Butt Bongo Fiesta: the big dream
Butt Bongo Fiesta. When I started trying this climb, I had no idea the kind of journey it would become, or how much it would mean to me to send it in the end. It was, as always, just a rock, but it's our experiences with those rocks that create something really memorable... In August 2018, I got on Butt Bongo for the first time ever. It seemed like such a daunting climb. I’d belayed and watched people on it before and everyone seemed to find it hard and cryptic and powerful. And I don’t think I ever saw another woman on it up to that point, so it was easy to frame it in my head as a powerful dude climb. The first time I tried it, I was up in Rumney with a friend whose weekend objective was to send Butt Bongo. I figured since we were going to be at the climb anyway and I had the opportunity to be sprayed down with beta, I might as well try it. I surprised myself (a lot) by doing all the moves on my first attempt. Sure, I hung all over it and took forever, but I was psyched! Th...