2024-03-22 · SBP Poplar
Worked on this one for quite some time, maybe three or four sessions over a few weeks. I'm glad I managed it. The start is tricky, but I can get past it fairly reliably to the middle. Finishing is the real hard part.
There are a couple of ways to do the start. I like to establish with both feet on the right face of the bottom volume, then heel hook my left foot (top foot) over the edge, then gradually reach for the small center hold in the cluster with my left hand. Then, I windmill my right hand around to match, move left hand to the big hold, move right hand down to the undercling. This is good enough purchase to swing around.
From here, I can grab up to the big pinch, but it's really difficult to get downward purchase off it. When trying to move up along the pinch, it's very easy to just gently fall off the wall. The footwork here on the lower volume is really precise and interesting; I enjoy it a lot. I ended up pointing my toe into the lowest black hold and grabbing with my left hand somewhat low on the high pinch, then grabbing up to the top of it with my right hand. Once established there, getting to the end isn't too hard.
I didn't really use the leftmost high hold at all. I saw some other people use it, but I couldn't figure out a good way in the few attempts that I tried that way. If you put all your weight on it as a crimp, pulling up to the top feels exerting and unstable. But I've seen people do it!