Slaying a Giant: Abiyoyo Goes Down

Last year I posted about a giant boulder up in Bohuslan and I made several mentions of an amazing arete on said boulder.  I still remember the sheer joy I felt when first laying eyes on the arete as lines like that one are the reason I spend countless hours scouring maps, driving back-roads and bushwhacking through brush.  It is a king line on an impressive boulder and it just "needed" to be climbed.  Unfortunately on the first day of cleaning/trying we were so totally shutdown that the arete became "a problem for the future" that I put on the back-burner, hoping one day my skills would suffice.  It took about 5 years before I paid another visit to the giant boulder where I was greeted by wet rock but I was reminded of how great this problem looked and the arete got bumped up to the top of my list.  So after returning to Sweden this yearI figured it was time to start going down that list.

At first the arete felt every bit as impossible as it did that first day but slowly things started coming together.  In the end it only took one long session of work to unlock the sequence and a return trip with fresh skin and muscles to send.  This problem had been stewing for years and seeing as how the boulder itself is gargantuan I figured I'd name the arete after the giant Abiyoyo.  Abiyoyo is from South African folklore and made famous(ish) by Pete Seeger.  This is up among the best FAs I've ever done.

Here are a couple pictures. 

Thanks to a smaller adjacent boulder we start the arete at an obvious "jug" in about the middle and the problem avoids being airy.  The low start definitely goes and almost doubles the climbing and will add a good amount to difficult.  The landing might look a little sketchy but the risk of falling to into our makeshift landing is minimal.

Gearing up for the red-point crux.  The climbing is the perfect mix of strength and technique and there is no place to take a breath until the lip.

Hold a swing then just a few more "easy" moves before the 6 meters of victory climbing to the tiptop of the giant boulder.

Little Rock City Video

Another little video from my time in the States.  This one has a bunch of classic in Little Rock City (aka Stone Fort).  Hope you enjoy.



Little Rock City Bouldering from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

Little Cottonwood Canyon Video

Here's a little video from a snowy session in LCC a few months ago.


Three Problems at the Secret Garden: Little Cottonwood Canyon, UT from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

Sunshine in Sweden

So I've been back in Sweden for a month and a half now and until last week there wasn't much of a chance to get out.  Fortunately it looks like Spring decided to show up and along with flowers and rapidly growing daylight we're also getting some dry days and I'm trying to take full advantage.  The Swedes that have had the misfortune of spending the entire winter here are chomping at the bit as most of my friends have only touched real rock a handful of times since November.  Yes, Swedish winters suck.

On Sunday we took a short excursion to Bohuslän to brush some new stuff and revisit some old favorites.  Our first stop was a wall I'd stumbled upon previously and apparently it had been seen by several other climbers but no one had bothered to get on it.  It seems about time so we spent a couple hours of mostly getting our butts kicked and eventually we managed two sweet new problems.  After the flogging we mad a quick stop by Ramsviksland to show the gang Hamster Huey and the Gooey Kablooie and brush some new stuff.  Here are some pictures from the Day.

Kim on the first problem we established.  This clean line was definitely harder than I thought it would be and took some time before Oskar nabbed the FA.  Pyssel would also send and the rest of us came up empty handed.

Oskar shows how to use a mono-fingerlock

Pyssel set up for the crux deadpoint.  Definitely harder than it looks 

Narrowly latching the last hold

The other problem we did required a delicate heel-hook and stained climbing.  This one was also harder than it looks but I somehow managed to scrape my way up it and Pyssel and Oskar both got painfully close (I'll actually sign Oskar's scorecard if he want)

Here is Kim on a cool sloper problem in Ramsviksland.  She ended up falling after grabbing the finishing "jug" due to slimy rock

We put up a couple new problems in Ramsviksland with Stefan's tricky and painful face-climb being the best of the new problems.  Many the the other projects I'd hoped to try in Ramsviksland were wet.  So it goes

A Little Moab Bouldering Video: Three Classics at Big Bend

While in the States Hammie and I did a quick stop at the Big Bend boulders outside Moab, UT.  The area is small but has an impressive concentration of good problems and has the added bonus of being roadside, a big plus when rolling with a 4-year old.

I hadn't been through Moab in some years and I was reminded of how much potential the area has.  Other than Big Bend the bouldering development has been limited as the region draws mostly trad climbers but there are endless boulders to be explored underneath those splitter cracks.  One of these days I'll have more that just a couple hours and actually see what's out there.  Until then, here's a little video of 3 classics from Big Bend



Moab Bouldering: Big Bend from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

Two from the Tablelands

Here's a little video of two problems from the Sacred Boulders



Two from the Tablelands from Walker Kearney on Vimeo.

Tableland Bouldering in Bishop, CA

Damn, it has been awhile since I posted.  My hiatus is most likely due to a potent cocktail of low-motivation,  injury, family and work.  It's crazy that those things all join forces while on an extended road trip but I guess life happens even when living the dream.  Anyways, I'm back in Sweden now after 2.5 months of van living in the States and I'm already missing the t-shirt weather as my tan is living on borrowed time.  The good news is that now I'll have a bit of time to sort through some pictures/videos and I'll get the blog rolling again.

Here are some photos from the Sacred Boulders in Bishop, CA.  This little area is definitely inferior to the Happy and Sad Boulders (and therefore far inferior to all the granite areas) but it has a few gems scattered amongst the choss.  If the Buttermilks are snowy and you are a seasoned Bishopite looking for something new I'd recommend spending a day at the Sacreds.

 Robert on a sweet problem at the Sacred Boulders.

Nick on the Wave, one of the problems worth doing.  The standard beta for the problem involves a high knee-bar at the crux but Nick opted for the the less scary (and slightly harder) option.

Matty on my favorite problem from the area.  Anyone know the name of this one?

Prairie looking shaky on another sweet problem from the Sacreds