[Palomides]

Following the news about Alex Puccios repeat of Trice, a quick google suggests that of Jim Holloways Big Three problems (Trice, Slapshot, Meathook), only Trice has been repeated - and that only started getting ascents in Nov last year.

Is this right???

Anyone know of any facts/rumours/innuedo that can be shared?

[Falling Down]

Do a search for some of (Scott) Blunks posts on here. He knows Holloway and has posted lots of interesting stuff on here on various threads.

[Jaspersharpe]

Holloway on Trice.

I remember there being quite a fuss about Meathook a while back. There were rumours about holds breaking on Slapshot too. Can't find anything else though unfortunately.

[SA Chris]

Got prior?

http://ukbouldering.com/board/index.php/topic,5138.0.html

There's also a full interview on the US Climbing website that's quite good.

[Jaspersharpe]

This is what I was thinking of. Not sure there's any more info really but it's quite interesting.

[Palomides]

Thanks all. It turns out that NoScript has borked the ukb search function for me, which is why I didn't find anything.

So it looks like Slapshot is the only one not to be repeated:

Trice;  Carlo Traversi and Jamie Emerson, Daniel Woods, Dave Graham and James Pearson, Alex Puccio (and maybe others?)

Meathook; Dave Twinam (with a different sequence), Unknown canadian.

Slapshot??

[Bubba]

You don't need noscript on here dude, there's no evil javascript to protect yourself from.

The search is shite anyway, need to replace it with google search.

[Blunk]

Thanks all. It turns out that NoScript has borked the ukb search function for me, which is why I didn't find anything.

So it looks like Slapshot is the only one not to be repeated:

Trice;  Carlo Traversi and Jamie Emerson, Daniel Woods, Dave Graham and James Pearson, Alex Puccio (and maybe others?)

Meathook; Dave Twinam (with a different sequence), Unknown canadian.

Slapshot??

Slapshot has deffo not been repeated, no one's tried it seriously to my knowledge. The landing has eroded quite a bit and it's hardly worth the bother now.

[stevie haston]

Hello guys, I just had a peek at this topic and its made me wonder much more about this problem. Some one should beg Benedict to say something aswell. My opinion is that the problem Thrice may not have been repeated by the new crew, if you look at the photo of Mr tall gangly american( generously supplied by Jasper) he is trying to do something very much different from what the young lad claimed as a first repeat last year(?). Ben has done a variation of thrice and I rememember a big hullabaloo and arguement about it, apologies to Ben if I have mixed things up. I have spent alot of time on this problem and straight up is very hard (more than font 8a+), there is a photo of me on this problem  in an artical titled the humble pull up and I think I have some more. A very interested Stevie.

[notbadforafatlad]

http://www128.pair.com/r3d4k7/JimHolloway.html

[Blunk]

Hello guys, I just had a peek at this topic and its made me wonder much more about this problem. Some one should beg Benedict to say something aswell. My opinion is that the problem Thrice may not have been repeated by the new crew, if you look at the photo of Mr tall gangly american( generously supplied by Jasper) he is trying to do something very much different from what the young lad claimed as a first repeat last year(?). Ben has done a variation of thrice and I rememember a big hullabaloo and arguement about it, apologies to Ben if I have mixed things up. I have spent alot of time on this problem and straight up is very hard (more than font 8a+), there is a photo of me on this problem  in an artical titled the humble pull up and I think I have some more. A very interested Stevie.

Not quite sure what you mean by "straight up" Stevie? From Emerson's blog http://www.b3bouldering.com/?s=trice it appears Jamie is moving through the move depicted by Jasper's pic. Do you mean reaching the final holds straight above the miserable pocket? Jamie reached further right at that point. I don't know exactly how Holloway did the final bit.

[dave]

this also looks like trice:

[Blunk]

this also looks like trice:

Yes, it is. Is that from Gill's site?

[Jaspersharpe]

Emerson repeat....



Traversi repeat.....

http://climbingbum.blogspot.com/2007/11/finally.html

From what I've read and seen the two differences between how Holloway originally did the problem and how Traversi & Emerson repeated it were:

1. Holloway could reach the pocket off the deck. Apparently this doesn't affect the overall difficulty of the problem and it doesn't really matter which holds are used to start it.

