B² Productions | Climbing Blog

The sun was creeping in round the side of the blinds as we woke up on our third day in Moab. The more we were settling into life on the road, and life in the US time zones, the later we were starting to wake up too! We finally managed to get ourselves sorted and out of the hotel around 10:30 though. Our plan for the (late) morning was to head to Arches National Park. We loaded up on intensely sugary breakfasty type things from the gas station a couple of doors down, and made the short trip out of town to the park. We wound our way up the steep road that leads up to the start of the amazing, epic landscapes and rock forms. I had visited Arches the previous year, and it is certainly one of the most striking National Parks I’d been to. Although not as lush, green or classically “beautiful” as Yosemite, for example, the sheer vastness, scale and impossibility of some of the arches and rock forms there make for a very different and unusual form of beauty. For a climbing obsessive it’s a paradise as well.

A panorama from Arches National Park (taking in The Three Gossips and Sheep Rock)

As we drove between spots and shot photos, I would find myself staring up at Balanced Rock and imagine myself trying to get round the underside and to the top of this huge, precariously balanced boulder. We drove near enough the length of the main round which runs length ways up the middle of the 76,359 Acres of the park, stopping intermittently to look and various vistas. Towards the end of the road, we stopped at Devil’s Garden Trailhead and got out for a walk. We strolled through the parking lot and spotted all the different license plates from around the country. There were people here from New York, Michigan and even as far afield as Vancouver! Such is the pull of this incredible beauty spot, tagged onto the edge of a little town in the middle of the Utah desert. The path lead us away from the car park, and then split off in a variety of different directions. We took the trail off to our right and went and looked at Tunnel Arch, which was more of a giant hole than an Arch. We then doubled back on ourselves and headed towards the end of the trail, and to Pine Tree Arch. Although tucked away at the end of the trail, Pine Tree Arch offered a really nice, beautifully framed view of the park to the North. By now, the clouds were starting to appear again, and was turning the weather quite humid and uncomfortable. We decided to call it a day for Arches, and we made the slow drive back through the park and back into Moab.

Our destination was a pretty easy choice: McStiff’s it was for lunch and another three hours worth of pool practice! It was nice having the loft at McStiffs to ourselves. We more or less had the whole place to ourselves. We strung out our lunch and games of pool, and generally felt incredibly chilled. I felt grateful to be on the trip, and felt the most relaxed I had for a long while. At around about 3:30, we decided it was time to get motivated, and get back out to the rocks. We swung into the hotel on the way back to Big Bend, gathered up our stuff and hit the Hwy 128 out of town. Big Bend was deserted when we arrived. It was a lot cooler in the valley, and we still had a good five hours of daylight left. We headed to the Black Box Boulder again, and began a short warm up. After the successes for the previous night, we decided to try out some other new problems. We wandered down towards the road, and sussed out a few simple problems on the Flat Top boulder. Flat Top is around ten or twelve feet high with a great long face of tiny pockets and crimps. We tried a couple of problems: The Pregnancy Arete and Leftover Lover.

Benny on the Flat Top Boulder

Continuing our extended warm up, we got a few tricky problems on the Hueco Boulder. As the name suggests, the boulder maninly consists of a row of long Huecos, under a large, slabby face. Benny was keen to try Ranger Bob (V1), which, from a standing start began with a mantel up onto a large ledge, before following a thin crack up the slab. Benny managed the mantel easily, but struggled with the slab. He was having a hard time getting his feet established on the awkwardly angled edges, while still maintaining a decent grip on the crack. Also, the large shelf which he mantled on t begin with went from being a big help to a massive psychological hinderance! It was pretty off putting to commit to the sketchy moves on the highball slab with the knowledge that you’d have a nasty fall onto the ledge! He decided that it wasn’t worth the risk, and after watching Benny on the problem for a good five minutes trying to figure out the sequence, I decided the same. We decided instead to have a stab at Upwardly Mobile (V0) just next door. It started with a sit start on good huecos, before making a massive, off balance move (for me at least) to a side pull. With a lot of heaving and liberal use of the arete, I managed to get up right, and then it was a case of keeping my head in the game long enough to get up the easy but high slab. Benny managed the problem with relative ease as well, albeit with a different sequence at the bottom.

