Monday December 1, 2008
Another season of climbing at the Red River Gorge
has come to an end. This is the 3rd fall I've come
to climb here and it's the first year I've come
where I didn't have time to really enjoy all it has
to offer. Despite efforts to keep my fitness up, I
found I still had to acclimate. This trip, I had to
fight freezing temperatures as well. Because my time
here was so short, I climbed every possible
day--including one day where it snowed and the
temperatures never reached freezing (optimistically
high of like -3C, or 25F) and another where it was
pouring down rain and the walls were condensing.
The first few days I tried to climb were painful.
The fingers numbed, my forearms hurt and it was
difficult to loosen up and just climb. I had no
sense of recovery. Climbing seemed futile, but
seeing and hearing people sending left and
right kept my hopes up. Hot rocks, hand
warmers, runs, and mental stamina helped to overcome
the cold but still my only solace was knowing
if/when the temperatures were less freezing, I'd
think it was heaven by comparison.
The temperatures did turn for the better, or at least the sun was coming out creating the illusion of warmth. I did not waste time. Clear skies and barely 5C/41F, it was time to climb! I was psyched and teamed up with some people at camp. We were the first at the warmups (avoiding the crowds was nice). However, by the time I was done warming up, the cliffs were packed. I wanted to climb in the sun as much as possible so I looked for climbs in the sun that would be fun and not crowded.
I had heard of this climb 'Swahili Slang' a 12c that climbs unlike most climbs at the Red. Not being in onsite shape I thought I was mad for going for it, but as it turned out, I made it just fine to the upper crux. I tried that move several times, always falling short of the hold. My bicep was so taxed from the efforts that I blew the onsite. Even off the hang, I was short a few inches. I walked away. When we arrived there was someone on the climb and when i was climbing there were people waiting. This did not seem promising for getting too many tries in on something.
Julie went over to get on Snooker but the queue on
that was long (at least 6 or 7 deep when she
arrived). I felt bad having taken time on Swahili
and possibly setting her back in the queue. Then, I
noticed every climb, obscure or not had ropes up on
it. It was a tough day to project or get any peace
from dogs or people. I left Julie and her friend,
Nick, to battle their way
onto their projects and went in search of other friends
climbing at the Buckeye Buttress.
To my surprise the Stain wall was overflowing with people, too. The only line free was 'Golden Touch' so I got on it. The crux and the upper section were hard but I thought I had beta that would work. Another climber, Shannon, got on it and shared some of his beta. I wasn't sure which beta I would go for since with neither of them did I stick the crux move. Shannon stuck the move easily but fell higher up on the route. I watched him send it his 2nd go and left the crag psyched for my next opportunity on it.
I spent the next 2 days working in Columbus and eagerly awaiting Mike's return from Greece. Our first day back at the Red, we went straight to the Motherlode. Kenny was no longer psyched on 'Transworld' and Mike was tired with jetlag so it turned out it was just me climbing there. This worked to my advantage because it meant I had another chance to get on 'Golden Touch.' Now, the weather was warmer and I wondered how greasy the holds would be. I thought I would have to pull harder and wondered if the suggested taping of the finger would help prevent me from puncturing my skin. Turned out the tape prevented me from feeling the hold and I lost my leverage with that finger. I fell. I took the tape off, stuck the move, lowered and sent the climb. I didn't tape it when I tried it last and the holds didn't tear my fingers (I only tried it 3 times) so I guess the lesson learned here is that I shouldn't change things up as a precaution.
I was feeling really good (4 freezing days of trying
to climb followed by 2 rest days and finally a
warmer day of actual climbing) so when we got to the
Dark Side for Kenny, I thought I'd give Elephant Man
another go. Big mistake. I didn't link much of it
and it felt sick hard. I thought I'd take the day as
a stretch out day and try for the next day since
Kenny wanted to come back then. With Kenny being so
close on both 'Golden Boy' and 'Swingline' I didn't
protest to returning. I'm psyched when people send
their projects and without any other project but
'Elephant Man,' it seemed to make sense to go
there--even though I suspected EM wasn't going down
this trip.
By the end of the trip, Kenny didn't send 'Golden Boy' or 'Swingline' and I didn't send 'Elephant Man.' I didn't even get my old highpoint, but I came close; and the last day I was on it, I gave 4 good burns and had already linked from the 4th to the top. I knew I was close, but I wouldn't have time to test that. I was psyched at the progress and now I want to come back for it!
It's tough leaving the Red when I feel like I haven't scratched the surface of what I want to do. Soon I will be back at my desk but the memories of this trip will stay with me. I'll be looking forward to the time when I can return!
Back
in Columbus, I was psyched to see my first Canucks
hockey game, complete with a fist fight on the ice!
The Canucks lost, but I was excited to see familiar
names playing. It was the first time I'd seen the
Sedin brothers and Mattias Ohlund--names I knew from
previous seasons. It was unfortunate that I didn't
recognize more...the team changed dramatically after
the last season. But, I think I'm more of a fan of
radio hockey than live hockey in an arena. It might
be me getting older but I found the atmosphere
really over the top. If you could take most, if not
all of that away, I think I'd be a bigger fan.
Jeremy got a new camera for his recent birthday and took some really good shots from the game. I particularly like the one of the fight!
