“This is serious business, because you can be seriously dead.” —John Bachar

Standard outdoor bouldering is generally a very low-risk endeavor. Falls are rarely more than ten feet and crashpads and spotters do much to alleviate the force of impact. One can try to climb something far out of one’s ability range with little or no physical consequences for failure.

In contrast, highball bouldering—climbing boulder problems in excess of 25 feet tall, in which the consequences of falling include broken bones, paralysis or death—places the stakes much higher. This isn’t the realm of casual attempts; this is the realm of put up or get f*** up. Contemporary highballing blurs the line between bouldering and soloing. Traditionally speaking, rope-less ascents of established climbing routes were considered solos. The modern differentiator of a solo from a highball is more ambiguous and may only require that death be the definite outcome of a solo gone bad. Regardless, highballers commonly establish lines on boulders that reach into the deadly no-fall zone.

Jared Roth treads delicately
Bishop, CA - Tim Kemple Photo

History of Bouldering

Bouldering and highballing are not young sports. Documented occurrences of bouldering date back as far as the 19th century when early free climbers sought to establish rock climbing as a pursuit separate from mountaineering. A young Aleister Crowley was a very dedicated boulderer and free climber during the early 1900s. Documentations of highball ascents in Europe and the UK exist from as far back as records of bouldering itself.

As technology advances, climbers continue to test the limits of what’s considered possible and sane. As bouldering-specific products like highball crash pads become more prevalent and more advanced in design, climbers gain confidence and experience at climbing into the no-fall zone. What used to be a certain life-jeopardizing fall may now be considered only potentially dangerous with consequences lying more in the broken bones or serious injury category.

Tim Kemple, a gifted climber and brilliant photographer, and Jason Kehl, whom some consider the modern-day Aleister Crowley, continue to attack ever higher and more committing lines. Both have ticked first ascents that push the limits of established difficulty and which, in some cases, forge past 40-feet high. For these two, and for other highballers, the pursuit isn’t about reckless abandon; it is about control, focus, and intense introspection and self-awareness. Compare these devotees to monks, samurai, kung-fu masters; the essence of their existence is chasing after the next best line. In this world, style reigns. It’s not only a matter of pride; it is mandatory at these heights, because recklessness ends badly.

For the devoted, the allure of highballing comes from a desire to climb a beautiful, spectacular line, which bigger boulders often embody. It is also an attempt to purify the experience by losing the ropes, the excess gear, and by not modifying the rock with fixed protection points. The absolute focus and ascetic commitment necessary to achieve such an ascent captures the highballer’s psyche.

Adam Stack lip encounter
Mt. Evans, CO - Tim Kemple Photo

Why push the limits?

Kehl sheds light on the attraction to highballs, “I’m always looking to push the limit of what people consider as possible in bouldering. I want to take it as far as I can. The feeling of climbing as high as you can, without the distraction of a rope or harness, is always unforgettable. I love seeing a line that may look impossible or scary then changing that into something that is probable—understanding it, so each day it looks smaller and smaller….”

For Kehl, it’s really about pushing past the limits of the known and accepted, “…it is a great feeling to do something that most people fear, but I don’t see it as competition against other men, just against the standard that has been set up to this point.”

Managing fear while highballing

Kemple reflects on the psychological journey implicit in these acts, “[I get] the same thing as anybody who does something intimidating or testing to themselves. I love the process of understanding that you can do something, and then following through with it. If I know I can do a route or problem but am too scared to try, it eats at me until I finally have to give in. I guess it all comes down to fear and your ability to manage it. You know you can do it, or you wouldn't be up there.”

Managing fear and controlling risk through absolute focus on performance is the game. Kehl shares that point of view, “I’m driven mostly by big lines that create an illusion of danger. Deciphering that illusion and performing it is an addicting experience. I’m not attracted to danger itself but the risk of possible danger. Danger scares me. It’s all about how you prepare yourself for that danger….You could miss the last move on a 25ft boulder problem and land perfectly. It’s mainly how it may look impossible or threatening, but the more you learn about it the more manageable it becomes.”

Jason Kehl getting a natural high
Shane Williams Photo - Jason Kehl Collection

Will highballing become popular en masse? Kemple doesn’t think so. “I don't see highballing becoming popular any time soon. Our society is all about safety and convenience. I mean trad climbing used to be dope, but people got too scared, so sport climbing became vogue. Now people want the ease and increased safety of lowball bouldering.”

Kehl agrees, “I think it will always be somewhat isolated. I know some super strong climbers that won’t touch the stuff. That has always made it more appealing to me.”

So where does the sport go from here? What does the future hold? Kemple has some insane ideas about it, “I think the future of highball bouldering will be a hybrid of soloing and highballing on the steep bigwalls of the world. If you are 100m up and you have a parachute on your back, what’s to stop you from just soloing the Leaning Tower or other big lines?”