After the warm up, we were feeling good. And, although we’d been enjoying the new problems, the pull of Circus Tricks, which was still close by was too strong. We had to give another try – it was our last night after all. I wasn’t especially confident that I’d get any further along, but I had to give it a while none the less. We chucked the matts down underneath and started working the top section again. At least it was easy to work the crux from the ground. I managed the first couple of moves to get established again on the, by now, all too familiar, bad undercling side pull. I tried more elaborate foot sequences, trying to established as high as possible, before my my fingers finally gave out and I’d drop off. Benny was managing to stick the undercling move now as well. He had to cut loose, but summoning up a phenomenal amount of body tension, he managed to keep himself on! He was now facing the same problem as me, in that he had to work out where to put his feet. We took a break, and spent some time brushing and examining nearly invisible edges in search of something. Benny pointed out an edge for my right foot, slightly higher and longer than what I had been previously using. I’d previously dismissed it as being too small and in the wrong place, but Benny insisted that that was the foothold that he’d seen another guy use to stick the move to the top. I decided to take his work for it, and gave it a try. And you know what, he was right! I jacked my foot up to the hold, and by turning it sideways it sat quite nicely in place. I only had a second or two to make the move, but with my legs now more bent up, I found I could spring off it toward the lip. On the first couple of tries I came incredibly close, getting my fingers well over the lip, but just not being able to hold it! After a couple more attempts I nailed it! I hung there, wondering how to solve the next little problem – The awkward, mantelly top out. I got into this position a couple of times, and just couldn’t bring myself to throw my leg up and over to top out! I felt a lot more confident and excited about it now though, but unfortunately very tired at the same time. I just wished we had another evening to try it. Gah! We had to pack up and leave the next morning. It looked like Circus Tricks would have to wait until another time. I have no idea when though…

Benny on Circus Tricks

We decided to end on a high, so we packed up and headed back into town for dinner. Moab had been great again, and I hope to get back there one day. But now, it was off to somewhere new for both of us! The next day we were heading off across Utah to Joe’s Valley! And we had no idea what to expect…

Hueco Rock Ranch

Leaving behind a stormy Phoenix, we hit the road, eastbound towards the Lone Star State. Only one thing was between us and Hueco and that is the barren wasteland that is south New Mexico (I should add that we have since seen a lot more of New Mexico and some of it is stunningly beautiful). The drive was long and boring, about the only novelty were some roadside signs advertising ‘The Thing’ which turned out to be a petrol station, a huge letdown, even more-so because we didn’t need fuel. Oh, and it rained. A lot. The whole way. Not the best introduction to a new state.
El Paso eventually appeared over the horizon, and it truly is a little American slice of Mexico. As we rolled up Montana Avenue, past the numerous strip clubs, prisons and scrap yards – I did wonder whether we were in the right place. Sure enough at the top of the hill, Hueco Tanks loomed in the distance. Too tired to be excited, we bumped down unpaved road in search of the Rock Ranch. With help from the Guidebook and no help from TomTom we pulled up outside the Ranch. Charles (owner of the ranch) welcomed us with a hearty handshake a a broad smile. Pausing from his evening’s entertainment (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) he showed us round what was to be (and he couldn’t stress this enough) “Oh house!” The Hueco Rock Ranch is a pretty incredible place. A big ol’ house in the middle of the desert, a stones throw from Hueco Tanks park. We were given the full guided tour, through the many bedrooms, open plan living/dining/kitchen/bar, the barn complete with $100 pool (which Charles was very proud of), the slacklines. In short, the works. And it was all at our disposable. I told you it was an incredible place! For the first time on the entire trip I felt at home. We chilled out and read through the endless back issues of Urban Climber, and messed around on the finger boards and campus rungs mounted on the back of the stairs. After we’d relaxed, unpacked and started to recover from the drive, it was time to get provisions! Another bonus of the Rock Ranch was he had full use of a kitchen! Ben had all sorts of grand plans of some home cooked comforts we could create, which would offer a nice change from eating out every night. With The Tank now empty, we bundled back in and headed back towards El Paso and Walmart.

