Friday had me traveling from my mom’s place in Washington to Joshua Tree for some winter radness. Climbing in the cold is rad. And cold it was – thirties and forties during the day. Sunny though, and little wind, so a well-insulated belayer can pull on crisp crystals and hopefully achieve some progress on otherwise… Continue reading from climbing hell to heaven
Category: routes
more failure, please
I failed 3 more times on Atreyu, spit off at the crux thrice. Not very rad. Then I spent about 2 hours making 1 hold on the new route. There was failure all around at the Tor Saturday. Justin had at least a couple fits after peeling off the top of Power like 6 times.… Continue reading more failure, please
Déjà vu
More falls on Atreyu. I got to fall 3 more times at the crux. And since Phil forgot to bring the battery for his drill, I didn’t do any work on the new route either. All in all I’d say it was a pretty productive day. Micah, Andy and I went to Green Dome the… Continue reading Déjà vu
already more than I expected
My third day on Atreyu and it’s feeling exactly how I didn’t want it to – like a project. I’m giving it 2 burns a day so that I have time at the end to work on the new route I’m building at Owl Tor, so I’m sure I could have made better progress on… Continue reading already more than I expected
back on familiar ground
Last week I finished Hard Boiled, so this week we returned to Owl Tor. I missed her. She’s even better than I remembered. I spent 3 weeks back at Mr. Lee’s, the last 2 never going to the Tor. But things are back to normal now. I went with Andy and Micah. Phil was dealing… Continue reading back on familiar ground
Hard Boiled, done
I redpointed Hard Boiled (5.13b) yesterday. Rad. Rad that I never have to get on her again. Actually, I had a good time this season. Probably that’s because I was prepared. Last season I spent 18 days trying to redpoint. This season I sent after eight attempts over 3 days. Yesterday’s redpoint happened first go… Continue reading Hard Boiled, done
Hard Boiled might not be so bad
There. I said it. Hard Boiled is not the worst route in the world. But don’t get me wrong; it’s no ‘walk in the park’ to redpoint. More than anything, this new perspective of mine is probably a symptom of my revised redpoint mentality in general. Redpointing is more fun for me this season. I’ve… Continue reading Hard Boiled might not be so bad
hello, old friend
Back on Hard Boiled. That’s right, after 10 months, 1 attempt on my life, 3 pairs of climbing shoes and several dozen training days I am back projecting the most miserable piece of rock I have ever known. Once again, I am bidding for chains on Phil’s Santa Maria abomination, for whose creator I’m sure… Continue reading hello, old friend
BTL, day 4
Better Than Life felt better than usual Saturday. I’m mildly satisfied with redpoint burns by my fourth day of the season on this route. To tick her before moving on to Hard Boiled would be nice but I fear my window of opportunity at Mr. Lee’s may close if I do not start heading back… Continue reading BTL, day 4