Keenan Takahashi Opens V15 Highball in the Buttermilks
The Gold Standard V15 is Takahashi's latest highball masterpiece
American climber Keenan Takahashi recently made the first ascent of The Gold Standard V15 (8C) in the Buttermilks. The line is a low start into Sonnie Trotter’s Standing on the Shoulders of Giants V8. Trotter’s problem begins high off the deck, with climbers needing to stand on someone’s shoulders or a ladder to reach the starting holds. The low start had been an open project for years, with some of the world’s best climbers previously trying their hand at the line, including Chris Sharma and Jason Kehl. An ANTIGRAV + La Sportiva film detailing Takahashi’s ascent is currently in the making.
“I’m not really sure how to write a caption about something that I’ve been looking at for 12+ years, trying for 6 seasons and thought I might never send,” said Takahashi on Instagram. “But… I’m fucking psyched to have seen this one through!!! To find belief without confidence is something new for me and I’m excited to stay locked in on the other ones I have no clue if I’ll ever do.
“I realized that my fear in not sending was only a future moment which had no bearing whatsoever on my current presence. The only difficulty was self-imposed, and to see it for what it is allowed me to step away from the outcome and focus on the moment. The wind rose, and I just felt excited to give it hell…”
Takahashi has put up many hard highball first ascents throughout the U.S., including A Little Life V14 in Bishop, Stones Throw V13 in Yosemite, Terminus V12 in Bishop, and Hokusai’s Wave V12 in New Mexico. In July last year, he topped his first V16, Insomniac in Lincoln Lake, Colorado. In September, he made the first ascent of Ego Death V15 in Mt. Evans, Colorado. He’s climbed other V15s in the United States, Japan, and South Africa. Takahashi’s sport climbing highlights include Empath 5.15a in Tahoe, California and Coup de Grace 5.14d in Ticino, Switzerland.
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