This is Pinch Bulge (V2) from the ground. The route on the right side of the wall though the dihedral groove and over. From the ground are obvious sit down holds and bad feet. Throw to the good flake above via big hard move. Move through easy holds and throw to top or mantle and reach.
Protection
A crashpad is nice but not necessary since crux is first move.
What follows are edited descriptions of the aforementioned problems from the unpublished 650 problem Flagstaff Mountain Bouldering Map & Guide. I'm not saying these descriptions are 100% right, but this is amalgamation of what I've been told over the years by numerous people. Neither of these problems ever appeared in a guidebook prior to PB's CO Bouldering and only Pinch Bulge was in there. These problems to some extent illustrate the nightmare that historic bouldering areas can present when someone comes along and tries to document that history. Anyway ...
Pinch Bulge V3 / V5 sds: From the sharp flakey edge pinch the next slopey corner with your left hand and move up with your right hand to any number of intermediate holds and go to the top. A sds begins below on shallow pocketed edges that became much smaller in 2002 when the rail that used to exist exploded.
Tall Man Shutdown V6 sds: A difficult problem to describe and a contrivance at best, but here goes ... From the same sit-down start as Pinch Bulge, swing to the sharp flake. Now crossover with your left to the highest sloping corner which has a thin edge (this hold is 12-15 inches up and right from the left hand on Pinch Bulge). Really work your feet and move up with your right hand toward the top. One little crappy intermediate may help.
Commentary: Just like most problems on Flag, there are numerous sequences people use to start and finish problems. As I abhor eliminates and problems with "rules," when possible I've chosen to allow people to find their own way to the top. Admittedly, I did guide them to specific left handholds as I understood them to be, but other than that I left it up to the climber. Comments?
Sorry for the bad beta description. The line, to me, looks and moves fairly natural if you find the starting holds.Without knowing the history and/or contrivance of it I added it plainly to get the climber there. Thanks for clearing things up Matt and Chip.
After readong Matt's comments above AGAIN, the hold he describes that you TWIST up into from the flake and kind of get a thumb catch on is the hold on Tall Man Shut Down that I describe as sort of having a good edge.
Thoroughly confused? ... Screw it, invent your own variations or maybe ask someone. Have fun at the Upper Y. The best thing about the Upper Y, aside from the excellent traverse, is the sheer number of VB-V4 problems. Sixteen or so without getting TOO contrived. Enjoy!!!
It seems to me that a big factor to separating the V3 variation "Pinch Bulge", and the V6 "Tall Man Shutdown" would be in what's done with the feet after the initial big toss, more than the hands.
That being said- what I was shown and told as the big difference between the two problems was that you needed to stay right of a crack/seam that runs up the entire face, just left of the two low starting holds. I was also told (like Matt said) that you can't match the flake.
So I could be totally wrong, but the way I've done it is to start low (butt in the dirt) under the start of "pinch bulge", make the big toss with the right hand to the flake/edge up and right. Hike your feet up onto the good rail and twist your body so your left hand can come into the pinch above your right hand. Then I get a high right foot (on the usually ticked, only decent foot there) and toss again with the right hand up to a hard to see rounded edge way up right. Before making the second toss, I matched hands at the pinch, but not the flake. (You can walk up around the problem to scout out the edge that you make the second toss too). After that just bring up the left foot for a reasonable top out).
Staying right of that crack/seam doesn't allow one to use a heel hook to move up after the sloper/pinch rail....
I was told that this was V5 and it feels close in my book. Is this perhaps another problem, or the "tall man shutout" haha? :)
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