Different from the rest of the pod's fine grained granite, this one is the typical, large, sharp, Buena Vista, crystalline style. Stand start with your left hand on the lowest best crystals and your right hand on the square, crystalized edge. Heel hook your left foot close to your left hand, and slap your right hand up to a crystal sloper. Hike your feet up, and go to the right of the fin arete, then grovel up. I have never seen anyone do a good, stylish topout, it's always been the hilarious crotch riding up the last moves....extra points if you did it naked for that painful, crotch ride topout.

Dorsal Fin

Techy Direct

Miggaloo

Techy Arete

Upper Arete

Austen's Sloper Problem

Austen's Left Arete

Techy Left Arete

Font Arete

Austen's Problem

This was originally V5, but a chunk on the crux hold broke, dropping the grade.

Sit start with your left hand in the v-slot, and your right hand on the lowest crimp. Pull up, and drop your right hand on the arete where a small lip is, then move your left hand to the ex-crux hold, before it was a hard sidepull. Now it's a good pinch, but even this looks like it will eventually change. Set your feet, and dyno your right or left hand to the lip. It is a superb problem even after the break, too bad it's not 8 feet taller.

Stand start with matched hands on the sloping rail. Move your right hand up to a sloper with a thumb catch, move right foot up, and make a move out to the lip with your left hand. Your right hand uses tiny crystals, and your left hand gets a unique, 2 finger, shallow pocket to pull the lip.

Crouch start with your left hand on a large, chalked up block and your right hand on one of the 3 small crimps out right. Get your left foot out left higher than your left hand on an undercling feature that you push against, as your body is horizontal. Push on your left foot, and go up to a good ledge with your right hand. Then get a left foot heel or toe on the starting left hand hold, and move up to a small, glassy, left hand hold, stand up, and snag a good crimp. Your right hand then snags a good sidepull. From there, it's easier - a few moves and top out.

Crouch start with your left hand on a small, crimp sidepull and your right hand on a small, sidepull crimp. Your right hand goes up to a small crimp. Stand up and do a big move out left to a large sidepull, then utilize small edges and crystals to pull the lip.

Crouch start with your right hand on an undercling, your left hand on a crimp, and with a right foot heel hook above the arete. Move your right hand to a good edge on the lip of the arete, adjust, then bump your right hand up to a bad pinch on the arete. Move your left hand out to an angled sloper on the other arete, then bump your left hand to a pocket on the arete. Make room for your left foot in the pocket, and heel hook. Then bump your left hand up to the horn of the arete, then blast your right hand to the lip, and top out. For as short as this is, it packs a punch.

Do a semi-crouched start. The OG was a stand start, but the lower start was always the plan. So the beta will be for the low start as it has always been intended.

Begin with your left hand on a slopey crimp on the lip and your right hand down under the roof. Left heel hook on the lip, then make a big, left hand bump to the big sloper, and match. Move out right, heel hook over your left hand, cross your left hand over your right hand, and match. Move your left hand up to a small crimp, bump out right with your right hand to a good sidepull, then stand up, and top out.

Originally, this was done as some would claim now as contrived, you know using the cool features and not looking for the easy path of using the arete lip the whole way, but since everyone does it the arete lip, so it shall be.

Squat start with your left hand on the arete lip and your right hand on the triangle-shaped hold on the face. Move your left or right hand up the arete lip, using heel hooks and face features.

Stand start matched on a sloping crimp rail, and move up and left, the foot holds are hard till you can stand on the starting rail, but then the hands aren't so good.... The landing is awkward.

Stand start. Some call it contrived due to the start, but if you want to up your tech skills don't cheat yourself. If you do the problem from standing on the mud covered bedrock and claim the V4, you're only lying to yourself.

Begin with your left hand on a small crimp and your right hand on the impossible, slopey arete. Get your right foot up on the small edge on the flake that is above the mud covered bedrock. If you're true to yourself and your style you do the move static, if you lack bouldering ethics, you stand on the bedrock, and just reach up to the crimp or do a jump start and claim "soft". No don't do that, fight the hard barndoor, and reach up for the crimp with your left hand, match, and then go up a series of smaller and sharper crimps to the top.

Description

Routes in The Pod