State Brook Mountain and Champagne and Cocaine (V8)

  Last summer I dedicated a handful of trips into State Brook Mountain in Arietta, New York as I attempted to climb a new Adirondack Boulder problem called Champagne and Cocaine (V8).  The problem was first unearthed and revealed by Keith Banta last spring but he wasn't able to return after his initial explorations to try and climb the boulder.  A later visit in April 2016 by Evan Race, Daniel Pinto, and Ken Murphy resulted in the trio all successfully sending the steeply overhung climb.  Since their visit and sends, I believe the problem has sat unrepeated in this remote section of the Adirondack Park.
  Regardless...I was fortunate enough to sneak in a surprise send just in time before the bugs fully took over the Adirondack bouldering scene.  Below you will see two videos:  the first video I edited last summer where I was able to piece together the climb but never fully complete it from the sit start.  The second video is from my recent visit and successful send.  The big difference in my beta between last summer and this spring was changing my grip on a vertical finger slot/lock.  Last year I was focusing on a right hand pinky-lock in the lowest portion of the slot but this year I switched last minute to focusing on a ring finger-lock since my pinky was torn up and bleeding.  The result was a send!  Enjoy and happy climbing!

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