Midnight Lightning (climb): Difference between revisions

Bouldering problem in Yosemite, US

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. Ron Kauk made the first ascent in 1978.

History[edit]

It is believed that bouldering pioneer John “Yabo” Yablonski (the inventor of the sit start)^[2] discovered the line of a potential new bouldering problem on the Columbia boulder while wandering around Camp 4 in a drug-intoxicated state in early 1978.^[2][3] Yablonski showed it to Yosemite’s two leading rock climbers, Ron Kauk and John Bachar.^[4][3] Bachar later recounted: “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?”^[4]

Kauk and Bachar set to work attempting the route, and while making good early progress, continuously failed to execute the awkward mantel-move needed to overcome the lip which is at a height of almost 5 metres (16 ft).^[5][4][3] Eventually, in May 1978, Kauk overcame the mantle and completed the first…