Touchstone athlete Ethan Pringle loves ice cream. “I don’t like Reese cup ice cream. It tastes too artificial to me. There’s too many emulsifiers or something I really like peanut butter and I really like marshmallows,” he said of the Ben & Jerry’s Clusterfluff Ice cream. “It’s kind of hurting my teeth though.”
Pringle fueled a two week sending spray in Bishop California on a few pints of Ben & Jerry’s. The ice cream certainly helped him send the Mandala Sit, The Swarm, and Mordecai. Pringle also attributes his crushing ability to a few other things. “I have confidence. That’s why I climb so well. And also because I drink lots of water,” Pringle said. “Also climbing for 17 years helps too… Being tall and lanky doesn’t hurt either.”
Pringle headed to Bishop for a few days with his friend Randy Lee to check out some of his projects over the last weekend of January. Pringle found the lines he wanted to climb and then stuck to a rigorous training schedule. “I’m gonna eat a pint of ice cream every night,” he said of his preparation for his longer two week trip to Bishop. “I’m gonna train a little bit in the gym, do some campus board, and train crimps. I don’t consider crimping my strong suit.”
Pringle managed to put down the sit start to the Manadala, a long term project for him. A few years prior, Pringle made it to the relatively easy v7 finish and fell. The pad placement was less than ideal and when he fell he smashed his ankle, which caused a hair line fracture. Pringle returned to the problem over the years, making it back to his high point 8 times in 5 days worth of effots. Pringle had found excellent beta for the problem and a number of climbers sent the route using the techniques that he figured out. The problem remained elusive though. This winter, after a season bouldering in Font, Pringle stuck the razor blade crimps at the bottom of the climb, reached his highpoint, and fought through to the summit.
Next on Pringle’s tick list was Mordecai, a highball V11 on the back side of the High Plains Drifter boulder. Pringle nabbed the second ascent of this monster line after a few efforts. Heading to the Happy boulders, Pringle made the first ascent of the V10 Don’t Forget the Lube. 
Finally, Pringle put away the mega crimp fest, The Swarm, a v13/14 near the– Secrets of the Beehive. This problem was far from easy for Pringle as it tested his crimping. He tried the problem for the first time in 06 and managed to stick the crux second move. Unfortunately, he let go because the shoulder dyno fourth move seemed impossible. Pringle tried it again on that trip but didn’t near his highpoint. This year, when he finally stuck the second move he took it to the summit.
After his Bishop trip, Pringle headed to the ABS Nationals in Colorado where he placed 2nd.
Not only did he climb well on plastic but he would also like it to be noted that prior to his crushing in Bishop, he visited the Ben & Jerrys Ice Cream factory in Vermont with fellow V14 boulderer and rock stud Matt Wilder. Pringle plans on continuing his crushing spree though he claims it will be difficult. “It’s gonna be real hard to quit sugar now that it’s part of the training Regimen.” 
