Here’s a video I edited a while ago….and then with a lot of things happening, forgot about it. Thinking back to these sunny days puts a big smile on my face!
It shows 2 of our favorite problems of our USA trip last winter, ‘The Masterpiece’ V13 in Joes Valley and ‘Dark Matter’ V12 in nearby Huntington Canyon.
Andi looked at The Masterpiece on a previous trip, but wasn’t sure he could do the crux with his size. A lot of crazy falls later, he he had done the hardest move, a hard deadpoint/swing. Some days later he cruised through the bottom section and crux….but then I dabbed him while spotting…So, back to the start. Luckily he had nerves of steel and did the crux again. Phew!
Dark Matter is a quite high boulder made of perfect sandstone, littered with some of the coolest holds and features I’ve ever seen. The lines and circles look like a piece of art, Miro maybe? I think I used almost all of the features until I found a method which worked for me. After my ACL surgery some months ago, this was the hardest and the highest problem I’ve tried so far. Intimidating at first, as I wasn’t sure if I was mentally ready to do comitting moves so high of the ground. Basically I tested the fall from every move, before I could really forget about my knee. Also it was quite exciting to go through all the stages of projecting including all the nervousness and doubts. But so so rewarding when I topped it out in the sun, the last day before a snow storm arrived.
Dorothea Karalus 