Stunning 36-Foot Highball in Squamish Gets First Ascent
We talk with Jake Tiger to learn more about his experience establishing Hollow Man V9, Squamish's newest highball line
On March 30, Jake Tiger made the first ascent of Hollow Man V9 in Squamish. Located in the Apron Boulders to the right of Dynamite V6 and Rat Death V5, the striking 36-foot problem works its way up an imposing face to the highest point on the boulder. The fingery and technical crux comes in the second half of the problem on excellent stone, followed by a very high and airy topout. The first half of the problem unfortunately sports some chossy and hollow rock, with friable holds. After many hold breaks, this lower portion of the line eventually settled into a climbable condition for Tiger.
Hollow Man is not Tiger’s first Squamish highball first ascent. Originally from Ontario but now a Squamish local, Tiger has been at the forefront Squamish highball development in recent years, establishing tall, aesthetic problems at a wide range of grades all around region – from the Valley of Shaddai and Murrin Park in the South to Cheakamus Canyon and the Ashlu Valley in the north. Three of his highball highlights include first ascents of Daedalus V12, Edge of Insanity V9, and Against the Grain V8.
To learn more about his ascent of Hollow Man V9, I reached out to Tiger. You can read our short interview below.
Alongside his climbing, Tiger runs a popular YouTube channel featuring his climbing repeats and first ascents. The channel now hosts nearly 1,000 videos, including over 130 highball first ascents and repeats. His FAs of Hollow Man, Daedalus, Edge of Insanity, and Against the Grain are embedded below.
Interview with Jake Tiger
Did you find the Hollow Man line or did you hear about it from someone else?
I’m certainly not the first to discover this line. It’s been a pretty well trafficked area for a few decades. Especially for those seeking out highballs since it’s close to Teenage Lobotomy and next to Dynamite. I first noticed it when I did Dynamite a few years ago but I was too busy checking off developed stuff at the time and I quickly forgot about it. I rediscovered it whilst wandering around recently and noticed a landing had been built and some flakes pulled off the wall.
Do you think the rock quality at the bottom will improve with time? Or will pieces continue to peel off?
It’s hard to say if the beginning quality will improve. Likely not since the first few holds are on hollow flakes. The footholds that remained seemed bomber after a few breaks and the starting holds seemed to settle. I kept in mind when pulling on those flakes to ‘pull down and not out’. I weigh somewhere between 165 and 170 lbs so maybe someone heavier and less careful than me would break them.
What’s the landing like?
Someone I met the other day, when I first sussed out the climb on a rope, said that they had levelled the landing with rocks and logs (he said his name was Luke, didn’t catch the last name). He was also trying it on a rope and was likely the one to do the initial clean. The landing is relatively flat but as you trend up and left it does climb over a large rock that needs to be padded. Falling from a great height onto that raised landing could result in an uncontrolled/unpredictable landing.
How difficult is the section after the crux and into the top-out?
After the reachy move to the left gaston you have to do some tenuous foot swaps to grab a slopy RH pinch, then get your RF up to a miserably small edge foothold and then bump your RH to a good incut. These moves are quite frightening because the feet are very technical and the hands are not good enough to hold you if your feet slip. Also you are quite high off the deck and above that raised landing at this point. Once you grab that good incut with the RH, the hard/scary climbing is over. The hands get way better but the moves are still quite technical. You have to throw to the right arete off a small foot. The arete is pretty slopy and then you have to do an awesome mantel move. After the mantel, you get stood up and are pretty well no handed on bomber feet and the climb just requires simple moves to top out.
How did you feel on the send? Were you nervous about breakage? Were you pumped at the top?
No, I wouldn’t say I was pumped, but I was pretty gripped. I was crimping pretty damn hard on the RH sidepull before the left shoulder move and was bracing myself for a potential break. Scenarios running through my head of how I would react to an unexpected fall. I had confidence though in the fact that I did headpoint practice this part quite a bit and tested these holds so I knew they were bomber, but once enough stuff breaks on you on a wall, it kinda just rots in your mind as a “what if?” It was also pretty hot that day, and I didn’t chalk up my RH before going to the top right slopy arete. It felt slicker than how I remembered when I was on a rope. With a grunt of relief I found myself through the technical climbing after the mantel and at the top of the boulder. A little wave to my friends on the neighbouring boulder before the final slab move and I was on top of the climb.
