Grayson Highlands Bouldering

I can’t promise that when climbing this problem you will look as cool as Jackie Chan or Owen Wilson in the above “Shanghai Knights (2003)” movie poster. Close for sure, but not quite.

The problem “Shang-High Knight” (V6) is a classic, both for the grade and for Grayson Highlands Bouldering in general. The Shang-High Boulder is a tall-ish, dark, steep boulder along the Listening Rock Trail (LRT) below the SLS Boulder. This line involves steep compression climbing leading to a fun crux dyno halfway up the face. Following the dyno are comfortable, deep holds that lead up to a standard mantle over the high lip above a flat landing.

Shang-High’s steep compression climbing is somewhat unique to many other compression climbs in that your left hand must slot with precision into specific sections of

Matze Bär on Shang-High Knight (V6)

a diagonal crack. Some portions of the crack, when accurately hit, are quite deep and juggy. If the nice sections are missed, it can be difficult to continue  on with the sequence. On the opposite, right side of the compression line you climb past smooth open handed slopers and pinches to the high hold (another sloper with a thin

Derek Samples on Shang-High Knight

crimp thumb-catch). At this point, the classic beta is to huck to the high jug rail and hold the dyno’s swing. This original beta, still my favorite, is what gave the grade its v6 points years ago. Many other beta sequences have materialized since the First Ascent including hard heel-hooks and the use of the higher, tiny, left

Nick Love (right hand with the thin thumb-catch) on Shang-High.

crimp. This beta more-or-less avoids the core intensive dynamic move to the rail. While avoiding the dyno,  the newer beta sequence is still quite difficult (Jackie Chan would still be proud) and consensus agrees that the beta still earns a V6 grade.

A particular descriptive phrase in the GHSP Bouldering Guidebook illustrates one aspect of the boulder problem, and I would like to share the background of that description here (Steven Lovelace I hope you don’t mind). Several years ago one of my best friends Steve Lovelace was projecting Shang-High Knight. Steve, a meticulously technical climber with fingers strong and thin enough to make most any section of the left crack feel comfortable, had the entire sequence memorized to the point of effortlessness. Steve could smoothly execute the

Steve Lovelace dyno-ing for a flapper on Shang-High Knight (V6).

line up to the dyno crux with ease. He could likewise pull onto the sequence at the point of the dyno, jump for it, and finish the problem on command. The downside was that when attempting the line from the sit-start he had developed an unconscious habit of stepping his foot down to the pad when launching for the jug. While compiling the Bouldering guidebook, Dan Brayack, myself, Steve, and several others went to the Shang-High Boulder while Dan shot topo photos. Steve jumped at the chance to send his project while Danno was capturing guidebook shots. Steve breezed through the low section, set up for the pounce, and landed it with feet swinging out free from the pads. The swing however, resulted in one of the nastiest, bloody flappers you can imagine. This flapper precipitated to the guidebook description, “will leave your hands looking like a baloney sandwich got into it with a belt sander.” This  injury isn’t the norm however, but as with any dyno to a rail-like hold the chance for flappers isn’t out of the question!

Be sure to stop by Shang-High Knight and the rest of the fun problems on the Shang-High Boulder on your next visit to the LRT in Grayson Highlands State Park. For more info on bouldering at the Shang-High Boulder, check out pages 128-129 in the Grayson Highlands Bouldering Guidebook, and Mountain Project: http://www.mountainproject.com/v/shanghai-boulder/107282069

The name says it all. To climb this GHSP classic test piece you certainly need some true grit (and maybe a little masochism) in your character. Descriptive words that are routinely used for this line go as follows: sharp, heinous, razor blades, terrible, nope, and I’m glad I didn’t lose a finger. Most resounding of them all however, is “damn that’s awesome” as the problem is sent.  After first attempting this line in 2008 I had to return to the boulder to finish it, and after using half a roll of tape I simply couldn’t think of a more fitting name. Since this steeply overhanging blade embodies all that is GHSP and with its thin crimps, slim foothold options, and burly-ish nature it has become something of a rite of passage for many visiting boulderers. The V5 grade has been historically contested as either a hard V4 or easy V5, but the overwhelming consensus and requisite pain threshold needed to complete it has secured the grade as V5. The True Grit Boulder is the first visible boulder as you drive into the park, with its proud inclination able to be viewed from the car if looking up the bank to the left as you near the contact station pay booth.

True Grit is located along the Split Rock Bouldering Trail near the Contact Station and Park Office, within the Contact Station Bouldering Area. Hike up the short Split Rock Trail (this takes maybe two minutes if you’re limping, its midnight, and your toting 8 pads), passing the Periscope and Ranger Rick Boulders. The True Grit Boulder will be the obvious, steep, overhung blade to the left of the trail (the SRT passes directly by the boulder’s corner, you really cant miss it). Find the chalky row of thin flake crimps in the center of the boulder and follow them to the low right for the starting flake.

