Christian Mengel

first go but I did it in 2009...trying to get used to Mortar sharpness...Impossible Wall should be doable...

had no rubber and chalk marks so I guess I faed it...third arete on the block, as good as the other ones!

simply stunning! crimpy compression to a big move to a jug at mid height...followed by a hard and scary shoulder move difficult to match and a you-can-fall-there topout up high over a medium landing...CLASSIC!

cool warm up with one bigger move...

nice one! sloper to crimpers to a big reach...tops out...an entire block full of rad problems directly next to the road...why is nobody else cleaning stuff?

a little bit of everything...same start as Nasenbär, so no flash!

amazing arete...with a big move on top as a bonus...

unfortunately defined...cool dyno nevertheless...

quality sloper compression...

amazing movements, even though it´s a tad defined inasmuch as that you need to use the HEINOUS crimpers...2nd. ascent after Rambo, never thought I could pull the holds but then did it in less than 10 goes..."if we can climb it in a day, it can´t be harder!"

cool compression...2nd. ascent? can´t do Rambo´s method for the mantle so I had to come up with some tall person beta...heel hooks for the win!

the original was just contrived...using all the good holds, it´s easy...re-faed it if anyone cares...

cool arete...starts with a left hand pinch and a poor sloper at hip height...

cool highball...needs more ascents...

tricky arete...took a couple of goes...second ascent!

really cool roof compression...just went for it and got it...a BRCM must do!

sharpish! flapper time...second ascent...

second ascent after Rambo...feels hard but the taller you are, the harder it will feel...

unfortunately doesn´t top out...has a big shoulder move...2nd. ascent after Rambo...

cool compression, unfortunately very low...almost blew the flash at the top...

sharp! might be way harder for people with less wing span...

cool compression moves...cleaned it and got the 2nd. ascent after Rambo...really wanted this one! SHARP!

cool compression to a nice mantle...could be 6A+ but I´m hesitant about that...starts with a sloper at the arete and a sidepull crimper, the big jug 30 cm further right from the arete is off since it completely spoils the moves!

start as Sangre Sani and traverse left to a mantle in the shallow dihedral...

links Explosion SD into Papillon...13 moves of power endurance...

"But down these mean streets a man must go, who is not himself mean, who is neither tarnished nor afraid!"In its present state, the problem´s first move is SERIOUSLY dabby! It took about a hundred tries to stick it without touching the pad, so if anybody wants to try it before I have removed the stone consider your ethics and do it the same way!

a tad too low...nice roof moves, though

another one done...start with two opposing sidepulls and pull into the crack...climb slightly right to a drop off jug...anybody willing to clean the top out?

aka Sabs´s project...quality warm up! we´re in peril!

sharpish and reachy...tried a couple of sequences and they all pretty much work, depending on how tall you are...Joey and me agreed on 6B..."move those stones, you might hurt yourself!"

tried to campus it a couple of times...couldn´t hold the swing...put my foot up and did it...hard!

total class and hard as nails...

I tried this a lot during past visits but never figured it out since my feet always sucked...using Daniel´s and Joey´s high foot out right it clicked second go today...can´t see it as 6C+...especially not after going to Saustein right after...

highball...don´t fall...lot´s of highballing and highball related talks today...this one feels safe and therefore okay...fun!

cool and high...not done, had cake and shandy, so let´s go bouldering!

buck up for this move! missed it a couple of times and took some falls...fortunately, this actually means that I`m getting used to falling on pads again...Props to Ralf for the cleaning effort and Rob on the FA...

one of the better cruiser highballs I´ve climbed!

shoulder warm up with a left hand fingerlock...

warm up slab with more moves...

nice warm up...

nice compression

sweet compression! needs more ascents and cleaning!

second go...one hard move up high...

cleaned it over the past two weeks...all compression down low, then really crimpy...repeated it twice for lowdown and pics two days later, should clock in at mid 7A+...but with only two ascents that´s still pretty much a guess...thought Mike would flash it and he couldn´t do it...consensus via more repeats...one of my best FAs!

"Strangely, not only has it forgotten how to fly, it also seems to have forgotten that it has forgotten how to fly. Legend has it that a seriously worried kakapo will sometimes run up a tree and jump out of it, whereupon it flies like a brick and lands in a graceless heap on the ground." This bird is my hero!

funny little pinch thing...not the best landing...

pretty awesome highball crack...second ascent after Rob who cleaned it and thus had the right to fa this amazing line...ends at the no hand rest in the middle of the wall, we climbed down on our fixed rope which Rob used to clean it...

