Since I last had anything to say on this blog, life has been pretty unpredictable to say the least. Jobs, money, bills and bullshit. I've never been much into these kind of things. As a member of society you have to take part in these things in order to exist in the "real world". Despite this fact, I still can't help but being pulled back every chance I get into what I consider the real world. Mine is wondering through mountains, trees, and single cut trails. Hopping over spring creeks, using dead trees to navigate mosquito infested marsh, feeling beads of sweat run down your face. All these obstacles and discomforts dwarfed in comparison to what lies ahead. Another season, another zone, and another chance to get back to who I really am. There is a strong feeling of clarity that comes with having a passion. No matter what others tell me I need to do, I know what I need to do. Climb boulders. And that's what I've been up to....no shit!
      It's another beautiful season at my home base here in Lake Tahoe, CA. I've been really into the new stuff mostly. There's a new line I did a month ago at the Freaks that climbs the Pistachio Eater from the low start hold, same start as Brown Sugar and Endless Basement but exits PE out the other side of the cave. Another great new steep line on good volcanic. In addition, if anyone is familiar with the lone gem Foxy Lady at the top of Kingsbury Grade. I did a new line next to it. It sits starts the right arete of Foxy from a crossly left hand sidepull crimp and right hand in the slopey hueco next to it. From there it powers up the arete with resistant compression and finishes at the apex with a not so graceful mantle. Super fun addition. I named it Little Wing to stay in the Hendrix theme. It's about v10 or so. I made a bunch of efforts to try and repeat the South Bliss classic Vaporized but got shut down cold by one move on the rig that has a heel hook which is a bit far for my short legs. Then it got hot so I said F--It! Gonna need some cold weather for that one. Props to Joel and Kyle for putting up such a gem.
     Backpack bouldering is my main focus this season. After you find that the general motion of project hunting and trying to tick problems begins to feel a bit routine, they say you're supposed to mix it up. Usually boulderers go sport climb and vice versa. I've chosen this option. It's still bouldering. The backpacking adds an element of adventure and makes the lifestyle feel more raw. The experience of hiking out beyond the typical approach distance while carrying everything you need to survive for days takes you to places you thought you'd never go. You're just an insignificant speck of life in the backcountry and yet you're home. You get very in tune with your surroundings. The trees provide the shade that cools you, the water from the nearby creek is how you make coffee in the morning, the dead fall on the ground is going to fuel the grill for cooking your food. Bouldering and nature go together so well. This way of climbing provides the ultimate feeling of immersion. The existance out there is so natural but feels anything but ordinary. It's rad.

                                          Headlock v9 , way out there

                                          temporary housing

Endless Basement

endless basement from Jesse Bonin on Vimeo.

The raw footage of Endless Basement. Since I''m one broke ass mofo who can't afford a premium machine, I'm only really able to add some music to the raw footage. Not artsy editing but some hard climbing action none the less. Enjoy.

New Hard FA in Tahoe

I've been back home for a couple of weeks now. The weather has been pretty good for bouldering, especially if you like hiking through a little snow. Yesterday I went to the Freaks where I had been working on the mega link training project through the Basement cave. After trying this link for about 3 or 4 seasons, the rig all came together first try yesterday. Funny side story, I had the camera set up to catch the link attempt. Once the camera was recording I crawled the 25 feet down to the start hold. Just as I was about to pull on I heard the camera shut off.Dead battery. I decided " ahhh F---It!" I usually need a few good warm up tries anyway. Well, I ended up sending it that go. It was quite a relief after trying that project for so long. Even though I didn't get it on tape I was very happy. But after thinking about how I came all the way out there again and did it first go, I figured I'd try to link it up again for the camera. I took an hour and a half rest and repeated the entire send for video. The feeling of progression on this line was great. I remember when I could do few if any of the 20 moves out this roof. Going from that feeling to doing a couple of laps on it was great. I love it when a plan comes together.
   In past experience I've noticed that the Basement Cave is sometimes the subject of much confusion because of how close together the lines can be. Given this fact I figured I'd do my best to explain what this line does in a nut shell. These directions may only be useful however if you know the classic existing lines well. If you don't, there is much video online. Ian Cotter-Brown's video Deep Blue has all the main lines coming out of the cave. The new link is called Endless Basement. It starts at the Brown Sugar start. This is in the back left of the cave towards' the other side's daylight. The start hold is sort of shaped like a big V. From here the line climbs through decent holds into the start holds of Freak Show. From there it climbs all the hardest moves of FS, but after grabbing the left hand "shark toothed undercling" instead of going out the jugs to the left you keep cranking hard until you are at the start hold of Subterranean. From here it finishes Subterranean. Very specific I know. The line is contrived a bit, but so is a lot of bouldering. It's all good. I'm sure everyone wants to know what I graded it so they know what number they want to downgrade it to. When in doubt, you take what I say and subtract one or two. But what is the base number? I've got a plan to find the perfect number.
   Ok, so the new line starts out with 4 moves that are about v5, ok so 4 x5 =20. Then the line goes into the hardest moves of Freak Show v12, ok so 12 x 20 =240. THEN, after that, BOOM!!! This fucker goes right into a hard v8 move BAMMM! Just one move of v8 so we'll say 240 + 8 = 248. THEN, if you can stomach the notion, you're homefree resting in the start holds of a v7. SO, 248 x 7= 1736 points total. Then the hike is 15 minutes so 1736 /15= 115. I owed my buddy $5 that morning so 115 -5 = 110. The night before I sent I had baked salmon and a salad, the total calories added up to 84 ( just guessing actually, I know nothing about nutrition). SOOO 110 - 84 = 26. I'm half the height of the average person ( NOTE: the average person might be 10 feet tall, or at least seems like it to me). So 26 /half === 13. Ok so I think it's a 13. Alright, we got that covered. I think this new grading formula I came up with is really going to start improving Tahoe's accuracy on pinpointing difficulty.
    So another big one is off the list. I guess from here I just have to do the usual and move on to the next one. I have another hard project or two that I've been working on. There are also a couple of great established problems that I'd like to repeat while the temps are still decent. Once that summer heat hits, sweaty tips and beating sunshine make hard climbing even more difficult. The time is now, GET SOME!

