Above the Smogline | The Swimming Hole with Wills Young скачать в хорошем качестве

Above the Smogline | The Swimming Hole with Wills Young

The legend of the Swimming Hole has got to be one of the greatest tragedies in California bouldering history. Imagine a vast circuit of river polished boulders in a riparian setting straight out a of fairy tale, with classic problems everywhere. Now imagine a storm so powerful that it washed it all away. The Swimming Hole was so highly regarded during the 1990's that a picture of Jeff Johnson climbing there is on the cover of the original Southern California Bouldering Guide by Craig Fry. Take that #jtree #stoneypoint #blackmountain While famous for its beauty the Swimming Hole was also infamous for its dangerous climbing and horrendous landings. In fact, one could argue that during its peak the Swimming Hole represented the cutting edge of extreme bouldering in the country. In "Stone Crusade" John Sherman writes "If the problems at Black Mountain don't scare you, then head for the Swimming Hole. In America, the Swimming Hole has no peer when it comes to high-risk bouldering." But alas, some things are too beautiful for this world. During the winter of 2004/2005 the now infamous "El Nino" storm system ravaged Ventura County and, to the disbelief of local climbers, almost completely destroyed the Swimming Hole. I'm talking so much friggin' rain that house sized boulders were simply washed away, many never to be seen again, while others were found downstream but buried at new angles. Though a few things remain, by all accounts the area was ruined. It's crazy to think how long those perfect boulder problems sat in that creek before people saw them for what they were and then just as they were getting climbed...bam, gone. Except for a sweet compilation of problems you can find on Bob Banks Vimeo page called "The Swimming Hole - Tar Creek Bouldering," which I highly recommend you check out, not much video footage remains from that era, which is why I think this segment from "Above the Smogline" is so special. I hope you enjoy this look back at 90's bouldering paradise. This is an excerpt from the full length climbing film "Above the Smogline" by Richard Pelusi. Richard owns the rights to this film but has allowed Giant Rock to feature the movie on our channel. Thanks Richard!