Weekend Whipper: Bouldering Above a Thorn Bush Is a Bad Idea

Poor spotting can be a thorny issue… It ain’t all rosy out there, ya know? Apologies, we’ll stop with the puns… No more easy-target bush-league jabs. That’s it, for real. Last one. We’re done now.

Lukas Andersson was climbing in Gothenburg, Sweden, on a problem called Midnight Mölndal (7B+/V8), spotted and filmed by his friend Gustav Molin.

“The problem revolves around locking off on a fairly decent crimp and crossing under and doing a double-clutch style move to a good jug,” Lukas told Climbing. “This means you take a pretty violent swing towards the thorn bushes adjacent to the problem.”

[Watch Last Week’s Whipper: A Jump Too Far]

In reality it wasn’t poor spotting that led to the sticky situation (we just needed material for a pun). “Since we were only two, we had to prioritize,” Lukas said. “Either Gustav spotted the tree so that in case I fired off the first cut-loose move I didn’t crash into the tree and break my back, or he stood by the thorn bushes to the left of the boulder and stopped me from rolling into a thorny unpleasant embrace.”

Seems like they made a wise decision. A few sharp jabs from the thorns seems a far better outcome than a broken back. And all’s well that ends well: “Luckily Gustav was quick on his feet and untangled me. No major injuries and I sent the next go with a few thorns in my back.”

And what’s more, Lukas managed to send the boulder afterward (video below)—nice work!

Happy Friday and climb safe this weekend!

 

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