The NOX
Things are rolling right along.
With the introduction of a little heat it’s time to get out
of the kitchen and into the freezer.
Thus, we make our annual migration to the depths of The Nox (Equinox for
the laymen). Easily one of the best
small crags in the State, every single route here is good/great/FUCKING
AMAZING!! Last season I had my first
trip to this crag and then ended up coming back every single weekend for five
or six weekends in a row. I managed to
send most of the classic 5.12’s in the main sector but never broke through that
5.13 ceiling. So with a little more
mileage and experience under my belt my focus was strictly on one of the best
lines at the crag: Black Magic. I had
tried it a hand full of times last season and had done all the moves but it
felt hard and I kept falling at the second crux.
Arriving at the crag for the first time this season felt
like I was returning home. I love the
Nox, from the routes, to the setting, to the secluded feel, to the viewing
platform and the fact that even on a 80 degree day it can be cool and shady and
perfect for climbing hard routes. I was
kind of at a loss as to what to warm up on and I started to feel intimidated,
unsure of how I would perform on the bouldery power endurance oriented style of
the routes after a long stint at Little si and the endurance monsters that lurk
there. So I finally got psyched and
decided to just get on Skip it or Clip it.
I was shocked when the route felt surprisingly easy so I just kept going
and managed to repeat the extension as a warm up. Well, that worked out well! Hopefully it was a sign of things to come and
after a rest I was ready to try Black Magic.
My first attempt was less than ideal, I forgot all of my
foot beta and it made the body positioning and powerful lock offs feel
incredibly hard. After a few tweaks here
and there I was thugging my way through the bottom boulder problem and hung at
the second crux, then fired it to the red point crux; a technical crimp section
over a small bulge that requires precise foot work and a calm head. I hung there as well, and then pulled through
to the last overhanging section and was so pumped I fell going to the victory
jug. Okay, that didn’t exactly inspire
confidence but I knew I could climb it better.
A long rest and then I was back on the route and climbing really
well. I sailed the boulder problem and
finally linked through the first crux, realizing at the next rest spot that I
had never actually been this far on link, so I tried to keep my head and focus
on what I had to do next. I felt great,
I was recovering well and moving and breathing through each difficult sequence. I arrived at the redpoint crux and got overly
excited. My foot beta here was still
sketchy and I started relying on power to pull my way up. I failed and popped off going to a small
crimp at my face. I pulled back on sent
the one hang. Progress! At this point I just wanted to be done with
it so I could avoid the shoulder popping boulder problem start which always
feels questionable. Sometimes you can
float through it and other times it feels like your wrestling with an
alligator. It’s also kind of a shock to
the system when you have to start a route like this right off the bat with a
thuggy boulder problem. I’ve been
worried about my power lately which is another reason why I was psyched to be
back at the Nox and specifically trying
this problem. While the bottom part is
easily the hardest there is still a lot of resistance climbing on the rest of
the route and the very last sequence is a pretty powerful boulder problem by
itself so in my opinion this is a great power endurance test piece and I was
happy to be stepping up to the challenge.
I tried the route two more times that day and actually got to a
highpoint falling just shy of the last rest before the overhang, but it was not
to be.
I drove back on Sunday feeling questionable physically but
pretty psyched mentally. The warm up did
not go as planned and everything just seemed to have a layer of funk on
it. The previous day I managed to float
up Skip It or Clip it Full yet today I fell on the 5.12a part just beneath the
chains! Climbing is such an odd beast. While it wasn’t the start I was hoping for I
recovered well and felt strong regardless of my poor performance on the warm
up. I geared up for a send burn on Black
Magic. As I got ready to climb I noticed
that the key hold in the crux ( a weird blocky pinch seam type of hold ) was
seeping pretty bad. I figured I’d just
get psyched and burl through it but in the back of my mind I was a little
worried since you have to pull on this hold very hard. I got to it and reached up jamming my fingers
inside, it instantly felt bad but I tried moving off it anyway. No dice.
I took and was a little overwhelmed with anger because I actually felt
really good climbing into that part. I
dried it off as much as I could and then tried it again. I stuck the jug and tried to compose myself
thinking this could be it. I moved off
the jug sticking my right hand in a deep ring lock gaston; it was soaked!! I tried hard to move and pivot off of it but
my hand was slipping and I freaked and hung.
