Monday, December 15, 2014



Skate Part


Climbing has been taking up all my time in the last couple years but on rest days I love to skate.
I managed to get out a little with my friends and stack enough footage to put together a short part.
My part starts at 8:40 enjoy.


Spring in Leavy


Leavenworth Spring 2014 from Ben Herrington on Vimeo.

Nate on Geronimo v8
Obe Wan v9


Spring was short lived but fun. I had a really fun trip with Nate and Alex. I wanted to get into outdoor shape by trying to flash some lines. We went to the Star Wars boulder where I managed a flash of Emperor's Lightning v7. Feeling good, I tried Obe Wan v9. Thirty try's later I finally stuck the first move and put it together. Man is it just me or is that thing hard for the grade? Then I tried Yoda v9. Bad foot choices cost me the flash.  I bared down second try and finished it off. Obe Wan felt way harder. Then we headed down the road to Geronimo v8. On the flash go I slapped the lip in the wrong place and fell. I cruised it right after with the right beta. All in all I suck at flashing.

FA of Mr. Yuk v12









 I was feeling a little aimless having finished off a lot of the lines I really wanted to do. I started to search a lot for new projects to get psyched on and returned to ones I had found in the past that I had deemed to hard. I was walking down from the 420 boulders when I remembered a sweet line of barely there holds with a cool starting rail. I went over there to check it out and it was even cooler then I remembered. I got to work cleaning and figuring out the beta. At first, I thought it wouldn't be to hard maybe v10/11. I was getting really close on that first day. I tried to find better beta for the top when I broke a giant foothold and slammed my chest against the wall. The top became a bit harder especially from the beginning. I came back a week later, but it was too hot and I had to wait until the sun set to try it. The holds are so small and barely there. I got really close a couple times then I split my finger on the crux left hand crimp. I tried for a while with tape but I wasn't getting anywhere with such small holds. I ripped the tape off and gave it the classic last go. When I stuck the crux move to the small crimp I thought, don't screw this up. Mr. Yuk v12 was born and my finger was thrashed. It was really cool finding this line not knowing if it would go and then coming full circle and climbing it. That is the feeling that makes developing so fun, the imagination, the unknown.

Nate on Emperor's Lightning v7
Alex on Darth Maul, v5 in my book
Yoda v9 

Should have flashed but I will settle for second go


I found and cleaned the Rager proj it was hiding in plan site
Really cool holds on really good rock


I spent a day at Middle Fork at the Booka Boulders. This line Man About Town v8/9
and The Gong Show v9 are the standout lines of the area. I tried to add a funky
stemming low start to this problem but I couldn't make one of the moves.

Quantum Mechanics v10

Let it be known, that the original Quantum Mechanics was
 done from this start. The v7 start needs to get a different name. 
Davita cruising Giant Man v4
Sick proj. Jug start, it climbs up the arete with little crimp
side pulls to oppose on a 70 degree wall.
Sweet highball project












Friday, September 26, 2014

Joe's Valley


Spring Break in Joe's Valley from Ben Herrington on Vimeo.
Davita crushing Kill By Numbers v5

It seems that every year i have to make the pilgrimage to Joe's Valley. The climbing there is so fun. Friendly texture, pretty lines, and lot's to do.




Dark Side of the Moon v5 on the Nerf wall

Peter finally committing to the top


Happy Valley v7 burly

The one that got away Blackout v13 next time

Super fun Guppy v7

Techy Point Break v8

Sunny one minute snowing the next. This happened alot

Power Couple 

They broke up and ruined are road trip crew


Last day skin
Sweet Project 

Monday, May 26, 2014


Bishop Winter 2013 from Ben Herrington on Vimeo.

Spector
Peter on Fly Boy ArĂȘte v5
Bishop                        
                                                                                                           Scanner Darkly
My girlfriend Davita and I headed down to Bishop for her two week winter vacation. We met up with our travel buddies Peter and Roxana. The goal for the trip was to try Spector v13, which is by the way one of the best lines I have ever see and by far the best in Bishop. The first week we where there sucked. It was way to cold, and we spent most of are time at the Happies where we could climb in direct sunlight from noon to four. It made climbing a tedious task, but I didn't want to leave empty handed. I managed to climb Kill On Sight v12 in a quick session. In this down grade crazed time we live in, I am surprised this one hasn't gotten the axe. Davita killed it crushing Solarium v4. By week two the weather was nice, so we got to work at the Buttermilks. I warmed up to the area climbing Junior Achievement v8, Iron Fly v9, Moonraker v8/9, and Evilution to the lip v10. I surprised myself by climbing Evilution in a couple of goes with about five pads. I could hear them shuffling them around as I climbed and when I dropped from the lip one foot barely missed the pads. We moved over to the Grandma Peabody and I climbed Thunderbird v11 and started trying the sit Direction v13. I did all the moves when I punched a nice hole in my finger on the crux razor crimp that you yard on to make the jump move. I came back some days later and I fell on the last hard move, the match after the jump. Next time. The other climb I got interested in was Scanner Darkly v12. I did the stand v9, did all the moves on the sit from the legit start which is a lot harder and made some good links. I came back on a really hot day and got no were on it. It has a really sharp undercling that the crux revolves around that wrecked my skin on three of my fingers. I couldn't manage to climb it with tape. Next time. Davita climbed her hardest climb outside Go Granny Go v5 after a couple days work. Last was Spector v13, I tried it twice with a cool guy I met named Sander, he got as close as you can get without sticking the crux move (he also sent Scanner). On the last day I got close using a heel hook. Last try I was doing the set up move when I heard a pop, it was the pulley in my palm for my index finger. All in all, I had a good time, but I didn't send any of the hard lines that I really wanted to do. I will have to go back to finish them off. 