2. Both Traversi & Emerson used the high step (shown in the videos). As Emerson points out in the text of the blog, his mate was getting close to doing it without the high foot and felt that way to be easier. He also points out that he thought it was top end 8A+ and is harder than many 8Bs in Hueco. Traversi says that although he hasn't done the move the way that Holloway did, he climbed the problem using the same holds that Holloway used.

[stevie haston]

 thankyou Blunk (are you the huge guy) and Jasper, so you have cleared a bit up and left me puzzled. My understanding was that Hollow went straight up, the recent lads have gone right to a big rail, yes probably 8a+. A few people have gone right to the rail before the recent lads, but if you go straight up (without the rail) this problem would I am sure be modern 8b+. If Hollow did go straight up, he did for sure 8b or 8b+, even with his fantastic reach and massive hopping ability this is very cool. If you look at photos of Hollow he looks like a super morphed dave graham and its not totally impossible to believe his potential, bouldering is a very wierd thing. Cheers again, this forum is very good sometimes. Stevie. 

[Jaspersharpe]

That's really interesting Stevie. So this variation had been done before (by Ben and others) but people didn't consider it a proper repeat and assumed that Holloway had gone direct? I want to know if he did now, but if Blunk doesn't know then I fear we're not going to find out. So much mystery surrounding these problems.

[stevie haston]

Jasper, talk to Ben, Ben has his own views about this stuff and if he doesnt want to air them here I dont blame him. The interesting thing for me is that it is fairly preposterous to think that no one could climb 8a+ before last year, I have met and been out bouldered by a staggering amount of people in the US (not hard I hear some cry) but I have bouldered fairly well occaisionaly. One old bloke in boulder used to really get on the youngsters nerves, being cocky, arrogant and bloody good(my nerves too) if he had been a bit younger with a bit more snap and bounce who is to know what his standard was. The trouble with history is its normally in the hands of interested parties. I was always sceptical of Holloway, but as I have got older I realise that yes it may have been like that after all. Oh and to add something to an older thread 'why are the young pulling down big numbers',perhaps the numbers are to be expected and the question should be why arnt the oldsters pulling down middling hard. The little vid of Ben on voyager is not bad (is the young whippersnapper 40) and must be encouraging to many. If Holloway had progressed even the tiniest bit every year since 1977 he may well have got to the stage of going up an down the Island. Stevie.

[Blunk]

Good points Stevie. I will attempt to clarify where exactly Holloway exited. I agree that topping out straight up would be significantly harder.

I would point out that most of Holloway's contemporaries (now aged people such as myself) believed Holloway's claims to have done the Big 3 without question. He was far beyond any of us at that time. V9's were getting done with some regularity, Holloway pretty much would cruise those on his circuits and do things no one else could touch.

[Blunk]

Okay, I got the word from Andy Mann that Holloway did finish straight up. Andy spoke to Jim about his sequence several times.

Andy also took Fred Nicole and Paul Robinson to Slapshot on separate occasions. He said Nicole actually made progress on his visit. The big issue is a broken then reglued hold, the glue obscures the hold and makes it exceedingly difficult to use. Andy said if the glue were filed back the problem could be done.

And yes Stevie, I am the "huge guy." 

[Jaspersharpe]

Nice one Blunk.

[stevie haston]

 Thanks Blunk, I was a convert about 7 years ago, the last time I seriosly went bouldering, 3 months bouldering at Flag over the winter months I made very significant progress and I got to thinking yes a very big thin guy with basically fantastic conditions could have broken the standards.  I also watched lots of young lads make enormous improvements, working in big gangs, being very competative, and just flicking and catching without even being very strong. I didnt think Meat Hook would be super hard as I made some headway on it over two sessions with a short guys sequence but Slapshot is not on for me . Hope to meet you one day or have I already. Stevie.

[Blunk]

I don't think we've met, I usually remember encounters with overseas visitors pretty well. Usually because I am impressed!

Cool that you worked on Meathook and made some progress. I have tried for years to get strong people to attempt it but no one has done so seriously, they don't think it's a good line. Whatever.