Day frickin’ four. Four days on Hard Boiled. My relationship with this route has blossomed I feel. And I believe we are on the verge of a meaningful transition. Next weekend, on my fifth day courting its redpoint, I foresee Hard Boiled and I progressing into what I consider TOTAL HELL. I’m talking big falls, big screams, lots of cursing.
Last weekend I climbed from the ground into the beginning of Hard Boiled‘s crux. Then I one-falled it. This was possibly my best go ever on this route. I got a little taste of the crux. From the ground, I reached from the first right-hand two-finger pocket to the next two-finger pocket from hell, whose next move is the first of Hard Boiled’s two-move crux sequence. At that instant both my hands exploded from their respective two-finger pockets. Subsequent goes will put me within range of Hard Boiled‘s infamous crux. No doubt, things are getting interesting.