This was starting to get to me a bit but I thought, just chalk it up,
dry it off as much as you can, let the sun come and go and whatever happens the
route isn’t going anywhere. Even with
this mantra in my mind I was pissed, I wanted to do this route today! Not next weekend, not next month, I wanted it
now. The sun finally crept around the
apex of the crag and blared down on my route.
It was time to take a break.
After an hour or so of waiting for the sun to leave, I
finally noticed the route was in total shade and I got focused and
psyched. One of the most enjoyable
things in climbing for me is picking an objective, and clamping down on it like
a pitbull with roid rage. The process of
ferreting out every little detail, making awkward or difficult sequences the
opposite and making good links on a difficult route has to be one of the best
aspects of climbing and easily one of the most enjoyable/frustrating parts of
climbing. I never really know for sure
how I’m going to perform, but I can usually tell when I have a good chance at
sending and as soon as I pulled on and stuck the first move of the boulder
problem I could tell that the chances were very high on this burn. The boulder problem felt absolutely amazing
and easy, I stuck the jug without having to come off the wall and just felt
solid and focused. I crushed the next
crux off a good rest and just kept breathing and focusing on the next sequence
and what I had to do to execute it perfectly.
I climbed into the redpoint crux and felt super dialed and floated
it. I got to the last rest and began to
feel a little nervous but just took my time and really shook out well; I wasn’t
going to let anything stand in my way at this point. I left the last rest and fired it to the
chains feeling confident and strong!
YES! Another hard send, this
really meant a lot, after last season I had built Black Magic up in my mind as
this ‘milestone climb’ that lived in my sub-conscious as a sort of infamous
character mired in darkness and seduction.
It’s really funny and cool to me how we can engineer personalities for
these pieces of rock; these lonely stone giants that neither care what we do or
how we do it. Black Magic is easily one
of the coolest climbs I’ve done and a perfect culmination of bouldering and
endurance oriented resistance climbing, a total classic.
I pulled my rope and immediately placed it under Groove Tube
feeling hungry to move onto the next project.
I had tried Groove Tube last season as well, completing the short
version that goes at 5.12b and one hanging the full version that goes at 5.13a. I remember that it felt significantly easier
than Black Magic for the grade so I was kind of excited at the thought of maybe
ticking two new 5.13a’s in a day, even if one of them was soft. I did a beta burn and executed each sequence,
re-figuring out the beta at the top crux.
My second go I felt like I was climbing in a dream, every move felt
easy, every hold felt huge and I was resting and shaking on everything! I got up to this weird transition in the wall
from dihedral to slight overhang and there is a tricky sequence because there
are so many holds at this point, some of them good some of them horrible. I was ripped from my dream and completely
stalled out. I made a move off a
horrible slimper and fell, FUCK! I
wasn’t even in the crux! This was
slightly annoying and kind of devastating because I had felt so good. What a major brain fart. I pulled back on right away seeing what I
should have done instead fired the route to the top. Goddamnit, I’m probably the best at punting,
chuffing, and gumbie-ing, but actual climbing, I still have a long way to
go. The day was getting late and
everyone was losing steam. I wasn’t
ready to give up though. I wrangled one
last belay out of Forest and tried to climb fast. I got to the part where I had fallen and
beasted through it climbing into the crux.
I was so fatigued at this point but victory was just above me. I yelled to stay on sticking the crux hold
and making the last clip. I moved out
right forearms burning, trying to mini-shake in between each move. At this point it’s nothing but crimps and one
bad foot hold that I had to stand on with everything. I grabbed the second to last hold and tried
desperately to trust the smear but I was done.
Falling into the abyss of failure.
And yet, success as well. A
highpoint and the knowledge that I can definitely do this route.
The goal was to send Black Magic, but it manifested into
trying to push myself and my limits to sending two 5.13’s in a day. I desperately want to push myself and my
capacity in climbing. One of the demons
of my past has to do with giving up and losing motivation after accomplishing a
goal and this is something I have desperately tried to get away from this
season. I want to keep pushing myself
after a victory , it’s no longer good enough to me to have that one good send
for the year. I’m striving to become a
more consistent and confident climber and in order to do that I need volume and
I need it at a high level of performance.
However, with pushing your limits comes the risk of injury, failure, and
negative feedback loops. In this light
it’s important to practice a type of calm reserve that only comes with
wisdom. I think after this next weekend
of climbing and projecting I will take a weekend off and entertain the idea of
maybe doing something different. At
least for ONE weekend J
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