On Sunday, Dec. 30, Alex finished off her fourth V12 with an ascent of A Maze of Death.  It took her 4 days of effort and she has stated that it is most definitely her hardest boulder send to date.  I was very impressed with her ascent of this line particularly with the sequence she used.  She skipped a very key left hand by putting her foot above her head to lock-off to the sidepull and then proceeded to pull both holds to her stomach while she hand-foot matched her left hand.  Many of us tried to attempt this sequence but couldn’t even start to do it.  A very impressive display of raw power that you’ll have to witness when the video hits the web.

Here are some pics: 

I managed to finish off my trip with sends of The Buttermilker V12 and Haroun and the Sea of Stories V11/12.  I attempted to finish Evilution Direct V11 before Thanksgiving, but couldn’t quite get myself to commit to the Dyno (for me) on the slab.  This is certainly a much scarier line to the top of the boulder than Jason’s original, but the holds are MUCH better.  Until now.  When I returned to Bishop after Thanksgving I learned that a key hold above the lip had broken and there wasn’t much left to grab.  I tried it a few times before we left for Boulder (ground-up of course) and can definitely say that the exit is harder but there is definitely a decent hold to grab.  It now awaits a re-first ascent.

Here’s a photo of me grabbing the left hand that is now broken: