The Monster In The Mirror

so this is as hard as ivory face, raven, awakening? harder than keymaker? Apr 24, 2015

Yes, that is how grades work.. just curious as to what YOU compared this climb to when giving it the suggested grade. "thought monsters was v11 (maybe v12) because it felt harder than _____ and ______ and _____ which are V_."

What about your personal experience made you suggest v11? big numbers are tossed around so much nowadays with no logic, I am just curious what your logic is with your personal experience on this one? Apr 26, 2015

numbers mean absolutely nothing, but comparing it to other climbs actually gives people an idea of the difficulty. your claim puts this climb in the top level of not just Wisconsin but Midwest boulders, which is kind of a big claim that needs explaining and logic supporting it.


honestly, I will never try this. I no longer live in the Midwest, yet I like to keep up to date and know where new problems going up stand in the grad scheme of things. Apr 27, 2015

Well, I don't know about everyone else but I sure had fun watching the now-deleted "discussion" from the sidelines (I was holding my breath waiting for Sam Powers to make an appearance, but alas).

I always planned on chiming in once I had the chance to check this out, but looks like now I'll just be joining a conversation between Tyler and himself, which is typical.

Anyway, I checked this out last night in okay but far from sticky conditions. Here's a video: vimeo.com/126573545

Here's my 2c:

Pros:
-Decent sandstone (for north of the Ozarks...)
-Interesting moves (for the first 1/2 before it degenerates into unpleasant, boring slab campusing on juggy slopers)

Cons:
-Massively contrived (see video)
-Incredibly dabby (not just a nuisance, this is the source of a good part of the difficulty - whatever the difficulty, it's hard not to see that it would be two grades easier if the ground was two feet lower)

So since "moves being fun" is a subjective judgment that shouldn't play into objective assessments of quality, this is basically a "bomb" / * problem. I'm not saying it shouldn't be posted - it is far more worthwhile than the 3 foot tall piles of shit that should just be walked by and ignored - just that "average rock quality" is just about its only positive objective attribute, and that's not enough to earn a star in my book.

As for the difficulty, apparently that's anyone's guess? :) It didn't feel too bad even in warmer weather, and it's hard not to imagine it'd feel a good bit easier in those crisp temps that make sandstone sticky.

I hope that doesn't take away from anyone's experience - it's certainly not meant to. All I am saying is that my experience wasn't what I've experienced / would expect on Midwest 8As. May 1, 2015

I agree with most of your points MadChoss, and I understand your argument for a bomb as it certainly is not an epic climb.

However for the Dodge? I dunno I kinda like it. Has a good amount of moves on sandstone that is better quality than most of the piles in the park.

Also V9 seems like a reasonable grade to me (one grade harder than the sit). May 1, 2015

This looks like the best hard sandstone sloper problem in the state to me..? I don't know why some people give first ascensionsts so much shit in the Midwest. Maybe you should put up more problems instead of being douchey little bitches? Someone should have said that a long time ago. I put up with this garbage the entire time I was living in Wisconsin putting up problems. You guys suck. Penis envy? Blah blah blah. You guys are bitches. Haha take that! May 1, 2015

Nice work Peter! Bummed to see I was two full grades off in your estimation. Your beta does look better than what I used at the corner, though. Anyway, nice work.

A stink bomb quality rating? You made the opening look way more fun than that. May 1, 2015

Nezbit, You have two V-11's on this one boulder? Would be nice to see your beta. If I were crushing at that level I certainly would have taken some video. May 1, 2015

Hey nezbit

You're right - it was fun. I try to keep fun out of quality though just bc it varies so much from person to person. For example, a kneebar automatically makes something fun for me but not for lots of people I know. Not everyone agrees with this approach (see Jason's comment) but it's what I try to apply.

As for the grade, I didn't say you were two off; just said for me (maybe I'm just the perfect size or set of strengths and weaknesses - who knows?), it wasn't as hard as others. I'm sure you've been on the other side (as have I). Either way it sounded like this was the hardest thing you've done for you personally, which is sick; nice job. May 1, 2015

I tried to delete the Cannons Sit page. Unfortunately, MP would not let me. Something about existing content prohibiting that action.

I have video of a near send, but not the send. I shoot with my iPhone. It ran out of memory on the send burn. I deleted a bunch of stuff and repeated the climb, but not without dabbing. So, not legit. May 1, 2015

I'm not much taller than Peter so I could see it being much harder if you're taller so that's fair. May 1, 2015

I removed Cannons Sit as requested above. Let me know if you all want any other changes to the Cannons boulder.

Hope everyone is coming to the DL comp and afterparty tomorrow. Should be fun. May 1, 2015

I love how boulderers will talk a ton of shit about a problem and the FA and then try to make amends by saying "but sick send bro!". Jun 26, 2017