CLIMBING HOT FLASHES!!! New Gunks Up-and-Cummers
April 28th, 2008 BigAndyposted: 4-28-2008…WATCH OUT FOR THIS GUY!!!
Western Massachusetts submitted by Dick Rider aka Pete Ward
For the most part Jason Danforth is a pretty normal guy. He’s a student, likes eating, likes women, likes men, and loves bouldering. Other than the fact that he is probably stronger than you, probably nicer than your mother, and modest to a fault, he doesn’t stand out very much (except for the fact that he has a really cool tattoo). Lately Jason has migrated to the Gniess bouldering of Western Mass achusetts from his normal stomping grounds at the Gunks where his numerous sends include Orgasm (aka Little Death), V10, Vortex Yoga, V9 (he casually mentions that he has done almost every V9 in the Gunks), and a flash of Eroca Never Dies (aka Rocco Never Dies), V8 at the Peterskill.
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Fortunately for us in Western Massachusetts, Jason doesn’t reserve his most impressive displays for New York. On one visit Ward Smith’s newest area (The Hideaway) he dispatched the Millennium boulder in fine style, sending Tips Away, V8/9 (aka V7), The Pocket Problem, V8 (aka V6), and finishing with a flash of Steve Johnson’s All The Way, V8 (aka V7), all in about one and a half hours. He then came within one move of adding a twenty foot V6 traverse into Tips Away. Earlier this spring he sent Wet Banana, V9 (aka V 7), at Farley in under an hour, and was quickly done with Jon LaValleys The Tempest, V8, at the brand new Happy Valley area (stay tuned for more info on this new area).
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Jason bouldering at Lincoln Woods. Recently he made the drive out from Albany and beat a crew strong boulderers to the FA of the scary highball Amorphisity, V5, whose grade should increase one number for every pad removed from the stack. True there were a lot of pads on the ground, but there was also the knowledge that Micah Jessup had recently broken his ankle in a fall while attempting the same problem.
In many ways, Jason is the quintessential New England boulderer; hideously strong, but more interested in the people he’s climbing with than the rock he’s climbing on. His ability and demeanor are refreshing and motivating, and if you have the good fortune to watch him send like a madman and then spray mercilessly about how good someone else is, enjoy the spectacle. However, heed this word of caution: Do NOT make fun of his tattoo.
FA of Sheila Font (cause we live in France) 7a
