if rad routes were a minute, the Tor would be an hour

Today’s post title is courtesy of Brian Spiering. Inspired by The Temptations’ The Way You Do the Things You Do, Brian’s instinct to connect a powerfully emotional song with a collection of routes typifies the Owl Tor pathology – which I’m positive will lend it self to a rad conjunction (ex. path-Owl-ogy). I’ve not had a relationship last as long as my infatuation with the Tor. And infatuation is a horribly inaccurate word for it – more like conciliation. So yes, I fell on Atreyu this weekend, two more times. I was so pissed I got on Better Than Life and one-falled it from the long two-finger pocket. That eased the pain a little of what would otherwise have been a thoroughly disappointing day. Then I did some work on Rubble, ate a delicious ribeye, and hiked in to Pine Mountain. Not the most pleasant 2 hours of my life but worth the experience, Pine Mountain’s 6.5 mile approach left me fairly knackered Saturday night. Bosco was not knackered. In fact, I don’t believe Bridget’s dog has ever been knackered or ran at a speed less than full-throttle insane. Fed a strict diet of Kibbles and crystal meth, Bosco’s energy level is frightening, and his effortless skill at connecting paw to scrotum is astonishing. Micah and Bridget also enjoyed the bouldering Pine Mountain offers – just not as much as Bosco. And I frickin’ loved it. All the exercise and altitude kinda wore on me but the time I spent on a couple classics in Pine’s near-alpine setting made the whole deal more than worthwhile. But I’m not going there next weekend. Unless they open the road.

2 comments

  1. Oh man, it’s going great. I’m really inspired to make it a great piece of rock. Hard? I was hoping for 13a or 13b but your comment makes me want go nuts with it. I don’t know… I’ve put all the holds on it but not tried to link it. If things are way hard but feel right, I think I might let it be as difficult as 14a or 14b. I always tend to want to make stuff super difficult for me so Phil and you may need to reign me in but if you’re saying ‘go nuts’, I might just do that. You really should get over here to see it. You’d love it. The bottom is already brilliant then I bolted all the way to the tree, hoping to bash every natural detail off those 2 ledges to make hard mantle moves. Phil’s suspicious – I can feel him watching me.

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