We pulled out from Hueco Tanks road onto Montana Avenue and made our way back the way we’d come. All was fine until an unfamiliar light flashed up on the dashboard. This is rarely a good sign. And this occasion would be no exception. We’d gotten a puncture! I swung into the nearest lay by and we anxiously jumped out of the car. Ben announced that he could hear hissing from one of the back tires. Dammit. We found the instruction manual, and before long we hand The Tank jacked up, the offending wheel laid on the side of the road and the new one in place. Thanks to a good team effort, we were back on the road again with only 30 minutes added to our journey. We arrived at the biggest Walmart we’d ever seen and proceeded to get loaded up with food for the next few days and some by now, well earned beers. After a slightly bizarre scenic detour from TomTom we we heading our way back to the Ranch. While Ben and Snoo sorted out the massive pizza we’d bought for dinner that night, Ashby and I recalled our eventful evening to Charles. There was nothing really left to do other than eat, wash up and flick through the Hueco Tanks guidebook in preparation for the following day. Excited to get to the park, we all headed off to bed to get rested for our first day in the park.

Zorro is a beautiful classic line in Curry Village in the heart of the valley. We had tried it last year and didn’t make much progress on it. Revisiting the valley this year, it was the problem that Ben and I really wanted to send. Did we? Well you’ll have to check out the video to find out?

Waking up in Bishop the next morning, it was clear that Ashby wouldn’t be able to climb. He had hurt his back the day before and decided that he would try and find a Chiropractor. The sun was beating down and it felt insanely hot even at 7am. Not hot enough to stop the rest of us climbing though, after a quick breakfast it was back to the Happy’s again. It was clear on the hike in that we would only have a few hours before the heat became too much, so we headed deeper into the valley in search of some classics. The first one we came across was Pirate Booty, a short but tough V3 with a big move from sitting. Ben and I began working the sit start, struggling to haul off the ground, as Snoo watched on. We eventually worked out the start and began to piece together the top moves. It came together quite quickly in the end, luckily as the little shade we had was vanishing fast.

Benny at the Happy Boulders

Another V3 ticked, we headed off to the awesome looking Solarium (V3). It was certainly one of the most ascetic looking problems in the Happy’s, tiny crimps up a slightly overhanging smooth face to a beautiful fractured slab. I couldn’t wait to try it, Snoo – not so keen, headed off to try Indecision (V0), a nice looking diagonal crack up a sheer face. Solarium has an easy sit start, unfortunately it’s up to a really loose hold likely to break off in the near future yarding some unfortunate into the cacti (it does look like there is a new hold underneath and the grade will likely remain as-is). It’s then a crimpfest to the penultimate hold, a sharp two finger crimp. The crux (for me at least) was the last move, a big deadpoint throw to a hold on the lip. We linked the start together quickly but it became apparent that the last few moves would require some deft footwork combined with some strange crimp/pinch combinations. After a rest, I had a good burn and threw to the top, not quite managing to latch the hold, I was down on the crash pad thanks to some astute spotting by Ben. Meanwhile Snoo had completed Indecision from standing and had begun to try and add a sit-start, good work! It was getting towards midday by this point, and the heat was totally draining. We decided to have a few more goes on Solarium before heading back to the car. Ben had a couple of good attempts, but was getting shot down on the awkward pinch/crimp a couple of moves from the end. I jumped on for another attempt, feeling pretty shaky, I managed to get up to the penultimate hold again. Feet up and throw! I hit the top in the wrong place, a sloper instead of an edge. I peeled off backwards and hit the deck, slightly shaken looking up to see where I had missed the hold, Ben notices my finger dripping with blood. The sharp hold had sliced right into my left index finger. No more climbing for me a while.
We caught up with Ashby back at the hotel. He had been on a walking tour of Bishop, unfortunately being the weekend, he couldn’t get his back looked at. We headed out for food and milkshakes at Jack’s Bakery. We made plans to have an extended Buttermilks session into the dusk, a visit too KMart had come up trumps with it’s £5 LED head torches. After a siesta at the hotel we headed out on Buttermilks Road.

