[mikester]

According to a mate a the crag today, Overshadow is still holding out, or was by the time he left.

Come on Overshadow, you can do it!

[Serpico]

According to a mate a the crag today, Overshadow is still holding out,

Officially hard then.

[Doylo]

I heard his foot popped on the top section, sounds like its a goer 

[220bpm]

Gotta love the fight and effort that went into the FA and the only only serious repeat effort to date.

Just 'kin awesome 

Proud so see this unfold on our shores.

[Nike Air]

His first effort today was awesome, a foot popping was the thing stopping him just short of the belay. Another go falling at the crux then the last go as we were leaving he just nearly made it through the crux but it spat him off. He is awesome to watch, he knows how to battle. Maybe though if he had not refused one of my biscuits he would have done it......
He made connect5 look 6b+ too.
Come on Adam

[Tim Broughtonshaw]

Maybe though if he had not refused one of my biscuits he would have done it......

Like your thinking Jordan. We all need to feed him biscuits.  Somehow we need to destroy this lanky bendy freak....one biscuit at a time...

[mark s]

Are there any routes he has admited defeat to?

[robertostallioni]

As in, said he'll never be able to do, or failed on, or dropped the o/s and not bothered to redpoint?

He didn't bother  to r/p lots of routes at Malham last year.
He hurt his finger in Spain on Demencia Senil. Dont know if he went back for it.

Was it a rhetorical question?

is this?

or this?

[Nibile]

I've read he lowered off from one of moroni's routes last year. ste mac is clearly a wad of wads.

[Danny]

Didn't he get shut down on this?

http://www.planetmountain.com/english/News/shownews1.lasso?keyid=36940#

Punt.

[Nemo]

“Are there any routes he has admitted defeat to?” – mark s

No (AFAIK).  And there aren’t likely to be any either.  But obviously as said above, there’s loads of routes he’s had brief plays on but not finished off – obvious examples being Demencia Senil, Pachamama, Neanderthal etc etc etc…

He does have the odd “relatively weak” spot though – notably arm strength…  So there may be the odd gymnastic route with lots of footless moves that he might find a bit spicy.  (Perhaps Akira - although he’s made it pretty clear he’s not interested in travelling large distances for stuff in caves like this in the near future so not likely to find out at least for a while).   But according to a recent interview, last winter he started “non climbing“ training for the first time (ie: campussing / weights etc) and plans to do much more next winter, so I suspect his “weak points” won’t be “weak” for very long…

Danny – not heard about him trying Eternit – find it very hard to believe that he would have got “shut down” on it…  It’s clearly going to be hard, but it’s totally his cup of tea…  Can’t imagine he tried it very much / rubbish conditions or something…  Looks like a brilliant route though and suspect, whether or not he has tried it already, he’ll be heading up there at some point.


On a different note, either by luck / judgement / or maybe a bit of both, he’s arrived in the UK in another week of pretty much perfect conditions for hard sport climbing…  Great to see Steve’s routes getting the attention they deserve…

[Fiend]

VNB. Would be nice for him to have a play if nothing else. Although maybe more of a Woods / Robinson / Graham type thing...

[Doylo]

Ondras as good at bouldering as that lot

[Baldy]

he was so far ahead of the field at the Sheff WC last year I dare say he would piss their projects within a few sessions.

[Nemo]

“Ondras as good at bouldering as that lot” – Doylo

Not in general IMO (yet at least) – although Confessions is arguably the hardest flash.  The majority of his most impressive bouldering ascents have been power endurance problems.  And it’s power endurance (and quick recovery ability) that wins bouldering world cups (route climbers often do very well in bouldering comps).  But IMO, he isn’t quite at the top level yet in terms of short power problems.  Again, it largely comes down to lack of arm strength – until recently he couldn’t do a one armer (not sure if that’s still the case) and has done very little dynamic campussy type stuff.  On longer problems this kind of thing doesn’t make the slightest difference, but on short stuff that kind of oomph in the arms is often very important.  He’s done very few really hard short problems and those that he has done he’s found (relatively of course) difficult. 

“VNB. Would be nice for him to have a play if nothing else.” - Fiend

It wouldn’t particularly surprise me if he does have a quick play on it either on this or a future trip just to see what the score is.  (In the long run I suspect he pretty much aims to climb all the hard sport routes out there…)  But for me at least, if I had to rank the 9’s in the UK in order of quality this would be near the bottom – it’s not that it’s a bad route – it actually looks pretty good.  But Overshadow, Rainshadow etc really are up there with stuff like La Rambla and Realization as some of the very best hard sport routes in the world and those – not VNB or Parisella’s Cave - are what has drawn Ondra to the UK.  Having said that, VNB along with a few of Roughling’s routes are pretty much the last big “unknowns” in hard sport climbing – so it would be interesting if he had a play on it at some point.

