Igneous Ambiance And The Inevitable
I say inevitable because a key hold has always appeared like it could break off, but hey, it’s lasted quite a few years. And of course the inevitability of holds breaking is part of climbing, sigh.
About 5 weeks ago the top horizontal crimp (before the upper juggy ledge) broke off on Igneous Ambiance. Below is the video of someone pulling it off. Since this isn’t the crux, and the existing edge is still pretty good, I’m inclined to think it won’t up the grade; regardless, I think this is happening more so recently because of the extensive rains the park has received and the greater number of boulderers visiting the park. The video is by Wade Cecil of someone he didn’t know. A big thank you to Wade.
Recently, Jill broke two holds in the Mulligan Corridor, a huge foot for the start of what the gB calls Mulligan #2 (problem 29 that I call War By Other Means). It still goes but the original start is awkwardly much harder because what was once a decent sized flat hold is now a steep left facing smear. We repeated it using a left gaston that we thought might drop the grade to a 4.
This shows the remains of the foot hold.
This is a more enjoyable way to start the climb now. Originally it was FA’d matching on the right hand.
Here bumping to the first hold past the start.
The second broken hold is on a project nearby, a handhold that was also used as a heel hook, breaking while she heel hooked it. Why they didn’t break from my efforts? I guess she just pulls harder!
I can’t say for sure, but that’s my guess. FTR, the rock appeared dry, but it had rained recently. So please avoid edges that have thin cracks behind them as I think that’s the telltale sign. Water gets behind, and if it’s cold enough it freezes at night. Anyways, lets all be a bit more self aware of our impact immediately after it rains.
Joshua Tree bouldering 