illusiondweller wrote:
March 18th, 2010...
Chris Lindner onsight sit-starts I Hear My Train A Comin'! The day before the Woodson Shindig Chris quickly dispatches the untouched overhang below this infamous, thin finger crack. Unfortuanately, due to the quick, unexpected ascent no photo's were taken. Chris rates it a conservative, 5.12b.
Also, during the same day, after a seemingly effortless ascent of the overhanging arete of Retropulsion on the Seminar Wall boulder, Chris adds a sit-start to this one as well. With no feet at the start, two, two finger campus moves on knobs, with a heel-hook by his face, were required to get into the standing start sequence. Chris calls this one, "12c campus start?"
I run into Chris again on Friday, the day of the Shindig at the Shawn's Knobs area. He confirms that he just came up from the Noah's Ark boulder with his eye on a more direct line to the Don't Rock The Boat problem, 5.13b, directly below the last third bolt. "It'll probably take a cheat-stone to start but I think it'll go." says Chris.
A good crowd had gathered at the overhanging/rail/dyno problem behind Shawn's Knobs as Chris waited his turn to cruise the sit start to this V6+ animal at least twice. He then eyes the top directly behind the end of the rail as an alternative to the already desperate throw out right finish! Without missing a beat Chris sets up and nails the top sharp edge with three fingers and top's out with his signature body roll over the top!
Chris admitted that he couldn't remember the last time that he'd been on some of the problems and that some of the boulders looked smaller than he last remembered. I said, "It's probably because you were half as tall as you are now the last time you tried this one!" I recall watching his Mother Elke doing Robbin's Crack, 5.10a when she was seven month's pregnant with Chris back in 1983! Chris soloed the same when he was four and did Uncertainty Principle, 5.11d at the '90 contest at Woodson at age six!