The Birthday boulders were first on the list, we drove slowly past the desert marathon runners – crazy! The Birthday boulders are home to the Prow (V1 from standing, V2 from sitting), a beautiful proud line on the face of the left rock. Whilst not classed as a highball by Buttermilks standards, it is high by our standards. First up was Ben with a neat flash of the standing version – great work. Snoo who had previously been working Birthday Left (V0) with Ashby, came over to try the Prow. There are two distinct sections, the lower power moves and the delicate top, although the handholds are positive the feet feel tenuous. Snoo worked out the lower section quickly from standing and soon found herself on the delicate top section. With some gentle shouts of encouragement from us guys on the ground, she was up on top of the boulder without a problem. Snoo would be the first to admit that she’s not a big fan of highballs, so this was a massive achievement. A glutton for punishment she then came down and did a rock-steady ascent from sitting ticking the V2 version! Well done Snoo!

We then checked out the Ironman Traverse (V4), although none of us managed to bag it, we all agreed that it deserves it’s ultra-classic status. It has everything you could want from a problem and the top out is superb. As I write this, I’d love to be back there trying it right now.

As the dusk turned to darkness Ben wanted to try the Cave Problem (V4) again. We rigged up our Kmart headlamps on the ground as an already beautiful problem, it looked totally amazing illuminated at night. Ben had already nearly sent the problem the night before but had problems with the last move a big move up to a sloper and then onto the rail. He set off for another attempt and looked super smooth through the lower section. Throw to the sloper, hope it holds, reposition feed…and off. Damn. He decided to try the move in isolation, it took a few attempts and a few changes of foot position for he stuck the move solidly. Things looked good for a send tonight. Again a really solid start, he powered through the moves and up to the sloper. With a final push, he gets his hand up another pop up with the other hand and it’s sent! Another classic complete.

Ben on Cave Problem at night

We had one more location to visit tonight, Ashby wanted to attempt Green Wall Essential (V2) again, the super technical line up the fractured face. We lit up the huge face as best we could and Ashby donned a headlamp. He is certainly a braver man than me to try this in the dark, it had felt super precarious trying it in the daylight the previous day. He made some really solid attempts, and got through the crux a few times but couldn’t quite get the send. A real shame.

The bumpy ride back down Buttermilks Road signified the end of our time in Bishop and with some good sends under our belts and some experience of bouldering higher than we are used to. Bishop is an amazing place for a boulderer, from the Hueco style Happy’s and Sads’ to the highballs of the Buttermilks, there are classic problems everywhere and for everyone.

Next stop, Palm Springs. Catch up with you later.

The scenery near the Happy's

Ben G scored his first font 7a at the Craggy Island, Sutton yesterday. It was made up of a really tricky starting dyno (though, much to the surprise of some of the staff, Ben managed to static it!) followed by a huge dyno to a rail and a scary but positive ending.
If you’re going to Craggy Sutton in the next few weeks, give it a go. It’s on black holds in the competition room, just to the left of the roof. We caught it on film, so we’ll be posting it here soon, I’m sure.

Distension (trailer 2) from B² Productions on Vimeo.

Distension was our first full length film documenting a summer trip to Fontainbleau, France in the summer of 2008. Although it’s a bit short on classic problems and groundbreaking climbing, it does attempt to document what Font is all about for the average Joe.

The full version is not avaliable online yet, but will be soon.