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Paul Robinson has his eye on a line called ‘Rasta Man Sit Start’ which is on the Granpa Peabody Boulder in Bishop, California. It’s a very steep and fingery climb that has never seen an ascent. Paul is spending this week in Bishop working on the ultra progressive problem and is feeling very strong. He has done all of the moves but now he has to link it up.

On Sunday, Chris Sharma came out to see what it was all about – after talking with Paul and trying a few moves, he confirmed that it could be one of the hardest boulder problems in the U.S.

The temps are cooling down later this week in Bishop, which will help with the friction on the tiny crimps of this climb and Paul is loading up on custard filled chocolate donuts for energy. Good Luck Paul!

Update #1 from ClimbingNarc.com

The Bishop Bouldering Blog is reporting that Paul Robinson realized one of his long terms goals this morning when he pulled off the FA of the Rastaman Vibration Sit Start at the Buttermilks in Bishop, CA.  Located just left of the well-known highball Evilution on the massive Grandpa Peabody boulder, the Rastaman Vibration Sit Start project had eluded many strong climbers over the years until succumbing to Paul’s dedicated effort.

Here is what Wills Young had to say about the problem in his post on the Bishop Bouldering Blog:

This extreme problem with a crux move to gain and dyno from a small left-hand pinch at standing height, was disregarded as near-impossible by many top climbers–with only a handful ever sticking the dyno. The line, in full is thought to be in the v15 range.

More to come at the Bishop Bouldering Blog (and presumably this fall’s Reel Rock Tour)

Update #2 from BigUp Productions

Two years ago Paul put in about five days working the moves, but had to abandon ship with a split tip. This season he returned with obsessive focus (and compulsive skin care) to try and get it done. The line involves two setup moves on tiny crimps, and a long reach to an amazing, terrible pinch. Then a quick foot switch, and a dyno from the pinch to a bad crimper. Paul fell trying to stick the dyno about 20 times over the past week of attempts,  coming agonizingly closer each time. From the crimp there are some decent holds to turn the lip, then a delicate slab and the same endless topout as Evilution to reach the 50 foot summit of the boulder.

Falling repeatedly from the dyno, and running out of time on his spring break from CU Boulder,  Paul struggled to pinpoint the right conditions required to clamp down on the glassy pinch, jump off it, and control the swing. He tried dawn starts, evening headlamp sessions, and even full sun, but his left hand kept blasting off the pinch mid-swing.  When spring break ended, he drove to Vegas, dropped off his girlfriend Alex at the airport to fly home for school, then turned around and returned to Bishop to stay as long as necessary.

Earlier in the week Paul had commemorated his father’s birthday with a meal at Amigos, the low-key mexican restaurant that’s become a Bishop climbers’ institution. Chip Robinson had taken his young son out bouldering since the age of 10. The last time Paul worked the Rastaman project, Chip spotted him on every attempt. Bishop was one of Chip’s favorite places in the world, and they’d made a tradition of birthday meals at Amigos. Eight months ago Chip passed away after a long illness, and now Paul hoped to climb the project, his hardest problem ever, in his father’s honor.

The night he returned from Vegas, Paul slept fitfully. He dreamed that he called home and his father answered the phone. Paul saw himself training on his old basement wall in his parents’ house. Every hold was a small pinch, and he floated past them all. He woke at 4:30 with a sense of urgency, went to his laptop and checked the weather, and saw rain coming in a few hours, with the possibility of several grim days ahead. He grabbed pads, hurried to the boulder, and did five pullups to get warm. The pre-rain moisture in the air gave him just the slight stickiness he needed to control the pinch, and he climbed the problem on his second try, calling it Lucid Dreaming.

V16 is the number he’s tentatively putting on it. The only other proposed V16 in the US is Daniel Woods’ problem V16 in Boulder Canyon, and the two problems couldn’t be more opposite. The Game is nearly horizontal and involves 8 big, thuggy moves that perfectly suit Daniel. Lucid is mildly overhanging and boils down to 2 heinous moves on tiny holds, which perfectly suits Paul. Daniel’s tried Lucid, and Paul’s tried The Game, and each has struggled, though no doubt each will eventually succeed on the repeats.

It’s an exciting and productive friendship / rivalry to watch develop, as the two best boulderers in the country play to their strengths and push each other to continue expanding the limits of power, precision, and pain tolerance. We’ve been documenting the process this year for a new short film on Paul and Daniel that will play on the 2010 REEL ROCK Film Tour.