Something about Saturday made redpoints unrealistic. The weather was unusually cold, maybe 60 degrees, which ordinarily would make for a good day. A good day anywhere but at the Tor. You see, we are not the only ones with excuses. The Tor itself will throw down an excuse card once in a while. So, despite seemingly good conditions, the Tor decided it would take this opportunity to shut everyone down. And since the Tor does not need to dignify us with a reason for spitting us off our projects, I have to assume she was grumpy from a late night partying with her hell-crag friends. Paul, Andy and I all failed to redpoint Chips even once. Phil got on Galla Galla Happy and claims a mild food poisoning (don’t think I don’t remember – that excuse has been used, broheim). Mary did not succeed on Power. Marcela did not succeed on Power and reminded me again how bad one’s day can really be at the Tor. I don’t even know how Micah and Sal did. Probably they got shut down on whatever they touched. But the day was not a complete loss. At worst, just showing up at the Tor is a victory. I did 8 laps on the bastard. Last week I could not will myself up Chips a second time after my first redpoint failure. Saturday I redpointed The Sea, fell in Chips‘ crux on two separate burns, and got on Hell and Auto Magic – a volume I am happy with considering my recent medical events. I believe everyone there got a little stronger. One needs to be acclimated to the type of climbing the Tor presents. Even seemingly bad days are good training. And we all had fun. We all enjoy each other’s company.