Another Moe's Trip

  I'm back home again after a short 12 day trip to Southern Utah. While there I hung out with great friends in one of my favorite places to visit for bouldering, Moe's Valley. It was a good trip. Unlike my Hueco Tanks trip I did not just project march to one thing everyday. This trip I decided to bounce around to many problems trying to get a little change up going.In the process I did a bunch of problems I hadn't done before, including some ones that I had previously tried a lot. One of my big sends was La Bocca Della Verita. This obscure little problem sits trailside in Moe's and typically does not receive a lot of attention. I almost did this line last season but left without success. This time I got it done in the dark by headlamp. I was psyched to finish this one off. Of all the problems I sent the hardest one wasn't really the biggest. I finally did the long awaited second ascent of Up. Up was put up by my friend Isaac Caldiero a few years back. It is a one move wonder on a short overhang at the back of the canyon. This seemingly easy looking move grabs two pinches, bunches up on bad feet sucked under the wall before expoding violently to vicious sloper at the lip. Over the past 3 seasons I have clocked close to 15 days trying this move, which Caldiero called one of the single hardest moves in Moe's. That sure was a lot of time to do one hard move one time, but the feeling of finally sticking it was priceless. I was happy to repeat this climb after so much effort. There were other cool climbs I did but this one had me yelling "woo hoo" the most.
   I got to have another good treat while there. It turns out we happened to be there during the annual Moe's Valley Clean Up day. It was a pleasure to help out the locals. I must say the scene in Moe's comes with a very good vibe. The locals that live in St. George are really proactive about keeping their boulders clean and the trails well maintained. It's nice to see a community that gets in there and shows the land owners how much they care about keeping their boulders nice. After visiting this place for 3 years in a row, I was psyched to do a little something to help preserve the area. We got to do trailwork, clean up hobo camps, pick up trash, and meet some really cool people that live there. My hat goes off to Tyler Webb, Scott, and Von for organizing a fun event. The place looks even better than it already did.
    Last but not least, props to my good buddy Jarrad Wyckoff for doing his 2nd v10 boulder. Jarrad sent the classic Bazooka Tooth after only a half hour of effort. After doing this climb a couple of years ago, I knew this line would fit him like a glove. It seems to be better if you're really tall. Yup, a great trip indeed. Now I'm back home again in Tahoe. As usual I'm probably going to take a few days to recover from shredded tips, sore muscles, and scrubbing all the Utah dust out of my hair. After that, who knows. I may be taking a few more trips close to home to see some new stuff, or maybe hiking through tons of snow to find the next backyard destination. What a life! The adventure never stops.

