he steady chills. Picture Gomez in a HUGE papasan chair with white fluffy pillows and servants fanning him while he sips some sort of expensive Wild Oats protein shake.Yeah (pause)…What the hell??!!! Moving forward…
Boulder, Colorado: If you live or have ever lived in Boulder then you know what comfortable living is all about. It’s a utopia/bubble filled with beautiful rich people, landscapes, sprayers, rocks, Audis, parties, hot girls, trust-funders, pop-collars, punters, dudes wearing thongs, dog parks, GOSSIP, hiking trails, suckers, elitists, Hot Girlies, Abbey Smith, flowers, fluffy things, Alley Dorey wearing those bad-ass shorts, and all kinds of other shit you see in a fantasy land. The food in Boulder is amazing too. The amount of Whole Foods and Wild Oats that dominate this piece makes me wanna twist a hippy’s cap back...and I’m not even a violent person.
You see, Boulder being all comfy-cozy, aids in Gomez’ feline tendencies. I mean, a place like that is like paradise, right? It’s Never Never Land, its Disney Land!!! Hold up…Whuddup Erik Mushial and Al Diamond…nuff respect…
How the hell could Gomez even attempt to strive for anything else? He is content with everything he’s got going on - he is not tryin’ to blow up the spot. THAT’S the “Fat Cat Theory”. Homeboy comes correct, but his Feline instinct kicks in and then it’s all over like Joe Brooks’ climbing career. GYEEEAHH!!!
Lots-u-luv Gomez…whatever you do kid…Dave and I got you’re your back. We just miss you man. YA HEAR THAT GOMEZ!!!??? We miss you! You have always been our boy and always will be. Anduuuhhh….HOLLER ATCHA DREAM GIRL FOR US!
Elizabeth Jackson working through the opening moves of a Hound Ears classic. The Blade (V6).
Elizabeth Jackson working through the opening moves of a Hound Ears classic. The Blade (V6).
Triple Crown: Hound Ears, Boone, NC Words and Photos by Dan Brayack (brayackmedia.com)
Question: How do you (legally) get into a closed bouldering area set deep in a ritzy, gated community, and sample its concentrated, high-grade sandstone?
Answer: Triple Crown, Hound Ears.
Hound Ears, the first installment of the Triple Crown’s three-part outdoor series, is notorious for its razor sharp holds and soft grades. Soft grades, that is, when conditions are good — this year, they were downright awful.
Two steady drizzles hit the night before the comp and the rocks absorbed the precipitation like sponges. Regardless, the comp was going to go off in the morn – water-soft stone, rather than soft grades, was the name of the game, reconfiguring the playing field a bit.
The standard Triple Crown strategy is to have a wire ten high-value problems. This gives a significant advantage to both locals and returning climbers. This year’s conditions forced many to break their circuit and try different problems, however, turning well-laid plans on their head.
For the first time in Hound Ears’ fourteen-year history, a local, Jill Church, won the Women’s Open category. Jill joined last year’s overall winner, Kate McGinnis, who placed 2nd, and Japanese Climber Tomoko Ogawa, who took 3rd, on the podium. On the business-as-usual tip, the Men’s Open field was once again dominated by Paul Robinson, while Nick Vosbein took 2nd and Ryan Roden claimed 3rd. Maybe the biggest treat of the competition was the participation of bouldering pioneer and legend, John Sherman, who easily clinched the so-called Stone Master division.
Photogs dangle from the lip of the madness cave to get shots like this: Emily Harrington creeping through the steepness in Saturday's flash camp
Photogs dangle from the lip of the madness cave to get shots like this: Emily Harrington creeping through the steepness in Saturday's flash camp
Petzl Roc Trip / Rocktoberfest Words and photos by Justin Roth
OK, spraylord, you want to hear about the numbers, don’t you? I know you do. That’s why you go to 8a.nu daily to see where the new 5.15+ is, or who crusherated a V16 cave in Italy or Arkansas. But like moms always told you, you’ve got to eat something healthy before you get desert; here’s the Beta on the great cause behind the combined 2008 Petzl Roc Trip/Rocktoberfest event — all that big-number hype will come at the end.
The Petzl Roc Trip went down at the Red River Gorge, Kentucky, this October. Petzl chose the time and place to coincide with the Red River Gorge Climber’s Coalition’s (RRGCC) annual Rocktoberfest fundraiser. With such tag-team tactics, the Petzl Rocktobertripfest (not the official event title) turned into a super-event, drawing nearly 1,000 people — Petzl team pros, spectators, and everything in between — from across the world. When I registered I noticed that people were coming from across North America, Europe, even Africa.
The $10-15,000 goal was handily exceeded, as over $30,000 dollars were raised to help pay off the mortgage on the 750-acre Pendergrass Murray Recreational Preserve (PMRP), purchased by the RRGCC in 2004 and containing 300+ routes. The cash raised knocks out all of 2008’s payment, keeping the uber-classic routes of the PMRP safe from would-be developers and climbing haters for at least another year. If you want to help keep the Red, which many of the visitors admitted was one of the best sport areas in the world (I overheard several Euros say this, I swear) open to climbers and growing, go to rrgcc.org to find out more and chip in a few beans.
Mmmm...tasty knowledge. Now let’s witness the fitness (this is just a taste, too much went down to include it all):
5.14c... or harder – A guess made by British 5.15 climber Steve McClure as to the grade of Petzl bounty route project at a new area, Chocolate Factory, bolted by local, Kenny Barker. Nobody sent during the trip. McClure said: “This route will go, but man, it is way hard.” Another route at the Chocolate Factory garnered guesses as high as 5.15 from Mr. McClure.