To speculate wildly - I suspect that IF Gaskins’ sequence is the only way of climbing this then I’m quite sure it’s utterly nails.  But it is basically a really short boulder problem (with an approach that requires a rope).  On things like this, differences in height / etc can make big differences and it wouldn’t surprise me greatly if Ondra did try it, if he threw in an egyptian and found a much easier sequence.  But if the only way is Gaskins’ way, then I suspect that if he did have a quick play, he’d probably just suss out what he would need to specifically train and then leave it for a future trip. 



Anyway, what’s the latest?  Or is everyone avoiding Malham for fear of looking like a groupie?
 

[Doylo]

“Ondras as good at bouldering as that lot” – Doylo

Not in general IMO (yet at least) – although Confessions is arguably the hardest flash.  The majority of his most impressive bouldering ascents have been power endurance problems.  And it’s power endurance (and quick recovery ability) that wins bouldering world cups (route climbers often do very well in bouldering comps).  But IMO, he isn’t quite at the top level yet in terms of short power problems.  Again, it largely comes down to lack of arm strength – until recently he couldn’t do a one armer (not sure if that’s still the case) and has done very little dynamic campussy type stuff.  On longer problems this kind of thing doesn’t make the slightest difference, but on short stuff that kind of oomph in the arms is often very important.  He’s done very few really hard short problems and those that he has done he’s found (relatively of course) difficult. 

He only goes bouldering twice a year, has probably the hardest flash ever and does stuff like Dirt and Big Paw as quick as the top boulderers. They might not be one move problems but if we're talking bouldering ability he's up there.  He might not be as strong but he can climb most of the same stuff they can despite concentrating on 40m+ routes for 95 % of the year.

[Andy F]

Anyway, what’s the latest?  Or is everyone avoiding Malham for fear of looking like a groupie?
 

According to someone on the other channel, Overshadow is still holding out.

[saltbeef]

i agree with doyle. bear in mind some of these 9bs. you do an 8b boulder problem then instead of dropping off you rumble off up a 9a route! it is unthinkable.

[Doylo]

i agree with doyle. bear in mind some of these 9bs. you do an 8b boulder problem then instead of dropping off you rumble off up a 9a route! it is unthinkable

8b+ boulder problem on Chaxi Raxi then 9a/+!!!!!

[Nemo]

"He only goes bouldering twice a year, has probably the hardest flash ever and does stuff like Dirt and Big Paw as quick as the top boulderers. They might not be one move problems but if we're talking bouldering ability he's up there.  He might not be as strong but he can climb most of the same stuff they can despite concentrating on 40m+ routes for 95 % of the year." - Doylo

Entirely agree with all that...  Don't get the wrong idea - I'm not criticizing him in any way shape or form - for me he's without doubt the best all round sport climber / boulderer ever.  And he's still 18 and getting exponentially better by the day.  But you said it yourself - he doesn't go bouldering very often (or hasn't so far).  Clearly, given that fact, what he has achieved in bouldering is nothing short of gobsmacking.  And I'm quite sure that IF he put a bit more time into it (as I'm sure he will in the future) then he'll be up there at the very highest level in all aspects of bouldering.     

I was merely pointing out that at present at least I think generalised statements like:

Ondras as good at bouldering as that lot

and

he was so far ahead of the field at the Sheff WC last year I dare say he would piss their projects within a few sessions.

are a little wide of the mark...

[Doylo]

Ondras as good at bouldering as that lot





are a little wide of the mark...

On the evidence it's not wide of the mark for reasons i stated.  He might not have a tick list (as we've said he hardly boulders) as meaty as the top boulderer's but he's demonstrated his ability is no less with the hard ascents that he's done and the speed they've taken him.  I think he'd meet his match on VNB tho, unless as you say he can technique it. Didn't Steve Dunning work out a potential long man's sequence years ago? Fuck Overshadow must be hard!   

[ali k]

 Didn't Steve Dunning work out a potential long man's sequence years ago?

How long? Am I in with a chance?

[Baldy]

Has he taken his training weight vest off yet?
Is it just me or is there less coverage this time than last?
Can we get a correspondant out there?

The majority of his most impressive bouldering ascents have been power endurance problems. 

Dunno...this looks pretty strong to me...

[Doylo]

 Didn't Steve Dunning work out a potential long man's sequence years ago?

How long? Am I in with a chance?

You'd piss it you lanky twat. That Kaela Borroka stamina will be right handy...

[Clart]

Dunno...this looks pretty strong to me...

He does well there. Hearing the Swedish chief from the Muppets in the background would put me right off...