Stand start low, matched in or around the lowest right flake feature (match, or configure fingers however you can to post up with your feet before tossing left to the thinner middle flake). Move left to the mid flake, and then decide on one of several possible beta sequences. I won’t go over them in detail, nor do I want to spoil the skin consuming fun of deciding what to do providing you don’t flash it (which is optimal if you really don’t want to go through the sequence of descriptive words previously listed). Move through the mid, and further left flakes, and then toss up higher to the side-pull. Continue to the upper jugs to latch the “glory jug” at the top for the easiest top-out around. The landing is flat, but rocky, so bring pads!

As far as the sharpness goes, well, that’s just part of it and something to expect. Its probably not a good idea to walk up to this one expecting smooth, friendly jugs, so after reading this (and the guidebook description), if you find yourself curled up on your pads whimpering, or throwing a frustrated temper tantrum about the sharpness, you’re on your own and have been warned. Expect it. True Grit is a hallmark boulder problem for many folks who visit the park. I feel that this certainly is one of the sharpest lines in GHSP, but if you get this rig figured out and dialed in, you can sit back in the flakes as you pull through much less painfully. Be sure to pencil this one in if you have the grit to see it through, and enjoy!

P.S.

Don’t let the above “painful” description of True Grit discourage you from trying this classic. Its honestly one of, if not THE most frequented (and sent) V5s in the park, and has been a “first of the grade” for multiple climbers. Yes it is pretty sharp… But also awesome. Try it!

Mountain Project page: http://www.mountainproject.com/v/true-grit/106483563. Grayson Highlands Bouldering Guidebook (page 60).

-Big thanks to CJ Yunger for all the awesome photos!

This week’s POW (Problem Of the Week) is all about “Frites & Cassoulet”(V9), found on the Olympus Boulder in GHSP’s Picnic Area. If you have never been to the Olympus Boulder, this is a massive, steeply overhung monstrosity of a block located less than a minutes walk from your vehicle. Surrounding this boulder are two other easily accessible boulders loaded with wonderful problems, an indoor restroom, vending machines, a playground, and a nearby amphitheater where bluegrass shows can be found periodically during the summer and fall. Oh yeah, and there are outdoor charcoal pits and picnic tables next to this boulder as well, just in case you work up a hunger and brought along a picnic. Enough about the bouldering amenities for now though, lets get back to business with “Frites & Cassoulet”(V9).

This climb is tough for sure, although probably on the lighter side of V9s in GHSP (my kinda V9!). Off the bat is a tough pull off of steep, low credit card edges, sharing the same start and second move of “Fulgora”(V8). From the wicked thin crimps follows another thin crimp leading to a delicate deadpoint to a shoulder wrenching, smooth, gaston slot/crack. Once established, the problem immediately trends right through a horizontal rail and then a triangular pinch/crimp. The footwork though these moves is my favorite part of the problem. Tricky dropknees and an intense level of core tension will keep you locked into the sequence. Once established on the pinch, the last crux is a big move to a nice “brick-like” jug. Hang onto the brick and top out over the lip.

So why name a climb  “Frites & Cassoulet”? What the hell does “Frites & Cassoulet” mean anyway? The short background is that this problem used to be a V7 called “Athena” and was FAd by Shane Messer maybe 6 years ago (circa 2008/9). The start to this problem used to be a nice jug which likewise served as a critical foot throughout the line. My friend Steve Lovelace was working the problem and the start hold exploded off of the boulder, leaving behind nothing to work with. A few years later I had repeated “Fulgora”(V8) from the same start, but had not worked the line that was once “Athena”. My friends Esten and Art came down to visit two summers ago, bringing with them a strong Frenchman named Pierre.

Pierre focused in and worked hard to get what is now “Frites & Cassoulet”. When I asked him the name of the problem and described the general theme of the problem names on the boulder, being some sort of Greek god or affiliated with religion, Pierre replied with “I will name it Frites & Cassoulet.” When I asked what that meant, he replied “French fries and soup, that would be a pretty religious experience right now.”

Wiki answers elaborates stating that “Cassoulet is a ragoût, or meat-and-bean stew, from Languedoc, a region of Southwestern France. The word comes from the Languedoc name for the vessel it is cooked in: cassolo. Frites are French fries.”

Whether or not “Frites & Cassoulet” is a culinary religious experience for you, I have no doubt you can find a path to enlightenment on one of the awesome boulders in the Picnic Area.