Midnight Lightning (bouldering)

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Midnight Lightning
Midnight Lightning yosemite.jpg
Michael Rael Armas on Midnight Lightning
LocationYosemite National Park
Coordinates37°44′30″N 119°36′07″W / 37.7418°N 119.602°W / 37.7418; -119.602
Climbing AreaCamp 4 (Yosemite)
Route TypeBouldering
Vertical Gain7.62-metre (25.0 ft)[1]
RatingV8 (7B/7B+)
First ascentRon Kauk, 1978

Midnight Lightning is a 7.62-metre (25.0 ft) grade 7B+ (V8) bouldering problem on the granite Columbia Boulder in Camp 4 of Yosemite National Park. It is considered to be one of the world's most famous bouldering problems.[2][3][4]

History[]

The first ascent was by Ron Kauk in 1978, and it was the first-ever ascent of a 7B+ (V8) in history; John Bachar made the second ascent shortly afterward.[5][6] Kauk recounted about working on the problem with John Bachar and John Yablonski: "After 4 months of off and on effort, I was the first one to pull over the lip and complete the climb, which to this day has had an effect on my personal sense of place and history, within the climbing community, throughout the world".[6] The first female ascent was by Lynn Hill in 1998, although it was not the first-ever female 7B+ (V8) (which was by climber  [fr] in 1989 on Le Carnage).[6][5]

The iconic chalk lightning bolt has been removed several times.

The problem was identified by a chalk lightning bolt drawn by John Bachar after making the second ascent in 1978.[7][8] Bacher wrote: "It was Yabo [John Yablonski] who actually 'found' Midnight Lightning. He was sitting in front of it one day and came over to me and Ron Kauk and said he found a new boulder problem. He said it would go. We laughed and said it was impossible. We thought there was about as much chance of doing it as there was the chance that a lightning bolt could strike at midnight (like in the Hendrix song Midnight Lightning), so I drew a bolt on it in chalk. That's it—pretty stupid, huh?"[7] In May 2013, the iconic lightning bolt was scrubbed off the face of the boulder,[9] by climber and Climbing magazine contributor James Lucas, who claimed the image had lost its magic, and was now more of a trademark or tourist attraction.[7][10] The bolt was re-drawn in the same location a few days later.[8] Since then, there have been other incidents, but Kauk and others have repaired and maintained the bolt image regularly.[7]

In 2021, when the American Alpine Club awarded the Underhill Lifetime Achievement award to Kauk, their citation read: "Perhaps Ron's most iconic climbing achievements is a boulder problem right in the middle of Camp 4 known as Midnight Lightning".[11]

Route[]

Sam Moses, writing in Sports Illustrated said the most difficult move on Midnight lightning is a "spider-monkey swing 15 feet (4.6 metres) off the ground. The climber must suspend himself by the fingertips of his left hand, swing around a ledge of rock, and propel himself far enough up, about four feet, to grab a precarious fingertip hold with their right hand. To do that he has to create momentum from stillness."[12]

Filmography[]

  • Documentary with Ron Kauk, David Sjöquist and Caro North on Midnight Lightning: The Classics Boulder Episode 1 Midnight Lightning (Motion picture). Mammut. June 2017. Retrieved 3 January 2022.

Bibliography[]

  • Yosemite Bouldering (Shannon Joslin, James Lucas, Kimbrough Moore), 2020, Sentinal Press. ISBN 9781735608006.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Midnight Lightning V8". TheCrag. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Adam Ondra: Climbing the Americas (Part 1)—Midnight Lightning". Climbing. 14 November 2018. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Tom Herbert, 51, Sends Midnight Lightning V8 in Yosemite". Gripped.com. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Midnight Lightning: Filippo Manca explores the legendary Ron Kauk boulder problem in Yosemite". PlanetMountain. 6 November 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b Oviglia, Maurizio (23 December 2012). "The evolution of free climbing". PlanetMountain.com. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Midnight Lightning, the legendary boulder problem in Yosemite". PlanetMountain. 9 June 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  7. ^ a b c d Lucas, James (9 January 2018). "Beyond the Bolt: The Past, Present, and Future of Yosemite Bouldering". Climbing. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b "Midnight Lightning". Gripped.com. 26 December 2016. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Midnight Lightning bolt, the icon of free climbing in Yosemite disappears for a day". PlanetMountain.com. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  10. ^ "TNB: Erasing Midnight Lightning". Rock & Ice. 2013.
  11. ^ "MEET THE AWARDEES". American Alpine Club. 2021. Retrieved 3 February 2022.
  12. ^ Moses, Sam (2 June 1986). "On The Rocks, Kauk Is It". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved 9 May 2013.

External links[]

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