Iron Man Traverse....the one in the Buttermilks

Why is this thing so popular?? I have climbed it several times...and 1/3rd of the way through, after 5 hand bumps...I always ask myself "why the hell am I on this thing again"

A) It really isn't all that picturesque of a line...honestly though...

B) There are no cool moves...not one...there is no argument here.

C) There is the inevitable "we came out here from Wisconsin JUST to climb this problem" crew on it...

D) Its butt dragger...

E)YOU ARE IN THE BUTTERMILKS!!!! WHY WOULD YOU CLIMB THIS THING!!...There is so much more within pissing distance from this problem...why stall at this speedbump?

You can always send it in flip-flops to show the Wisconsin crew how rad you are.

I thought it was pretty cool, and I couldn't even finish it. Complaining about a boulder problem is about as silly as it gets.

here's an idea: don't ever climb it again. if you're going to add to the already terrible chalk caking at least enjoy it.

The Hippy wrote:You can always send it in flip-flops to show the Wisconsin crew how rad you are.

As a (former) member of the Wisconsin crew, I'd like to personally tell you how rad you are. V4 in flip flops? How is that even possible? Will you autograph my chalkbag?

Its not sharp and its not highball.

Fun problem (you ever try going back on the the "top rail"?---adds some beefy fer sure), seemed hard for "11d" as rated in my old guide (the blue one)....

this was eons ago, maybe it is less fun now...

It's fun because it gets progressively harder and just begs to be traversed. You can see the ledge across it from the road.

Maybe the problem is you are bumping, there's no reason to bump, just cross.

And once you have it wired, it's a pretty good warm-up.

I would also argue that the last move is awesome. Either with the heel hook or dynamic.

Only a butt dragger if you campus it...

The only thing I'll disagree with, is a later post. If it was highball, it would be ultra-classic.

Seven Spanish? No. But does it deserve 3 stars. Sure.

I would guess that the traverse is so popular because it is NOT a highball, people are not intimidated of it. Though I will agree that it would probably be more classic but see less traffic if it was somehow higher.

That problem doesn't really look that cool at all, but I've never climbed it. Granite is dorky, it lacks the cool three dimensional shapes and features of good sandstone.

Go to the Buttermilks some day. You'll be singing a different tune.

Helldorado wrote:That problem doesn't really look that cool at all, but I've never climbed it. Granite is dorky, it lacks the cool three dimensional shapes and features of good sandstone.

That is one of the stranger conclusions I have ever seen made about an entire class of rock.

And on topic:
-Lowball
-Progressive difficulty
-Not an eliminate or squeeze-job
-Aesthetic
-Not Sharp
-Easily workable
-Moderate
-Perfect landing
-Good warm-up if the 'Milks are empty

Any 3 of those features can be found on any number of boulder problems across the country, but when you combine all of them together it really does add up to one of the more sought-after problems in North America for moderate boulderers. "Coming out from Wisconsin just to climb this problem" does sound silly, but it is actually sort of understandable.

I think its a pretty cool looking line. I've never felt the holds, are they kinda slopey? Some people have sloper fetishes. Another feature to add to that list.

low.key.og wrote:I have climbed it several times.

nuff said

TROLL!
until now this was my proudest send in the Buttermilks...I guess it's not cool now..ahoo, back to the gym.