In 1971, a 19-year-old John Bouchard, climbed the 400-foot Black Dike up Cannon Cliff, solo, despite having a stuck rope, one mitten and a broken pick. In his time, a WI4+ was unheard of, and only four years earlier, the hardest “stepless ascent” was Mount Washington’s Pinnacle Gully at WI3+. Today, the Black Dike sees plenty of traffic and is climbed regularly. Justin Guarino’s video of the Black Dike represents an aesthetic point-of-view of the climb and over four decades of historic ascents. Enjoy. –David Crothers, Online Producer
