Just thought i'd make a few things clear. i repeated BOP using farrars static pull on way (nick got it on video), starting rh crimp, but lh on the undercling with 2 fingers by the time i've rocked onto my RF kind of a 1 arm 1 legged rock over but LF still trails until LH touches the undercling, which is what i'd been led to believe was kosher, the starting holds aren't written down anywhere and on robs video and the stills its pretty hard to tell exactly how Ian starts and off how many pads, no thumbs were needed for me, on the problem, except for sticking 2 up after topping out as its a cracking problem and a really good addition to peak 8's.
It's defo not 8b, in my mind it breaks down as an 8a start (upto the small gastony crimp for rh) into a tenuous 7bish top section.
Comparatively though it seems a tad harder than Partenaire Particulier at elephant (also a big shouldery wall) but no harder than shallow groove (haven't done this as got bad splits but did all the moves) which i reckon is more like 8a+ anyway. So Low end 8a+ would be my experience of the problem based on past experiences. Ned thinks something similar and he was only thwarted by massive split in his index. It'd certainly be 8a+ to properly ground up and would be worth it for the amount of splits you'd get off the LH crux crimp alone.
the easiest way to start it is to french it with a thumb and middle finger, and doing this, if you can match ok (the middle finger makes the match harder), will bring it down to 8a IMO, provided you can reach the next hold. The problem with BOP is that it lacks a decent starting hold for the left (the LH thumb sprag is shit and doesn't exactly scream at you to hold it) so people will be tempted to french it. After doing it i had a quick play and i can also start the problem off an outside edge with LH on the sprag and kick RF upto the good foothold and this actually felt easier than the way i'd just done it, (i briefly contemplated a sitter but the corner becomes restrictive and makes it a bit eliminate). Ians static start is a bit procrustean at the mo, i started off 2 pads, and i'm definitely in the taller group of climbers. It was obvious when Ben got stood up on the flash after french starting into the thumbercut (the only real way he could pull on, making him do a static start would stop him being able to reach the undercling) that he was going to have a job on to get any further as the next shoulder up move is befitting to Ians name in that you get tied into it and cant move so you can either reach the next hold or you can't
Lots of highballs in the peak have a history of height dependent starts, look at careless, Ben and Caff start lower and without the block, yet its easier for them to do so! when something like BOP is so morpho anyway its probs going to be best to let people french start it if they like especially anyone shorter than 6 foot because the next bit is going to be hard enough anyway. That way everyone can at least attempt it with their given climbing style.
leave the ladders alone, i didn't even have mine as Dense'd robbed them, And Ian clearly abbed it so i don't see how using them to find and tick holds and suss the top was in anyway different to abbing it other than practicality.
