Walker Emerson Luminance Interview
Emerson, from the Bay Area, was one of Diamond’s two spotters on Luminance. Here, he shares the spotter’s-eye view of the first ascent.

How was it to spot such a highball, scary endeavor?
I didn't know Shawn before the day of Luminance, but the Buttermilks are a small place and anyone seeking out pads for some highballing is pretty typical. I was out for the holidays with my kid brother; my friends had ditched me and decided to go to the Happies for the abundance of snow at the Buttermilks. So I was looking for pads. Shawn and I teamed up — first I gave my project a few burns, but Shawn seemed anxious so I suggested we go try his project. We tromped through the snow to the Secrets of the Beehive area. I asked Shawn which boulder he was going to. "It will be obvious," he replied. Around the next drift stood this house-sized boulder, with fresh chalk on perfect slash patina: a fairly short amount of climbing with a huge amount of exposure. The face juts dramatically from the base, placing you quickly over the heady landing. Shawn had anchored a toprope to large features at the summit. He tied in and gave it a burn. Huge moves on sloping crimps gained him the lip. He lowered to the ground. We sat for about 20 minutes, trying to figure out how best to protect the awful landing.

What sort of solution emerged?
We had a Mondo and several smaller pads, so it wasn't really enough to cover the entire fall zone, plus the landing drops away so much that coming off the crux cut-loose move would send you flying down the hill. I suggested I tie into the rope to spot his swing and check him in the pit of pads we had built. We weren't really sure if this would work, because the cut-loose swings you out with such violence. Shawn took off his harness and laced up. I was tied into a Grigri, the line fixed through the anchors atop the boulder and anchored to another boulder about 70 feet back from the wall. I got my stance over the no-fall zone and made a human wall with my arms, hoping to make Shawn a little more confident with my 6’2” self.

And then he went for it?
Wiping his feet for a second, Shawn looked nervous. I could tell he wanted it to be over with quickly — he grabbed the starting holds and climbed up to the cut-loose, and then matched and swung toward me, letting go before he reached the apex of the swing. His feet hit the pad right in front of me as I slammed him backwards; Shawn pin-balled into the pit. Slightly unscathed, Shawn weighed his options for another 10 minutes. I could tell he was thinking this is the time to do it — It’s the last great line in the ‘Milks and someone else will do it if I don't do it right now. With more confidence, he gave it another go. I took my position again, trying to make my self as big as possible. This time when Shawn matched and took the swing, he screamed bloody murder. Holding the gut-wrenching swing, he got his feet on…now comes the real crux. The next move requires 100 percent. No lockoff will get you there. Realizing I was no longer in a position to spot, I unclipped the toprope and ran to the edge of the pads, knowing that if Shawn fell now there wouldn’t be much I could do ….. "You're over the pads...come on, Shawn!" I screamed. He launched for the sloping rail snagged it, and bumped into the back for the thank-god hidden slot. With a few more carefully executed moves, Shawn was whooping and grinning as he casually topped out Luminance.

What was your reaction?
When he got back down, I told him that this was the stupidest thing I have seen anyone climb in the ‘Milks. As to how Luminance compares with other Bishop high highballs, I’d say I there are a few very tall next-level problems in Bishop and Luminance is right up there with them. The Beautiful and Damned is tall, but the landing is flattish and there are no obstacles to miss. Same with This Side of Paradise and Evilution, which is getting topped out regularly these days. Although these boulders problems are much taller, the commitment level is the same. After you take the swing and are still on the holds on Luminance, you have to make a huge throw — at this point, making it to the top is your safest option. The landing is too uneven to drop safely.