"When mountains speak, wise men listen"...fools just follow the path...

start on Bumblebee and traverse around the corner into Der Dronte Eduard...did it second go warming up before giving Phil more tries, so I was prolly just tired last time...didn´t even need to shake out...still use the OG sliding heel hook beta;)...can´t see why something like 6A max trav. linked into 6C trav. should bump up the grade...

I can´t flash a damn thing...fell from the mantle with my foot slipping from that GIANT pinch...

needs more cleaning, then it will be quite nice actually...tops out, that´s good

start with a left hand sidepull and the obvious pinch at head height...go right to an undercling pinch, then top out using the crimpers...needs more cleaning!

see comment for Mantelpavian...I so need to learn to flash, if only just to save skin!

WHAT? GRADE? maybe I climbed the wrong sequence but that one felt hard...the way I climbed it though makes it a class problem...

fun compression...topout was seeping, route climber shakeout, downclimb and chalk up skills prevail...first time bouldering with no tape on since my cartilage injury and things seem to be finally on the track to FULL recovery...YES! GOOD DAY!

quite possibly the best 6C+ I have climbed...you won´t find a better line in the Valley, Tahoe, Bishop or any Austrian area I have been to...high, powerful and hard!

"Cause I walk dead or alive, I waste my time whenever I like, I´m feeling okay, with my whiskey hangover"Rob saw it, Hans unlocked it...hard one mover sit down to an existing 6B+...compression...goes down to hard 7A+ with the new foothold...very psyched on the hard projects I worked on with Tom!

harder version of Sidewinder...contrived but a good trainer on crimpers, pinches and slopers...thought this would be harder but took it down quite quick...fun day out! hope the weather will last...

straight up to Alles auf Zucker...fun little compression

class traverse

...second go...punt of the day foot slip...grade?

tricky little number...was a bit wet...

should have flashed it...my technique sucks...ends straight in the middle of nowhere...not exactly a line...

tricky, athletic and fun to figure out!

classy arete...despite the rain...

very psyched...cleaned it and did it...really good if it gets done a little more often...rad slopers! Meredith fell and shocked me...fortunately just a sprain!

aka The Sloper Eliminate...it´s an eliminate, okay...but it climbs well...slopey! goes down to 7A after breakage!

hiked up at 6.30 am to avoid the heat and man, that made a difference! nice to bag this before the sunspot removal surgery related break...have no clue about the grade, it´s pretty much campusing a slopey rail trying to get as much out of the footholds there are as possible...will have to repeat Boulderbrothers to compare!

needs some more cleaning, then it will be quite good...start sitting with both hands at the pocket and go right to a crimp...pull into the slab and climb straight up using a sinker slot and some crimpers to gain a righthand slot...top out

props to Rob for onsighting this rig...pretty tricky, even though it clicked second go and I wasn´t pumped - it has a kneebar no hand rest! considering this is 30 metres long, I seem to be building up endurance...I like. would be better if it actually stopped at the beginning of the slab.

pretty sweet compression! should have done it the sunday before but fell from the top like a beached whale...I´m falling in love with this place...

Hans is definately good at finding new sequences...makes my way a contrived way...spoils the move a bit, though...

tricky little bastard!

now that mantle is cool!

pretty magical how FAs name themselves...manteling I almost stepped on a Bumblebee...start with a lefthand jug and a crimper and make a big move to a left hand crimper...then lock the crimper off and go for the right hand slot at the lipp...tops out, quite a sweet addition to the area...

aka Somersault...did one hill down when the crimper broke...all shook up! start at the jug, then climb straight up using the pocket and the sidepull/crimper for the left

took a lot of cleaning to get the top out done...start at the crimper rail and do a big move to a jug...reach for the lip and traverse the lip to a topout shared with Bumblebee

crimpy...psyched to find this one pretty easy this time...

nice line and interesting moves...high!

nice dynamic one mover...grade is a joke...VO or max V1 in the Valley...

nice...for a warm up...grade? excuse me, this is doable in sneakers...

pretty good for a lowball...

average 7A my guess, could be 7A+ but 7B is a joke...nice compression, should have flashed it...like it, better than it looks

nice, quality rock...good warm down...fun dyno!

really good! tops out! like it...would have never guessed this was that good! put up more problems like that please...we need a new spot!

fun slopey arete...technical and tricky! slipped on the flash...freaked out and got pissed at myself... which of course meant that I blew my next goes as well:) best 6A in the BRCM...

kinda contrived but I don´t care...I was training and couldn´t go somewhere else...tension problem and power endurance...goes down to soft 7A+ after breakage!