5.14c – The grade of 50 Words for Pump, a long-standing project sent by French climber Mickael Fuselier and later repeated by Dave Graham. The route was bolted by local legend Hugh Loeffler in the late 90s and has rebuffed many attempts by strong locals.
5.14b – Grade of one of the Red’s hardest routes, Thanatopsis, FAd by Dave Hume, which was beta-flashed by Canadian Sean McColl (who then went on to onsight a 13d, White Man’s Shuffle, that same day; McColl also repeated a 5.14c called Lucifer just after the Roc Trip.)
5.13d – Difficulty of the route Ultraperm, which Emily Harrington sent in only three tries (as her tenth route of the day, according to the Petzl Team Blog; petzlcrew.petzlteam.com — go here for more results and insider info).
Joe Kinder and Chris Lindner enjoying land and sea during the filming of Spray. Photo: Brian Solano - bsproductions.us
Joe Kinder and Chris Lindner enjoying land and sea during the filming of Spray. Photo: Brian Solano - bsproductions.us
Spray A New Film from BS Productions
Joe Kinder and Chris Lindner have spent most of their lives in the fast-paced world of professional climbing. They are forever focused on honing their skills to climb increasingly difficult routes. In a sport that requires endless motivation and supreme confidence, there are constant pressures and expectations that would test the moral fiber of any person. Joe and Chris have found a way to explore the clouds with their feet firmly planted in the ground. Spray, the fourth feature film from BS Productions, attempts to capture the true spirit of climbing. Filmmaker Brian Solano followed Joe and Chris on their most recent journey, documenting every moment in crystal-clear, high definition video. The team set out to explore the treasures of California’s northern coastline, venturing the delicate beaches of Arcata, the stunning limestone of the Trinity Arêtes, the historical shores of Mickey’s Beach, and the alpine stone of Donner Summit.
With the support of Urban Climber, Smartwool, Timberland, and Evolve, the Spray DVD will be the first climbing film printed on 100% recycled materials. Available in late January, the DVD will be jam-packed with bonus footage that didn’t make the final cut. In addition, BS Productions is premiering the film at several theaters throughout the US.
On January 30, the World Premier of Spray will take place at the Boulder Theater, in Boulder, Colorado. Raffles, door prizes, athlete appearances, and poster/DVD signings will make this an event you won’t want to miss. Shows in Salt Lake City, San Diego, and New York are also on the roster. Urban Climber will feature an exclusive behind-the-scenes story in our February/March issue. To learn more, or order your copy of the DVD, check out SprayMovie.com.
EAR CANDY - Build Buildings Interview by Justin Roth
Since 2001, NYC-based musician, Build Buildings (AKA, Ben Tweel) has been turning out tracks that emphasize the complex intermingling of nature and technology, creating a meticulously scattered and minutely textured soundscape that fills a room or pair of headphones like a forest of mechanical insects. His newest co-release, an EP called Isomers,is a cross-mixing collaboration with Belarus native turned Milwaukeean, artist Marlo Bright. If the Build Buildings familiar, you’ve probably seen the name on the music credits of the Dosage movies (Volumes 2 and 3) from Big UP Productions. Like a bustling metropolis of the 21st century, Build Buildings’ music breaks down boundaries between the technological and the organic — a perfect score for our modern times.
Where you representing? New York City and Columbus, Ohio.
What inspires you? I try to make music that's minimal enough that it can incorporate those ambient noises you encounter going about life, those little percussive sounds and noises that come up throughout the day.
Describe the typical process you use to make a track. I like to find familiar noises and take them out of their normal contexts. I'll record a tiny sound, like a light switch flipping, and magnify it -- that sound is a totally different thing amplified through headphones. I try to hold onto sounds that would otherwise be lost. A pencil dropping, the oh-so-satisfying sound of peeling two Clementine wedges apart, a staple remover clicking against itself. A lot of these end up as the basis for the percussion tracks in my songs.
What’s your favorite piece of hardware for making music? Software? My favorite hardware would be a toss up between my Rode NT1-A microphone, which hears pretty much every sample I record, and my 12 string acoustic guitar. You’d probably never know there was acoustic guitar on my albums, but I use it a lot as a sample source because it's got such a rich sound with so many overtones. The heart and soul of my software setup is an audio editor called SoundMaker, for Mac OS9. It's old -- I've been using it for at least ten years. Pretty much any sample, or any instrument I record, gets manipulated and rearranged in SoundMaker.
What instruments do you play? On my records I play guitar, Rhodes piano, mbira, melodica, accordion, pretty much any keyboard instrument I can get my hands on, pencils, coins, scissors, plastic trash cans...
Which musicians live in your iPod [Google these... trust us] Toumani Diabate
Black Uhuru
Scientist
Main Sequence
Lil Wayne
Dizzee Rascal and a lot of the UK grime scene
Jan Jelinek
Opiate
Dub Tractor
Sono Oto
Young Dro
Clipse
Timbaland
Hall and Oates
Do you have any long-term musical goals? Like any self-respecting electronic music producer, I'd love to collaborate with some singers or rappers.
Where can all the music-lovers reading this get their ears on your work?
"Isomers" is out now on Standard Klik Music (standard-music.net) as a free download, and I've got a song on an upcoming compilation on Neo Ouija, due out later this year. But I've always got new downloads on my website (buildbuildings.com) and my MySpace page (myspace.com/buildbuildings). And the eager listener can find my last full-length, "there is a problem with my tape recorder," on iTunes and cdbaby.com.
Technology: good or evil? Good. Technology has brought us so many things to better our lives. Vaccines, refrigerators, the Internet, electronic music... Oh, but also the curse of killer robots.
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