The 10 Best “Moderate” Highballs in Bishop
While James Lucas was working on the new Bishop guidebook, he put together a list of Bishop’s best highballs at every grade up to V10. Pad these climbs carefully—or better yet, don't fall.
The post The 10 Best “Moderate” Highballs in Bishop appeared first on Climbing.
In the 1940s, mountaineer Smoke Blanchard played a high-stakes game of “the floor is lava” in the enormous desert stonescape outside Bishop, California. He coined the term “Buttermilking” to describe the moves that he performed, jumping between the boulders, jamming up the cracks, manteling onto towers, and linking together large sections of terrain without ever touching the gravel.
From Blanchard’s days to the 1980s, climbers continued to Buttermilk. They maintained a soloing mentality, only going as far up as they could comfortably downclimb, thinking of their game as fun practice for big-mountain terrain. In the 1990s climbers began pursuing the lines in the Volcanic Tablelands and the Buttermilks as more than mere training climbing. Seeing bouldering as an end unto itself, and emboldened by the introduction of crashpads, they extended the bouldering mentality onto ever higher lines.
Blurring the line between bouldering and free soloing, Bishop’s beautiful highballs now attract climbers from across the globe. As the problems have gotten taller, so have the pad stacks and the prevalence of gritstone-style toprope rehearsal and headpointing tactics.
With thousands of climbs in Bishop, picking the best can be difficult. But while I was working on the new Bishop guidebook—it hits the shelves this month and is now available for pre-order—I combined my years of experience climbing in the Buttermilks with input from locals and the history of the area to create a list of Bishop’s best highballs. Pad these climbs carefully and be mindful that you may find yourself in some proper Smoke Blanchard-style Buttermilking.
The most Classic Bishop highballs from V0 to V10
Southwest Arete (V0)
Location: Buttermilks, Grandma Peabody
It’s rare to see pads underneath this line even though it’s the easiest way up the gigantic Grandma Peabody. Most people forgo pads because it’s more of a free solo than a highball. The Southwest Arete tackles some footwork intensive terrain all the way to the rounded slab at the top. It’ll be properly terrifying if you don’t trust your feet.
Heavenly Path (V1)
Location: Happies, Heavenly Path / Main
Located in the center of the Happy Boulders, Heavenly Path follows a series of large undercling features to a committing move that leads to an easier but heady chocolate slab. Though moderate, this climb has claimed a few broken backs and sprained ankles—thanks to both its height and the protruding rock near the base.
Sheepherder (V2)
Location: Buttermilks, The Loaf
The Loaf Boulder appears to be unassuming, with a few crimpy lines on its left side, but Sheepherder tackles a right trending series of delicate smears in the center… and it gets rather tall. Staying challenging throughout, this low-key Buttermilks classic rewards a calm head and keen footwork.
Black Magic (V3)
Location: Happies, Black Magic / Blood Simple
Mick Ryan’s old Bishop Bouldering Survival Kit pamphlet listed this impressive 30-foot climb as V5. Better beta and larger pads have lowered the grade but not the height. The crux comes low but heady high moves and a little suspect rock keep this engaging to the end.
Jedi Mind Tricks (V4)
Location: Pollen Grains, Jedi Mind Tricks
“It’s an easy warmup,” my ex-girlfriend assured me. The flake system sitting on the south side of this Pollen Grains bloc gets a lot of sun, making it perfect for cloudy days. But if you climb it in the sun, as I tried to do, the problem may be more of a warm climb than a warm up—especially since the problem escalates in difficulty the higher you get, culminating in a hard move at the top. It’s no wonder the relationship didn’t last.
René (V5)
Location: Happies, Hand to Hand / Rene
“The wall has a clean angle change in the middle—from slabby to slightly overhanging—that gives it a nice, imposing lean,” said first ascensionist Victor Copeland, who originally thought this line was V9 or 10. After he crimped more at Indian Rock, he lowered the grade. Though he was still drawn to it. “The tiny holds, with an exciting deadpoint to the lip at enough height, give the finish a dramatic, cruxy feel.”
Atari (V6)
Location: Happies, East Rim/Atari
Named after the late ’70s video game council, this problem involves squeezing up an Atari-shaped double prow above a bad, tiered landing. While not as tall as many of the other problems on this list, a bad fall on this could be worse than many of the bigger lines. Still, it’s an absolute classic—and one of the most photogenic problems in the United States.
Pre-order James Lucas’s Bishop Bouldering here
Mesothelioma (V7)
Location: Pollen Grains, Beekeeper
“It’s V4,” Bishop local Andy Liu told me before I tried his amazing arete. He was right…almost. Some V4 moves at the start lead to a V4 section in the middle and a very engaging V4 section at the top—which makes the whole ensemble… not V4. Be warned: the easiest way off is a heady V2 downclimb.
Highbrow (V8)
Location: Happies, West Rim/Highbrow
Sometimes bouldering requires having friends and a lot of them. The prow of Highbrow, which features difficult squeezing in a wild position high on the west rim of the Happies, requires a ton of supportive partners—though even with them you should be prepared for some equally wild falls on this aesthetic climb. Supplement your pads and spotters with a careful blend of confidence and good judgment.
Fall Guy (V9)
Location: Buttermilks, Flyboy Boulder
How long can you make difficult pulls on tiny edges? If you want to find out, test your fingers on this power-endurance crimping test piece. If you want more, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, begins a few moves lower.
Golden Shower (V10)
Location: Pollen Grains, Beekeeper Boulder
Though mega-tall lines like Too Big to Flail are what people think of when they think of Bishop highballs, these are also more like free solos than traditional boulder problems, so the comparatively “diminutive” Golden Shower makes the cut at half the height. This line tackles an amazing arete and culminates with an airy heel hook and some thank God buckets above the lip.
Pre-order James Lucas’s Bishop Bouldering here
Related: Flood in the Desert: How Tidal Wave of Climbers is Reshaping Bishop, California
Other tall Bishop classics
V0*
Natural Melody (V0-)
Celestial Trail (V0-)
Althea (V0)
The Pursuit of the Wow (V0)
Southwest Arete (V0)
Big Slab (V0+)
*Be warned: the difference between V0- and V0+ can be the difference between 5.8 and 5.10.
V1
The Black Stuff
Heavenly Path
John Bachar Memorial Problem
Blood Kin
Good Morning Sunshine
V2
The Hunk
Sheepherder
Fire Pit
Timothy Leary Presents
V3
Black Magic
Roadside Highball
East Rib
The Bee Sneeze
The Hard Crack
Scooped Face
V4
Professional Widow
Green Hornet
Grommit
Jedi Mind Tricks
Cuban Roll
Professional Widow
My Heart Grew Wings Under Desert Skies
V5
Strength in Numbers
Done with the South
Rene
Finger Prints
V6
Atari
Drone Militia
The Ninth
The Beekeeper
V7
Los Locos
Lawnmower Man
Mesothelioma
Suspended in Silence
Secrets of the Beehive
V8
HighBrow
Magnetic North
Water Saps
Flight of the Bumble Bee
V9
Saigon Direct
Luminance
Fall Guy
Hueco Wall
This Side of Paradise
V10
Too Big to Flail
Golden Showers
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