Touchstone athlete, Ethan Pringle has been hard at work on his latest project, Jumbo Love, an unrepeated 5.15b sport route at Mount Clark in Nevada. Pringle has invested considerable effort into the route, making the trek to the crag 9 times this year and 9 times previously.
“Optimally it should be like 75-85 in Vegas with a stiff breeze at the cliff, which usually makes it 50-65 up at Clark, “ said Pringle, who has been working the route in warm weather most recently. “It’s definitely coming along. When the conditions are good, I can make good links and the moves feel easy. When it’s too hot, linking long sections is impossible for me and the moves feel difficult.
Pringle remains optimistic about his efforts to date. “The good news is that I have the route 99% sussed so most of the ‘work’ that goes into figuring out the absolute easiest way to do all the moves and how to link them together smoothly is done now. There are still a couple sections in which micro beta could be refined even further, but for the most part I’m ready to start giving it real burns from the ground and practicing making big links.”
“It’s the limestone El Cap,” said Randy Leavitt, who originally bolted the mega endurance route.
To help work his endurance, Pringle has been climbing at Mount Charleston. Pringle is close to completing a long standing project at Robbers’ Roost, though he needs to leave for the Teva Games soon. “It’s a super fun route though and that keeps me psyched.”
On May 23, Pringle returned to Charleston and fired the Robber’s Roost project. The route climbs a series of pockets in a roof. Pringle has yet to decide on a name and grade but believes the ascent weighs in around 5.14c/d. Derek Powell, a San Franscican who climbed with Ethan at Charleston, said, “Just given the efforts that Ethan put in, there’s a distinct possibility that it’s 14d.”
