[Bubba]

From 8a.nu

"details are very scetchy, but it seems Tokio Muroi has put up a new "8C or harder" at Ogawayama, Japan. The new problem is a slab (as is his first 8C "Banshousha"). Tokio gave the problem the Noboru-grade which translates to 8C or harder."

[vivahate]

i really wanna see these slabs he's been doing, must be reeealy frictionless/thin to warrant 8C surely

[Bubba]

They must be the living end!

[Jim]

after watching dave graham do duel? is it on that four from font vid at 8a I don't recon you could get a harder slab problem

[ian h]

what is the hardest slab in the uk? :?

[unclesomebody]

good question... hardest slab in the uk... well, the hardest must be something not done, like the "one inch punch" project at the roaches.  Other hard slabs must be things like (i'm a bit stuck really) Angels Share, Smoked Salmon, and others that are in my brain but won't come out!  I know those two are routes, but angels share is font 7c+ so I've been told.

[ian h]

work hard?
nah must be a harder one........ surely :?

[dave]

isn't TVBATVS like F8b thus probably not monterously hard as far as bouldering goes (he says).

i doubt smoked salmon is all that hard - if you see the vid of scut doing it that is.

did't he have a thread about this before? i think nik jennings said theres some big slab somewhere in lancs with 2 english 7b projects on. and if nik has tried them and they're still projects then they must be damn hard.

i think nik also said there a direct start to dougal at rivelin quarry the's only been repeated with a run-up, and the actual climbing way is uber-nails.

[Doylo]

Very big ain't that hard bouldering wise. If u watch Scut in the vid Smoked salmon looks like e4!

[Adam Lincoln]

isn't TVBATVS like F8b thus probably not monterously hard as far as bouldering goes (he says).

i doubt smoked salmon is all that hard - if you see the vid of scut doing it that is.

did't he have a thread about this before? i think nik jennings said theres some big slab somewhere in lancs with 2 english 7b projects on. and if nik has tried them and they're still projects then they must be damn hard.

i think nik also said there a direct start to dougal at rivelin quarry the's only been repeated with a run-up, and the actual climbing way is uber-nails.

Yes, couple of Font 8bish slabs in Lancs. One of them Vickers can only just hold a position in two places, never mind move!

[nik at work]

I am briefly back from the wilderness. I have been led out by all this talk of slabs - Mmmm-mmmmmmmm.
Yup the slabs in lancs are V V V V V Desp. I have done the left hand lin e in two ovewlapping sections once on a rope and I would say E8 7b (E for difficulty not death) or Font 8B-ish. The right hand line looks harder.
Also direct start to Dougal is hard but in the greater scheme of things probably not uber-difficult.
I would add a route/highball at Denham to the list. A very steep slab/wall just right of an E3 diagonal crack to the right of Mohammed the mad blah-de-blah. Very desperate IMHO.
Oh and slabs can get a lot harder than duel.

Right I'm off again now see you all in six months or so.
Ta-raa.....

[ian h]

so what is the most difficult  uk slab. ie not counting the projects.

and how about font whats there top one? not duel anymore right? :?:  :?:

[dave]

theres a few 8bs in font, maybe even 8b+ i can't remember. they will almost certianly be leDenmat (and son) creations.

[ian h]

just had a quick look at the bleau info site. looks like the hardest le denmat one is golden feet 8a+

the only other one i could find of that grade or harder was duel direct also 8a+

[dave]

i can't produce a specific example, but i am 90% sure i've read about ledenmant doing some 8b slab and his son repeated it, and that his sone then did a harder one.

also there was enigma 8b left of alta until a hold broke.

[ian h]

lacrima  :?:  8b from the low start. that looks to be the one :?

[Bubba]

And 8a.nu are reporting *another* Japanese 8c, this time a 22 move roof problem that is "Harder than Dreamtime" according to Fred Roughling.

[dobbin]

yeah, but that is Fred 'it's 9c+' Rouhling innit  :roll:  :wink:

[fatboySlimfast]

neil travers almost did Enigma second or third go few years ago...said it were not 8b,

[dave]

theres a big foothold left that no in (according to bleau.info), was he using that?

[Stu Littlefair]

Nope, just all the tiny little holds. Of course, Travers was STRONG, and mega good at using tiny tiny holds. Last time I saw him he was very close to doing Blazing 48's from a sit-start.

[Doylo]

Its funny that Dreamtime is regarded as the 'benchmark' 8c. Julien Nadiras told me it would 'only' get 8b+ in font. He fell off the last moves of DT after 4 days but Chaos 8b+  in font took him 25 or something.

[Scouse D]

It's also a bit odd how many repeats it's had for supposedly one of the hardest problems in the world, I wonder why noone has had the guts to downgrade it. Saying that it does seem to be people who have "almost" done problems who are the first to say they're soft.
I think we all know there's a bit difference between almost doing a problem and actually succeeding.

[nik at work]

Just to bring things back to the question of hard UK boulder problem slabs isn't Monobloc a slab? And isn't it supposed to be hideous? May be a contender for hardest UK slab (dunno though as I have never seen it, only heard the reputation...)

[Adam Lincoln]

Just to bring things back to the question of hard UK boulder problem slabs isn't Monobloc a slab? And isn't it supposed to be hideous? May be a contender for hardest UK slab (dunno though as I have never seen it, only heard the reputation...)

Only 7c though innit?