Kevin Jorgenson has just completed a new V9 boulder problem in the Buttermilks in California. V9 is a grade that is nowhere near the top of the bouldering scale but what is impressive about this ascent is that the boulder stands some 40+ feet high. Footprints takes a striking line up the Grand Peadbody boulder with a crux step-through where falling would not be beneficial to your health. At over 40 feet tall this boulder is higher than most classic gritstone routes and if here, a grade of E8/9 would not be far off. Jorgenson is no stranger to highball ascents having completed Buttermilk classics like Evilution, V12 / 35 feet & The Beautiful and the Damned, V13 / 35 feet.
Kevin Jorgeson commits to his new highball Footprints, on the North Face of Grandpa Peabody just outside Bishop, California Photo by Giovanni Traversi, courtesy of Climbing.com |
You can read a full report on the ascent at Climbing.com>>