Kai Lightner Sends Hard Bishop Boulder

Kai Lightner is now 16 and he continues to be one of America’s best all-round climbers for his age.

Lightner recently spent time in Bishop and despite some snowy weather, he managed to send a number of difficult problems.

His biggest send was Mandala V12, of which he wrote on Instagram, “After fighting the cold, I learned to climb in cold temps and climbed several classic problems including Evilution V10, Saigon direct V9 and Buttermilker V12, and shared an awesome Thanksgiving meal with a bunch of climbers from different parts of the world. Best of all, I had a blast with my friends and mom.”

Lightner had previously sent a number of hard Bishop boulders, including Soul Slinger V9, Little Forgotten V10 and the Buttermilker Stand V12.

I ended my Bishop trip yesterday with a send of the classic problem, #Mandala. Luckily @ethan_pringle looked out so that I could topout snow free! I guess I should be disappointed that I didn't get to climb as much as I wanted (because of the weather), however, surprisingly this was one of the funnest climbing trips that I have ever taken! After fighting the cold, I learned to climb in 40 ° temps, climbed several classic problems (including Evilution, Saigon direct, Buttermilker), and shared an awesome Thanksgiving meal with a bunch of climbers from different parts of the world. Best of all, I had a blast with my friends and climbing mom ?. Thanks @alexjohnson89, @kati_hetrick, @vivalargo @digital_stoke, @T.weiss7, and @eqclimbs for making my first big bouldering trip so much fun!! ? by @bearcam #buttermilks #teamsend #humantrafficcones #climbing @evolvusa @adidasoutdoors @clifbarcompany @maximropes

A photo posted by Kai Lightner (@kailightner) on Nov 29, 2015 at 10:45am PST