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Matthew De Santis

@desantis.matthew

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I like to go in the woods and climb up small rocks.
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some videos I make sometimes:

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It always feels a bit nostalgic climbing in the north east. Out west we have lots of rock and lots of public land, but there’s something special about being out in the New England woods. It’s always a bit more humid than you want it to be, there’s spider webs everywhere, you’re constantly swatting mosquitos… but it also feels like home. I havnt gotten many northeast climbing days in the last few years, but each one is a real treat and leaves a memory that stands out among the rest.
“Everything is Purple” has been near the top of my northeast to-do list for years, and it did not disappoint. Immaculate gneiss grips that are set perfectly across the whole wall, culminating in a mantle that’s just the right amount of spicy. Without a doubt one of the best New England has to offer ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ by @desantis.matthew

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a month ago

@tony_peppperoni on his latest addition to Arta- "Fool's Errand" (v8ish). Some hard moves down low lead to a glory 5.4 free solo to the top. We had scoped this line a few times, but the landing just seemed too bad. Lucky for us, Alex spent a couple days constructing a landing and cleaning the top so the rest of us can enjoy it! by @desantis.matthew

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2 months ago

Another nice addition to Arta from a few weeks ago. Pretty psyched to add a few more moves into this classic highball. I'm trying to do a better job of sharing our new boulders while the area is still in season. I've got quite a backlog building up...

The Animist Direct SDS (v11ish) - first ascent

awesome cover photo is by @t_boltx! by @desantis.matthew

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2 months ago

After climbing "Hot Singles in Your Area" I didn't quite feel done with this block. I had originally envisioned climbing this prow head on, and I was a little disappointed when it turned out to be easier to escape to the left arete. So I decided to come back and reclimb it as an eliminate, omitting the right facing hold that allows you to transition to the left arete. Technically it's a contrivance, but this feature was just begging to be climbed as a squeezer! If you want to try it, bring your biggest span and your best toehooking shoe! Who needs to go to Rocklands for Mooiste Meisie when we've got our own morpho toehook boulders right here at home...

"Tall Singles in Your Area" v11ish FA by @desantis.matthew

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2 months ago

Another Arta banger is born! Crazy to think there are still boulders this good 5 minutes from the road that we didn't find until this year. It's been really cool to see more people checking out Arta this Summer, and even cooler to see some people developing new climbs! If this wasn't already the best summer bouldering spot in Utah, it sure feels like it will be soon. Really enjoyed working this one out with @tony_peppperoni and @chris4518 - it's my favorite of the year so far!

"Hot Singles in Your Area" (v10ish) FA 🥵 by @desantis.matthew

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3 months ago

Arta season is off to a great start this year! This is a boulder that @tony_peppperoni and I put up in 2024 that I never got around to sharing my video of. I still think it’s one of the best boulders we’ve developed- really interesting movement on a very unique and striking feature. Hopefully this will encourage some more folks to explore the upper deck zone of Arta!

Watcher on the Wall (v10ish) joint FA with Alex by @desantis.matthew

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3 months ago

3 weeks in Squamish in 36 seconds by @desantis.matthew

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3 months ago

King of Crash (proposed v12) FA

When @tony_peppperoni and I first climbed “Sultan of Swat” 3 years ago, we looked at some holds off to the left and wondered if there could be another climb there. I was skeptical at first whether the gaps could be connected. Over the years I would find myself back at the boulder supporting friends, and I’d throw some chalk on the holds and try to hang some positions. Slowly the puzzle pieces came together and it went from “impossible” to “maybe possible for someone else” to “woah I can do all the moves” to putting it all together. Can’t ask for a better development experience than that. In hindsight, the sequence seems so obvious, but it took a lot of minds to figure it out! Looking forward to seeing some folks enjoying this and the other Arta boulders this summer as the Salt Lake temps get cranked up. by @desantis.matthew

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4 months ago

"Ting"

So psyched to resurrect this old LCC slab that I believe was put up by Sam Tingy a long time ago! It's a beautiful wall with a perfect chicken head start foot, and some other chicken heads up and right with a big blank section in between. I've tried it on and off since 2024, probably put 8 or 9 days in total. There was no existing info or beta, and many times I wondered whether something had broken since the FA. I genuinely had no idea whether the climb was possible until the go I did it, which made this experience very unique and rewarding. I did have to resort to the very lame tactic of taping a fan to the wall, but desperate times call for desperate measures 😂. Maybe now with a beta video out there it'll get some more love. It's for sure the hardest slab I've done, and maybe a contender for the hardest slab in LCC?! Though difficulty on slab can be super subjective, so who knows 🤷‍♂️. If you can think of any other contenders, tell me so I can go try them! by @desantis.matthew

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5 months ago

Caught the Ibex bug this winter. Put together a little edit of some of my favorite rigs from the season (link in bio). Here's the highlight reel!

1-2: The extremely sick pinch on "Animal World"

3: One of the cooler sequences I've done on rock on "Lick the Bag Low"

4-5: The fist jam on "Fister" and the moves you do off of it- a move which couldn't have been set more perfectly

6: @cmdinaps cheesin after exiting the hole on "The Hamster"

7: @tony_peppperoni on the crux grip of "Hadron Collider" by @desantis.matthew

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6 months ago

When you don’t fit the box… make a new box? 📦

I lost count of how many days I spent trying Spirit Walker... somewhere between 20-30. In the vast majority of those sessions I never gave a single send burn, pretty much spending all my time searching for and refining beta since the standard method really hurt my fingers and didn’t seem to fit me at all. I probably have at least 3 different methods for every move on the climb. Eventually I felt like I hit a wall in this process where the boulder felt more injurious than fun. Between burn out and injuries, I stepped away for a couple years, and finally came back this year with fresh eyes. I retried some toehook beta that I had tried years ago and written off as not doable, only to find that now I could do it and it felt repeatable! And more importantly, it removed the painful elements of the boulder and brought back the fun, which re-sparked my motivation to show up and try hard. It also helps to have @seramargaret_ hyping you up 🍩.

Grade-wise, with this method the boulder felt low end 13 for me. But this beta probably only makes sense if your tall, have weak fingers, and are decent at toe hooks. Curious to see if it works for others too! #rocks by @desantis.matthew

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7 months ago

Hadron Collider FA (proposed v11). A nice new addition to Ibex in the Warm Point sector. Good times with @tony_peppperoni putting the puzzle together. Alex also put up a stand start that clocks in around 9/10. by @desantis.matthew

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8 months ago