                               Tyler Webb hucks a lap on Israil v6

                         Jarrad Wyckoff sends Huntsman Graffiti v5 with ample padding

                                           Big move, little dude, YoYo Boy v9

                                   Locals getting it done on Trail Day

A Worthy Opponent

        In our lives we get to face a series of challenges that the world throws at us. How we work through them ends up defining who we are as individuals. As a boulderer, I often throw myself at challenges willfully. Sometimes I can bite off more than I can chew and find myself stopped at an obstacle that I can't get past.  Last year, I was in Hueco Tanks, Texas for 2 months. That particular trip I spent about 75% of my climbing days working on the famous problem Shaken Not Stirred. It is a 23 move power endurance roof out of the Martini Cave. This problem has a reputation for shutting down most climbers who attempt to send it quickly. Boulderers often take on creative tactics to dissect and mentally work their way through this pumpy monster. It sounds as though it takes most about 3 -11 seasons to do this one just right. I thought I was pretty close last year since I did the problem in 2 parts several times and had the pieces wired. I left without the send.
             I just got back from a 2 week trip to Hueco Tanks. I was on a personal mission to finally climb the roof. The plan was simple. I spent about 2 months training in the gym. My preparation consisted of making a simulator of the big crux move to the slopey hueco and get that dialed. Also, lots of power endurance laps to get stamina, resistance muscle training to avoid injury, and doing high volume climbing in Bishop on some of the tablelands finest and longest roof climbs. My first day at the problem I tried from the bottom and immediately got all the way to my high point from the previous season. I fell at the typical spot bumping to the slopey hueco off the pinch. This particular move is really big for a climber of my size. The reach is far and the footholds are a little far away for me to get any leverage. I tried the beta that Ashima did but could not move off the heinous left hand pinch/foothold on Esperanza. I spent a day or 2 dialing out the sections of this long climb. Then I relentlessly began to march there almost every single climbing day. Most tries were from the bottom. Lots of send goes. After getting so close to the slopey hueco first try I felt like I was ready for the send. I spent nine days this trip trying mostly link attempts. The tally was about 28 tries that I fell at the same stopper move. Two weeks there and dedicated like a mofo and I had to leave without the prize. I tried that thing up until the moment we had to run to catch a ride to airport and fly back to Lake Tahoe. Part of me was a bit down and regretful that I had failed to accomplish my goal.However, it was soon followed by this surge of gratitude. These projects sometimes feel like a living breathing thing. A friend, an enemy, a nemesis, a theory on how to make the impossible possible. . The project simply becomes a worthy opponent. . I did fail in sending but it was quite a pleasure to test myself on one of the best and hardest roofs in the world.   The summary is basically a 2 week trip to Hueco Tanks, no sends, and driving out with a big smile and my heart feeling full.  I can't wait to go back and try this again next season.  But for now, I'm home for a few and then headed to Utah. It will be cool to climb on some old projects but also bounce around to areas and problems I've never seen before and get on some new climbs. Psyched as usual.

Solilasit

Most of the past few months have been a bit stale for me since South Africa. About 4 weeks ago, work suddenly ceased for me out of nowhere. The winter weather combined with the holidays tends to put a pause on construction work in the mountain towns. But rather than complain I've decided to embrace it. I've used this free time to train for my winter project and hopefully send the Martini Right in Hueco Tanks. I've been mostly training at Push Fitness in South Lake Tahoe where I've also been working as a route setter. It's nice to finally have a place to train in my local area. All of this training paid off when I sent a cool new problem in the Mountain Beavers the other day. The problem was known mostly as the River Project. This is one of the best problems I've done in a while. I named this new problem Solilasit. It was the sit start to Noah Kaufman's Soliloquy. The sit start add 4 tricky moves into the stand. I'm sure everyone wants to know what I graded this mega line that took me days to complete. For the sake of the game you have to grade shit something. For me the first 4 moves and the last move were the cruxes. The beginning moves fit me like a glove and they are still hard for me yet balancy and not steep. The bottom feels hard at first and then becomes easier to repeat with time and memorization. After the learning curve it felt like it was all about nutting up for the committing dyno at the end when you are pumped and crimped out. .Hard to make a call on the number, but I guess v9. All bullshit aside, what we are talking about here is a problem that is a diamond in the rough. The number is not important, it swings itself 4 grades to either side depending on if you ask Dick or Jane.  I don't how many stars it is but probably a lot. This problem sits in the river low in the lower Mountain Beavers. From Guardian of the Myth follow the trail downhill for about 50 yards to get to Soliloquy and Solilasit. There is also a new project opened starting left hand in the weakness and right hand on a crimp that will be a tall man's direct version of Soliloquy, likely reachy. If you can take the cold, go check em out.
     

Solilasit from Jesse Bonin on Vimeo.

My buddy Ian is at it again. This time taking his camera and climbing skills to my local spots. This stuff was all filmed in Fall of this year, mostly in South Lake Tahoe.  Here is an excerpt from the video Deep Blue. Which has Ian sending the Sugar Pine testpiece Polar Opposites and one of my problems from years back, Downtown Brown. You can purchase the video from Ian's website at www.rockwarriorfilms.com. I wish I had news for myself of epic shit going down. But it's on a more boring level inconsistant with the climbing theme of this blog. I've just been working and training on plastic. I'm in the mode now where I feel like I'm waiting for something great to happen. In the meantime I'm just going to get ready for it.