Davita crushing Go Granny Go v5


Sander
Highballin

Gang Bang


I'm not the biggest fan of Bishop. The lines are good looking, but the rock is crap. I like friction. Bishop is super slippery and polished. It's good but not world class. Climbing is always fun, but in my opinion Bishop doesn't live up to the other bouldering meccas.


Davita killing it




Thursday, April 24, 2014

Skateboarding

I love skateboarding but climbing has kind of taken over. On my rest days I love to session with my skater friends. Who know nothing about my climbing and my climbing friends know nothing about my skating. They stand on both sides of the fence and tell me how dangerous the other side is. So for those who skate to, enjoy.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

 The Method v12


In January there was a week window of nice weather. I headed back up for a two day trip with the goal of finishing off The Method v12. The winter weather wasn't as good as I was hoping for. During the night, everything had frost on it and the chief blocked the sun until noon making for a short climbing window. Once the sun hit me, I started warming up and I decided to climb Baba Hari Dass v7, which happens to be the most contrived and popular line. You can do a easy topout anywhere as you climb up this arĂȘte but you are supposed to topout at the most awkward point making it kind of stout. For some reason, against my good judgement, I felt the obligation to complete it. Once I start trying something it is hard for me to walk away. After sending it, I headed strait to The Method. I found a way to climb strait up the face instead of traversing in from the right like I had done before.
The Crux breaks down into two moves, finding the body position to slap a right hand slippery sloper then squeezing to bring your left hand to a undercling. I fell on the undercling move repeatedly. The next day I warmed up quickly not wanting my day to be cut short again. First go, I slapped the undercling and felt a little edge I powered up on it and did the next couple of moves to the good edge out left, which was slightly wet. I stared at the lip not sure were to grab and insecure on the wet hold I lunged for a chalked up spot . It turned out to be non-existent. After that I ran around top, chalked a better hold, then rested. I knew I didn't have too many goes in me. Next go I climbed perfectly threw the crux to the wet left hand, I made the move to the newly chalked up sloper on the lip. As I started to weigh it to make the next crossover move, my left hand fired off the wet hold almost knocking me off. The rest of the topout was sketchy. I was pumped and I was trying to hold on to slippery slopers with a wet hand, but I managed to pull it off. It felt good to stand on top off such a technical test piece. It climbs very similar to Angelina Jolie v11/12 in Leavenworth. I have always really liked to climb lines of all styles. This is definitely one of the hardest slab/vert lines I have climbed. Now, on to the next one. 

                        Back to Squamish

Frontside so cool
I headed back up to Squamish in October. The weather was a perfect 40 degrees with a nice breeze. It was awesome. Squamish is a really hard place to travel to, it is either to hot or raining. It is safe to say Squamish is sandbagged but in these little weather windows that only the locals get to enjoy, the grades suddenly feel right. My goal for the trip was the three v12's on the top 100 list--Summoning, Frontside, and The Method. First off I went to Murrin Park to finish the Summoning v12, a line I had greased off of on my summer trip. It felt great in the cold and after figuring out the transitions, I managed to send it--only after blowing the move to the lip when my left hand dry fired off of a crimp. Feeling really good about the send, I headed over to the grand wall to meet up with Jesse Warren who wanted to try Room Service v12. When I got there Jesse, Paul Nadler, and Carlo Traversi where sessioning. I threw down my pad and started trying. Room Service is a burly compression line on little edges with precise thumb catches. It kind of starts in the middle of the true line which has an obvious start hold but it looks real hard so it got climbed from the middle. Jesse had worked the line prevously and was psyched. Right after I got there he climbed it. Carlo started trying dreamcatcher 5.14d when his girlfriend fed him to much slack and he almost decked on the boulder it climbs over. I tried Room Service for a bit but I was more psyched to climb on Frontside. I figured I would come back after and give it more serious attempts.
Encore un Fois v11
Shots Fired
 The next morning I ran over to Frontside to try and climb it before the sun hit it. I warmed up on Shots Fired a fantastic v4 that sits on the boulder next to Frontside. I felt really good and after
rehearsing the crux move it was game on. The crux revolves around taking a slopy right hand divot and lock it off to your side and make a big crossover move to a good edge. You can't lose to much tension because of the boulder behind you. The first time I did the crux move to quickly my head tilted back to far and I dabbed on the boulder behind me. I like that aspect of outdoor climbing the variables make things more interesting. After falling a few time on the crux from the beginning, I managed to pull it off. Frontside has to be the most inspiring line I have done in Squamish.  Paul said he was going to session Room Service that day so I headed over there. I figured I would take advantage, the climb requires a lot of pads. I figured out all the moves but I was to spent to send such a powerful line.  Paul got insanely close falling after the crux. Feeling worked, we called it a day.
 The next morning I warmed up on some really good classics on the carpet ride boulder I hadn't done. I stopped at Killa' Gorilla v8 on the way out. It looked fun but contrived. I got to work, and it was a lot more powerful then I was expecting. I finally mustered up enough strength to pull it out. I looked at the variation King Kong v10 and thought what the hell. After a couple goes I was on top. It felt substantially easier. Right above it sits The Serpent v10, and it looks awesome. I gave it a flash burn falling about half way up. Twenty minutes later I hadn't gotten a single move higher. I decided I should come back and session it with friends that could maybe throw some beta my way because I wasn't getting anywhere. I was tired so I headed to the Method v12 it is mostly a technical line with not to much burl. I had tried it in the middle of the summer and I couldn't get off the ground. I figured out the beginning and was feeling good on the crux when it started to rain. It wasn't letting up so I called it a trip and headed home.