White Rastafarian - V2 R 

I saw a guy cruise to the top and hang out so long he couldn't climb down; or up; and wouldn't accept beta. So he fell. Practice mantels before you do it; then the top is not the crux.

@@craigbritton1089how bad is a fall from the top? I'd imagine with stacked pads it wouldn't be that bad

@@ZerolinGD well there is a boulder right in the fall landing; which is to stay in place. So you either need a good spotter to shove you to your pads; or you need a whole lot of pads to cover the rock and surrounding area The best safety is to dial in your mantels. I have done it with a straight mantel; and a heel hook mantel; practice both as some people end up not liking to throw a heel that high off the ground.

Thanks Ashley!!

There's actually a big boulder in the landing! People moved it out of the way once...locals moved it back...

Grades are inherently subjective, by person and location, indoors vs outdoors! Always take them with a grain of salt - I felt that the moves on this were V2, maybe slightly harder at that big move in the middle, but that's consistent with a lot of Joshua Tree sandbagging of grades. The thing that makes this climb difficult is definitely the height! So the "R" rating is what describes how scary it is, not necessarily how difficult

@@beccacvincent Ah, ok! Cool! Yeah, if I could climb that one (don't think I've ever really sent anything harder than V1 indoors. LoL!) It would definitely freak me out! Too high for me! LoL! I don't mind heights with a rope but I prefer to boulder closer to the ground. 😆 Probably my inexperience though. Great job! 😊👍

@@Mebh547 Thank you! I agree I would not be comfortable climbing a boulder this high if it was at my limit for difficulty! Keep practicing and one day a V2 highball might seem more manageable 😁 Also, no shame in sticking to boulders closer to the ground, challenge by choice

I know no one asked me, but after seeing this comment I went on a rabbit hole of being mad about FA-ers giving enticingly low grades to highballs. It's a pretty big problem at my home crag, where there are multiple 6m+ glassy limestone "V1"s. I think it's wildly irresponsible and just asking for new people to hurt themselves. Anyways I found out this boulder was established by the legendary John Bachar. Who - with all due respect - would go on to die free soloing.

@@thrillhouse-fiveLol! That's a good point I hadn't thought of! But if it's any comfort, as a beginner myself, I would never try a boulder this high. Not unless I was very experienced, confident I could do it and had people spotting me... and even then I'm not sure. LoL! I stupidly twisted my ankle falling from just 6 feet off the ground, so I don't trust myself. 😆 But I'm sure there are other beginners who would hear V2 and immediately want to try it. 😬 Edit: not that spotting is going to do much once you get so high up. LoL.

the "R" means scary, like a rated R movie! Some boulders are also graded PG13 for example

@@beccacvincent Thank you!

this*

👏 👏 👏 Great comment! Way to go!

@@RossPotts thanks. I needed that.

@@SpitefulAZ I’m here for ya, LOL!

@@RossPotts my hero 🥲

Good thing this is not a crack climb! No jamming involved in this problem 🙂