Verve

One of Christian Griffith's exceptional sport climbs put up in the late '80s after CG's return from six months in France. CG's "Big-Three" (

Paris Girl

,

Desdichado

, and

Verve

) were much sought after achievements for any aspiring sport climbing hardman (or woman) and some of the hardest routes in the U.S. at the time. A solid 5.13 on perfect granite with interesting moves and some of the best positioning in Boulder Canyon, this route is essentially two hard V6/V7 boulder problems with a quick shake in between them. The coveted first ascent was done by Christian with other notable Boulder rock stars of the day,

e.g.

Dale Goddard, involved in the race for the FA. The route is notable also as it became the inspiration for the name of CG's climbing clothing company, which went on to define sport climbing apparel functional-style in the '90s.

The first crux is right off the deck. With a right foot, heel hook, grab the right hand "shredder" hold (very painful and small), work your left foot up the ramp and start working up the arete with the left. After getting the highest left purchase possible on the arete make a big crank move to a right hand, 4 finger pocket.

The second crux is a long reach to a modified hold. The chiseled/drilled hold makes the "mega reach" move (second crux) much easier and it makes it possible to match and switch hands for a quick shake. This move is VERY wing-span dependent and is harder for those not endowed with a lot of height and a huge ape index.

The route quickly slabs out over the top and the anchor is a long way back. Be careful when top-roping or lowering as the anchor position will ensure that your rope gets shredded.

4 QDs + anchor.