The Mandala
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The Mandala
In the sport of rock climbing, ''The Mandala'' is a high bouldering problem (a difficult but short climb completed without a rope) in the Buttermilks, a popular bouldering area near Bishop, California. It is one of the most widely known boulder problems in the world, and is graded . History The problem climbs a steep overhanging prow on a large granite boulder that for many decades was considered too difficult and futuristic to solve. In 2008, '' Climbing'' magazine recounted a story from the 1970s where John Bachar and Ron Kauk reportedly joked the line would one day fall to John Gill's grandchildren, and describing it as a boulder that "to this day remains one of the most coveted and storied problems in American bouldering". It was first climbed by Chris Sharma in February 2000. Sharma's ascent received much acclaim in the climbing community, however, he did not assign a grade the problem. The boulder was repeated by other climbers several months later in quick succession, t ...
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Bishop, California
Bishop (formerly Bishop Creek) is a city in California, United States. It is the largest populated place and only incorporated city in Inyo County. Bishop is located near the northern end of the Owens Valley, at an elevation of . The city was named after Bishop Creek, flowing out of the Sierra Nevada; the creek was named after Samuel Addison Bishop, a settler in the Owens Valley. Bishop is a commercial and residential center, while many vacation destinations and tourist attractions in the Sierra Nevada are located nearby. The population of the city was 3,879 at the 2010 Census, up from 3,575 at the 2000 Census. The population of the built-up zone containing Bishop is much larger; more than 14,500 people live in a compact area that includes Bishop, West Bishop, Dixon Lane-Meadow Creek, and the Bishop Paiute Reservation. It is by far the largest settlement in Inyo County. A number of western films were shot in Bishop, including movies starring John Wayne, Charlton Heston and J ...
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Grade (bouldering)
In the sport of bouldering, problems are assigned technical grades according to several established systems, which are often distinct from those used in roped climbing. Bouldering grade systems vary widely in use and include the Hueco "V" grades (known as the V-scale), Fontainebleau technical grades, route colors, Peak District grades, and British technical grades. Historically, the three-level "B" system and even the Yosemite Decimal System (sometimes with a "B" prepended, as in "B5.12") were also used. Gill "B" system The B system conceived by John Gill in the 1950s was a universal rating scheme for bouldering, having three categories: "B1" was defined as "... the highest level of difficulty in traditional roped climbing", "B2" was harder than B1, or "bouldering level", and the grade "B3" designated a route ascended only once, although tried by others on several occasions. When a B3 was ascended a second time, it was reclassified as a B2, or B1. Gill's idea was to attract ...
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Grampians National Park
The Grampians National Park commonly referred to as The Grampians, is a national park located in the Grampians region of Victoria, Australia. The Jardwadjali name for the mountain range itself is Gariwerd. The national park is situated between and on the Western Highway and on the Glenelg Highway, west of Melbourne and east of Adelaide. Proclaimed as a national park on , the park was listed on the National Heritage List on 15 December 2006 for its outstanding natural beauty and being one of the richest Aboriginal rock art sites in south-eastern Australia. The Grampians feature a striking series of mountain ranges of sandstone. The Gariwerd area features about 90% of the rock art in the state. Etymology At the time of European colonisation, the Grampians had a number of indigenous names, one of which was ''Gariwerd'' in the western Kulin language of the Mukjarawaint, Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung people, who lived in the area and who shared 90 per cent of their vocabul ...
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The Wheel Of Life
''The Wheel of Life'' is a famous boulder problem in the sport of rock climbing. Located in Hollow Mountain Cave in the Grampians of Australia and initially graded , it is now commonly considered to be . Route The problem, which consists of over 60 moves, was first completed by Dai Koyamada in 2004, and it links up three shorter problems that were established by climbers such as Klem Loskot and Fred Nicole (Extreme Cool, V8; Sleepy Hollow V12; Cave Rave, V13). Although it is climbed without a rope, due to its length it may be considered to be a climbing route. It is commonly graded 8C as a boulder problem, and 9a as a route. Graham stated that it was in a league above 9a routes he had climbed, possibly even a 9a+. Notable ascents * Second ascent by the Australian boulderer Chris Webb Parsons, in 2007 -VIDEO YouTube) * Third ascent by Ethan Pringle -VIDEO * Fourth ascent by James Kassay, in 2011 * Fifth ascent by Australian climber Benjamin P. Cossey on 30 October 2011. ...
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Camp 4 (Yosemite)
Camp 4 is a tent-only campground in Yosemite National Park in the United States. It became notable after World War II as "a birthplace of rock climbing’s modern age." It is located at an elevation of 4000 ft (1200 m) on the north side of the Yosemite Valley, close to base of granite cliffs near Yosemite Falls. Nearby boulders have long been used for bouldering, including the Columbia Boulder, which is known for the boulder problem called the ''Midnight Lightning (bouldering), Midnight Lightning,'' first done by Ron Kauk in 1978. It is easily recognizable by a painting of a white thunderbolt next to it. History Physically unimpressive, Camp 4 nevertheless "served as a seedbed for the exchange of ideas, training and the development of new equipment that vastly improved the speed and safety of climbing" (LA Times) during the time from after World War II until around 1970. Dozens of the most famous climbers in the world congregated at Camp 4 for years, learning from each other ...
