Bubbs Creek, named for the 19th century prospector John Bubbs, flows 16 miles through a deep, glaciated canyon to the mighty Kings River. Equidistant from the east and west sides of the Sierra, the drainage’s namesake wall rises prominently from the valley floor. Patina faces crossed by continuous dikes, a few corners, and a smattering of knobs yield passage up an otherwise blank 2,000’ sea of steep, pristine granite.

In the fall of 2015, Taylor Lamoureaux, Nicky Dyal, and I made two attempts on a line that begins with the first pitch of the Emperor (5.12a, established in 2014 and freed in 2015). From there we struck off right, climbing free-as-can-be and drilling from stances and hooks in harder sections, until a nearby wildfire swelled to the point where the canyon was evacuated. Our high point, 1,000’ above the valley floor and just shy of the final headwall, appeared to be blocked by 30’ of blank rock.

In the early fall of 2019, Chris Williams and I fixed ropes to the previous high point and started to explore roofs, dikes, and cracks that could circumnavigate the blank section. After an initial scouting trip, we returned home demoralized: Three possible variations had not panned out, and the prospect of equipping a bolt ladder was untenable.  

Later that fall, Rob Kennedy and I hiked the eight miles in to make a push for the top. With fresh eyes, Rob was able to sort out the most improbable face sequence between the previously explored features, which led to a monster knob and more featured rock. From there, we climbed the first crux of the Sensei route, then turned a corner to find a tufa-like dike on slightly overhanging rock, which continued to the horizon and over the headwall, eventually linking into the exit pitches shared by the Emperor and the Sensei/What’s Up Bubb? We had a rock climb. But three of the pitches had yet to be freed.

The following week, Rob and I started at the base and climbed each pitch to the top over the course of three days, making use of our 1,500’ of fixed line to commute up and down from a camp in the valley each day. Many pitches took multiple goes, some with double-digit burns before sending—we dug deep.

Hanshi (2,400’, V 5.12+) is damn fun and sustained. The climb has 108 protection bolts and anchors with fixed rap stations to pitch 12. I named the route after the top-level Kendo degree, in keeping with the Bubbs route-naming theme. But it’s also named for my friend Hansi Standteiner, who always puts a big smile on my face. 

– Townsend Brown