I suck at dynos right now, so I blew my flash attempt trying to dyno to the lip...anyway...would be V2 max in the Valley...so I´m going with this...the cold is gone, finally...

wanted it...especially after some tool of a local pissed me off...after climbing with positive people in the US for the past summer, this kinda ruined my day...gave the finger to that fucker when I sent it my way and it still didn´t feel right...at least I managed to win against my anger and kept in together...after being down with the cold for 4 weeks, I personally would say V5 but I´ll go with V4...

stellar and scary highball arete/free solo...great day with Austin, Tim and Betty...did it again to have a video...

Tim`s first highball...ticked it for him and he sent...congrats! nice but not as classic as Pelican

essentially a solo...also the down climb...the ambiance and the Schist holds leave me amazed!

hard...and good...and sharp...full on compression and very tricky...very rewarding when I finally solved this mini puzzle...wholly mammoth polish rules!

crimpy...razor sharp...didn`t expect anything and that`s key...the top out is awesome...turn around and face the Pacific...stellar! feel myself getting in shape...thanks for a wonderful day at Goat Rock to Austin, Betty and Tim

polished to the max...slipped a couple of times last time, kept it together this time...Nat´s Traverse, I´m gonna come back in 2010 and crush you...I don´t know why, it´s a pile, but I´m just stubborn!

should have flashed it...just one move...

fun compression...flashed it basically but a couple of weeks ago I did something a couple of guys labeled The Bear Hug Problem...basically Black Plaque with a different start so no flash...

nice warm up arete

nice pocket moves and then good crimpers

very good Frankenjura style overhang on pockets and pinches, not scary if there are pads around

so fun! dynamic and athletic...do the move or spin off into poison oak...the knee hurt on the sitdown extension, so this was the better option...very psyched to be bouldering again...

links the crimpy start of The Crippler into the highball topout of The King`s Throne...nice

absolutely amazing...I`m so happy...thanx to Jose and Magnolia for the spotting, a true king line, tall, athletic and committing, I really wanted this one...and got it, which was important for me since I wanted to send something proud and outstanding in the Valley...two days later I repeated it to hook up Brian with the beta...and cruised it. I can climb a lot harder if I find something that is my style! The linkup into Behave is RAD and HARD! Psyched to return...Goodbye Valley for this time...

slipped on the flash...damn! Candyland is cool...

good and a little bit sketchy due to the mossy topout...got The Diamond all figured out and almost linked in an hour...psyched!

so good! thought I could flash it, the fool I am...has a BIG lock off at the crux...

very good...full on compression on slopers and pinches followed by nice moves to a dicey top out...

good warm up...the whole Bishop experience is weird, though...

fun...nice roof on Grandpa...flows! If only the rest of the days would flow as well...being alone and with one pad in Bishop sucks...on the move to the Valley, the solitude is driving me nuts...

high and slightly wet from the tide...great feeling

nice warm up...

good and pretty damn hard, since it has years of polish on it...straightforward roof crimping, great day with Reed at the beach, thanks for the beta and the lowdown...

good, third go or something...burly, dynamic and athletic to a high and slightly scary finish...just as I like it...

superb warm up...

the first move is hard! sucker! took me longer than Spirit Slips Away! AWESOME PROBLEM!

another world class Lake Tahoe line...

probably one of the best cruiser highballs I`ve climbed...high and so classic

memorable end of the day problem...highball slab, deadpointed to the lip and would have totally crashed if there hadn`t been the jug...I guess Ben was scared...

post birthday present...so very psyched...skip all the bad holds, just take the big ones...superb crimping and sloping and amazing all out lunge for the hidden top out, so good and so cool

nice compression moves, felt easy today...not harder than The Ramp Sit

cool moves and fun top out...

better flash it...it`s a telling name...

sweet...actually has holds, so doable with 35 Celsius

pretty much perfect...topped out in total trance...kinda scary with one pad and all by myself...

adds some punch, did it first try but I knew the first part and so this is no flash...

cool...nice warm up

nice slab...

cool arete...highball!

my first valley problem

perfect sloper problem...damn good, Euro grades are shit soft...Yosemite is the thing!

pretty perfect highball...that slab is scary...one of my most intense moments ever in climbing...I`m going with Matt Wilder`s Yosemite guide...8a`s version of the V-grading scale is wrong and not corresponding to any American guide book...

pretty nice highball...tall and cool

nice warm up highball...

actually a free solo...tall, easy and great

really nice...good, sharp and high

brilliant...nice moves, nice evening...felt like 6b to me so I go with it...

total classic highball with jugs...freaking high and scary, especially with one pad...

straight up without the jugs to the left...

cool traverse with a hard mantle

overhung prow, very burly, very dynamic, slapping and hooking solve the problem, 3rd or 4th go after figuring out the moves...negative: my elbow hurts...

compression...unfortunately this one ends pretty random...

