On Sunday, Dec. 30, Alex finished off her fourth V12 with an ascent of A Maze of Death. It took her 4 days of effort and she has stated that it is most definitely her hardest boulder send to date. I was very impressed with her ascent of this line particularly with the sequence she used. She skipped a very key left hand by putting her foot above her head to lock-off to the sidepull and then proceeded to pull both holds to her stomach while she hand-foot matched her left hand. Many of us tried to attempt this sequence but couldn't even start to do it. A very impressive display of raw power that you'll have to witness when the video hits the web.
Here are some pics:
I managed to finish off my trip with sends of The Buttermilker V12 and Haroun and the Sea of Stories V11/12. I attempted to finish Evilution Direct V11 before Thanksgiving, but couldn't quite get myself to commit to the Dyno (for me) on the slab. This is certainly a much scarier line to the top of the boulder than Jason's original, but the holds are MUCH better. Until now. When I returned to Bishop after Thanksgving I learned that a key hold above the lip had broken and there wasn't much left to grab. I tried it a few times before we left for Boulder (ground-up of course) and can definitely say that the exit is harder but there is definitely a decent hold to grab. It now awaits a re-first ascent.
Here's a photo of me grabbing the left hand that is now broken:
2 comments:
Hey Carlo,
My name is Manasseh Franklin and I am the editorial intern at Rock and Ice. Could I have your permission to post Alex Puccio's photo online to accompany an online news story? I'll provide credits, of course.
Thanks!
Manasseh
Manasseh,
Go for it! Alex is most definitely ok with it. E-mail me if you guys need would like some better photos for print.
Post a Comment