Gripped Magazine
After Missing for Months, Portable Is Back in Canada
***Updated Feb. 17 2:20 p.m.
After a months-long disappearance, the world’s smallest boulder is back in Canada in its rightful place in Squamish.
On the afternoon of Feb. 17, Ethan Salvo brought Portable across the border and returned it to its home by the Superfly boulder at the base of the Stawamus Chief.
Salvo rolled back into town after having gone on a months-long climbing trip to the United States.
He previously told Gripped that he happened to be camping around the Buttermilks when a friend showed him a post on Reddit that made waves.
Someone had spotted Portable by the Iron Man boulder wearing a red googly-eyed tuque around Jan. 19.
It had been the first time there’d been a public report of the tiny one-foot boulder since it had gone missing around September.
Apparently, whoever had stolen the boulder had taken it for a ride all the way down to Bishop.
Salvo said he raced down to the Iron Man boulder and scooped up Portable, which he’s since been safeguarding for a return home.
There are several variations to this very Instagram-able boulder problem.
Most climbers who attempt it go for the popular V4 mantle problem. However, if you pinch and lift the stone with one hand, that’s a V6.
If that’s too easy for you, the next step up in difficulty is tossing and catch the problem with one hand.
Finally, 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.
More updates will be provided as the story develops.
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