I cannot stand on smears...damn slab climbing

pretty crimpy and powerful, nice moves and a really cool day with Verena- I liked it, the day was worth the drive

not harder than The Whole Nine Yards concerning single moves but longer and pumpier...pretty athletic on good holds

first highball of the year...scared the shit out of me, spend 5 min. chalking on the jugg 2/3s up before getting the nerve to top out

pretty successfull day: three new, hard and nice projects:)

a boulder...enough said about this one

not so hard...

crosses the shield and exits via CSI, hooking solves the mysteries as usual:)

Poorly/Mainly chipped not sure about whether I got the first ascent or not any more...I did not chip any of those pockets...I used them on the link however...

four move power problem...the sitdown is more challenge than fun for a tall guy like me

finally dry...very nice, high and burly...fun!

high, burly, powerful, simply a very nice boulder, I love this place, not sure about the grade, might be harder...we`ll see!

first ascent, absolutely not my style, crimpy to the max even after figuring out the least crimpy beta, super techy and cool...extension is going to be hard

sharp, high, techy and very powerful-interesting line, more to come...sitdown still project

never 6c, 6a+ maximum!

very cool boulder...techy and slopey...after the Valley, this needs a downgrade...have been pondering this for a while, needs to be done

nice power problem...

Log-book, No score pretty nice and high...

Log-book, No score another one mover with a tiny crimp...perfect slab, then topout...nice and high

Log-book, No score pretty burly and tricky as well...hooking solves the problem...

Log-book, No score sooo burly...did it pretty fast, very athletic, might be harder but I did it in 1 hour so...

Log-book, No score a little defined...but actually better than TBM

Log-book, No score The name says it all...horribly sharp...pretty fucked up way to warm up

Log-book, No score

Log-book, No score there is a thin line between having balls and being an idiot, highball with very sketchy landing

Log-book, No score tricky and technical...

Log-book, No score very nice and harder than I thought...

Log-book, No score goes down to 6A+ after quick repeats...

Log-book, No score my style...foothooks and compression

Log-book, No score 15 minutes, nice slopers, my style...

Log-book, No score new beta and a broken hold make it easier...redid it and regraded it...

Log-book, No score so good, burly and fingery, tension required...

Log-book, No score starts on the crimpers far left...good line! starting on the slopers is cheating!

Log-book, No score The hardest thing I´ve done in the area, super burly, slopers and compression, so proud, waiting for repetitions

Log-book, No score easy start to Man of Constant Sorrow, maybe harder, tricky, scary top out

Log-book, No score hard but not too pleasant in terms of moves...really hard start followed by a moderate top out...

Log-book, No score such a nice warm up

Log-book, No score super beautiful, perfect line, slopey holds and nice top out, my style, harder if you`re small?

Log-book, No score aka The Dosage 1 Traverse, pretty hard

Log-book, No score much better than it looked

Log-book, No score sharp and reachy...classy arete!

Log-book, No score a little contrieved but whatever

Log-book, No score traverse, really fun, perfect rock...my beta is not the easiest, downgraded to 6C

Log-book, No score first boulder in the area, classic power problem...

Log-book, No score crimps, slopers and a crux dyno, sending this was a real fight

Log-book, No score second ascent after Shorty, a sandbag for its grade and one of the best boulders I`ve tried or climbed...a gem of a lowball, would be 7A+ by Valley standards as well...

Log-book, No score kinda turd! never 7A, this is a joke...

Log-book, No score almost broke my foot when I didn`t stick the dyno

Log-book, No score so cool...very nice dyno and cool campus moves after that, high

Log-book, No score best 7A+ boulder ever-burly, new school at its best

Log-book, No score warm up...

Log-book, No score crimpy and techy...not my style but it was fun

Log-book, No score really cool, worth the hike

Log-book, No score warm up, just saw the block walking up to the Sundergrund area and thought: lets warm up here...

Log-book, No score soooo beautiful next to the river...the moment I got seriously hooked on doing first ascents...a perfect problem and such a pure line...originally done with the crimper left until Shorty came up with the big move beta...actually makes it even better...

sweet problem, the Entwash proj. remains...

Log-book, No score nice...in freezing conditions...in the Valley, it would be V1 max

Log-book, No score its easy...yet it means soooo much to me...my first first ascent in a major area, saw the line, cleaned it as high as I could reach and did it first go...considering it´s pretty highball, that´s the way to do it!

on a very cold day...not sure about the date...the river project...

Shorty did it first...second ascent on a freezing day...Burger King bitches like me a lot:)