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Midnight Lightning (bouldering)
Midnight Lightning is a grade bouldering problem on the granite Columbia Boulder in Camp 4 of Yosemite National Park. It is considered to be one of the world's most famous bouldering problems, and was solved by Ron Kauk in 1978. History The first ascent was by Ron Kauk in 1978, and it was the second-ever ascent of a in history; John Bachar made the first repeat shortly afterward. Kauk recounted about working on the problem with John Bachar and John Yablonski: "After 4 months of off and on effort, I was the first one to pull over the lip and complete the climb, which to this day has had an effect on my personal sense of place and history, within the climbing community, throughout the world". The first female ascent was by Lynn Hill in 1998, although it was not the first-ever female (which was by climber in 1989 on ''Le Carnage''). The second female ascent was by Lisa Rands in 2001, who unlike Hill, did not toprope the boulder in advance. The problem was identified by ...
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Big UP Productions
Big UP Productions is an American film production company based in New York City who are particularly known for work in the area of rock climbing. The company is led by Josh Lowell, and films include titles such as: ''Rampage'' (1999), ''Dosage Volume 1'' (2001), ''Pilgrimage'' (2003), ''Dosage Volume 2'' (2004), ''Dosage Volume 3'' (2005), and ''King Lines'' (2007). Rock climbers profiled in Big UP Production films included leading names such as: Chris Sharma, Tommy Caldwell, and Tim Emmett. In 2006, Big UP Productions and Sender Films received a Sports Emmy for "Outstanding Camera Work" for their work filming American climber Chris Sharma's first ascent of deep-water soloing route Es Pontas, in Mallorca Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...; it was part of the ...
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Paul Robinson (climber)
Paul David Robinson (born August 28, 1987) is an American professional rock climber who specializes in bouldering. He has established and repeated several bouldering problems at the V15 difficulty rating, in such areas as Hueco Tanks, the Buttermilks, and Magic Wood. In 2007, Robinson became the second climber in history to successfully climb a V13 boulder problem in one attempt. Climbing career Competition climbing In 2007, Paul Robinson took second place at the 8th Annual American Bouldering Series (ABS) National Championships. The following year, Robinson took first place at the competition, beating Chris Sharma and Sean McColl. Later that year, he took third place at the International Federation of Sport Climbing (IFSC) Bouldering World Cup in Vail, Colorado. In 2009, Robinson competed once again in the ABS National Championships, this time taking second place behind Daniel Woods. At the IFSC Bouldering World Cup in Vail, he completed three of the four finals problems, p ...
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Glossary Of Climbing Terms
__NOTOC__ This glossary of climbing terms is a list of definitions of terms and jargon related to rock climbing and mountaineering. The specific terms used can vary considerably between different English-speaking countries; many of the phrases described here are particular to the United States and the United Kingdom. A B Completing the climb upon one's first attempt ever. Often confused with 'flashing' which is the first attempt of the day. There is a second opportunity for a climber to 'blitz' a wall after 12 months. C D E ...
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Alex Johnson (climber)
Alexandra Johnson (born April 3, 1989) is an American rock climber who has made numerous first female ascents, including ''Clear Blue Skies'' in Colorado, and ''Book of Nightmares'' and ''Lethal Design'' in Red Rocks. Her highest rated send, as of 2022, was “The Swarm” in Bishop. In 2009, she won the overall American Bouldering Series, and has twice won individual stages in the annual Bouldering World Cup series. Biography Alex Johnson was born and raised in Hudson, Wisconsin. She began climbing in 1997, won her first American Bouldering Series Youth Climbing National Championship in 2002 at age twelve, and won the Adult National Championships in 2003 at age thirteen. She continued to win professional bouldering competitions throughout her childhood, but in her last two years of high school she turned away from climbing to focus her energy on track, and in 2007, she won the Wisconsin State Championships in pole vaulting. This win helped her earn a track and field scholars ...
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Lisa Rands
Lisa Rands (born October 21, 1975) is an American rock climber. She is known for her bouldering for which in 2002, she became the first American female to win IFSC World Cup bouldering competitions, and topped the IFSC world boulder rankings in 2002. Rands was the first American female to climb boulders of grade , and , and was the second-ever female in history to climb a boulder. As well as making first female ascents (FFAs) of boulders such as ''The Mandala'' , Rands was the first female in history to do an E8-graded traditional climbing route, ''The End of the Affair'' (E8 6c). Early life Rands was born in Southern California in 1975, where she grew up. She described herself as a "tomboy" in high school, where she initially focused on athletics and gymnastics, however, in her junior year, a boyfriend introduced her to climbing and bouldering. Rands went on to study geology at California State Polytechnic University, and after moving to Colorado for a new job after gradu ...
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Fred Nicole
Fred Nicole (born 21 May 1970) is a Swiss rock climber known for his first ascents of extreme sport climbing routes, and also for pioneering the development of standards and techniques in modern bouldering in the 1990s and early 2000s; he is considered an important climber in the history of the sport. Climbing career In 1992, Nicole solved ''La Danse des Balrogs'', in Branson, Switzerland, which is considered the first-ever in bouldering history. In 1996, he solved ''Radja'', also in Branson, which is also now considered the first-ever graded boulder in history. In 2002, he solved ''Monkey Wedding'' and ''Black Eagle SDS'' in Rocklands, South Africa, which is now considered to be the first-ever graded boulder in history. In 2000, Nicole solved ''Dreamtime'' in Cresciano in Switzerland, which at the time was considered the first-ever boulder in history, but its consensus grade was subsequently softened; the beauty and challenge of ''Dreamtime'' have maintained its sta ...
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