BURSTWhen Gina D’Aloisio heard that Portable had been returned back to Squamish, she headed to the Superfly bouldering area to make a cast of the mini-problem.
That way, D’Aloisio, a sculptor and mould-maker, would be able to reproduce it in case it ever went missing again.
Her instincts were prescient. But she was too late. When she arrived there, Portable, the world’s tiniest V4/V6 problem, was nowhere to be found.
She reported it missing on Feb. 26. The boulder had been returned to Squamish on Feb. 17 by Ethan Salvo, who’d brought the boulder back after it was found in Bishop in late January.
Once back at home, it didn’t even last 10 days.
Previously, the boulder went missing from Squamish around September last year. It was gone for months, setting off a mixture of amusement and frustration among climbers.
As of now, D’Aloisio said she hasn’t heard anything about its whereabouts, and can only speculate about where it’s gone.
“It seems obvious that the first time it was a climber because it wound up in Bishop,” she told Gripped. “But I’m guessing because of the vitality of the story, Portable became famous to people outside of the climbing community and that’s who decided to take it again. I’m really hopeful that it will be returned in the end to its proper home.”
D’Aloisio wasn’t the only person who had plans in store for the famous little rock.
Benjamin Fenton, the founder of Balancing Acts, an association that seeks to make climbing more accessible, had been in the middle of organizing a welcome-home ceremony for Portable.
Fenton told Gripped he was worried that Portable would be immediately stolen again if measures weren’t taken. As a result, he spoke to members of Squamish Access Society, parks officials and the Squamish Nation.
“The event was intended to serve as a unifying event for climbers and the [Squamish] Nation,” Fenton told Gripped.
“A kind reminder that amongst all these games and silliness that this is still native land that climbers get to appreciate. This story is quintessentially Canadian, without trying to make things too political, I wanted this event to signify that we as climbers are grateful to inhabit these rich lands, and, as funny as this has been, it’s important [to remember] that taking rocks from here is ultimately inconsiderate.”
As of now, Fenton said there aren’t any clues as to where the boulder has gone.
In the past, there have been notes or rumours to go off of, he said, but this time there’s been nothing.
There are several variations to Portable.
It’s most popular as a tiny V4 mantle problem. However, if you pinch and lift the stone with one hand, that’s a V6.
For an additional challenge, you can toss and catch the problem with one hand, and the ultimate challenge has been to send Superfly Slab, a popular V0 highball slab, with Portable pinched in one hand. That’s a difficulty of at least V10.
“This story has been fun, silly and full of adventures that feel quintessentially Canadian,” said Fenton. “I hope this rock can stand and serve its purpose as a relic that embodies community connection forever onwards.”
Watch: How to climb Portable’s V4 problem
The post Portable, the world’s smallest climbing boulder, has gone missing again appeared first on Gripped Magazine.