The Ant That Ate the Elephant

 

I just wanted to say, I’ve really been enjoying rock climbing lately.  I had a really amazing day out just over a week ago and it was one of those days that filled me with excitement, motivation, and intrigue.  For some reason, I was just filled with energy.  I didn’t manage to send anything on my tick list but it didn’t matter.  It was one of those days where even in failure there was some feeling of success.  I think this happens when you know you have given yourself over completely to the climb and you managed to leave it all on the table in terms of effort.  Which I did.  I love days like these, because it fills me with that passion and reminds me why I love the art of climbing.  Grades, quandaries, ego; they all melt away and what you’re left with is this intense focus; climbing becomes an outlet for your unique way of interpreting life.  Climbing has constantly instilled me with a sense of wonder as well.  Nothing could have been clearer to me as I waded through the adventure climbing on Extendorigine.  It made me realize that for one, I haven’t been on new terrain in a LONG time, and two, there is nothing more exhilarating, nothing more bubbling over with life than launching headlong into the abyss of the unknown. 

 

 

 Last week was the one year anniversary of my first 5.13 send.  I didn’t really dwell on it very much, but it is a neat feeling to now be dissecting and envisioning a new challenge.  Something that I really never thought would be a reality for me.  I’ve started working a route called Pornstar.  It, in my humble opinion, represents the standard of hard climbing at Little si, and quite possibly Washington (and yes I know there are WAY harder routes here).  I’m certainly not close to sending, but I’m also not flailing.  I deserve to be on this route which is a very exciting feeling, but I also have a long way to go before all the pieces are aligned for a send.  For now, my goal is to just start making high points and to take down the crux at the top which I have not done yet. 

Lisa Chulich on 'Hang It Out To Dry'(5.12b)

 

 The route basically consists of four boulder problems.  The first is the techno crux, and I won’t go into detail here because I’m sure the majority of you reading this have actually done it or warm up on it. 

Vantage

 

 The meat of the climb begins off a massive sidepull jug.  This is the second boulder problem.  You traverse left using an undercling and a sloper making a big move first to a sidepull slot and then to a good crimp rail  You match the crimp rail and reach to a good LH pinch sidepull.  From this sidepull you make a massive span up and right to a good texture less slot.  You then make a hand heel match with some footwork trickery and lock off to a good LH incut sidepull.  You bump the right hand up the crack/seam a bit more and then stab for a monster jug.  This second boulder problem is roughly V.5 and is easily my favorite bit of climbing on this wall so far.

Bishop 2010

 

The third boulder problem (and the shorter people do this section WAY different than I do) begins when you leave the jug and come out to some good crimps, you set up for a massive (almost a dyno) move to a LH sloper sidepull, which you have to lock off and bring the RH to a palm down open gaston, then the LH goes to a good undercling sloper.  You clip off of this and move out right to a good crimp and a good blocky sloper.  This boulder is probably V.4, it’s not a lot of moves but the moves it does have are powerful and punchy. 

Discovery Park WFR class

 

 From these two holds you have to generate some sort of a rest because here is where the fourth and final boulder problem awaits.  Reaching out left you grab what is affectionately referred to as the ‘butter dish’, because it is small and slopey and usually greasy and has zero texture.  Walking your feet through to the left you make a hard snatch up right to a full pad side pull.  Using some heinous compression strength you have to squeeze really hard and get your RF up to the blocky sloper you were just resting on, turn your RH sidepull into an undercling, match feet, and then slowly and strenuously stand up and bring the LH all the way across the body and up into a sort of pocket crimp undercling.  This undercling isn’t any good at first, but once you twist your body to the right and drop your hip in you start to stand up into the undercling.  Grabbing a shitty slimper with the RH you adjust on the undercling, and then make one more powerful, life-draining stab to the holy shit victory jug at the top.  Route over!  The last crux is somewhere in the V.6/7 range (the shorties say 7 while a lanky French dude said 6).  I still have not been able to execute this last sequence but I haven’t really sieged it yet either. 

Infinite Bliss

 

 My highpoint so far is falling just short of the final crux sequence.  I know, it doesn’t sound promising now, but the route is starting to feel easier and easier at the beginning.  It’s a process, an undertaking, a decision.  A colony of ants has to eat the dead elephant carcass one bite at a time, even though there are millions of them, and one of him.  The route is my elephant carcass because it’s stationary, static, unchanging, a concrete obstacle.  But my brain is like the millions of members of a hungry ant colony; all moving autonomously, but making uniformed decisions, adapting, slowly pecking away at this challenge until I gain the knowledge, muscle memory, and confidence to put it down. 

 

 All I know is that so far, every time I try the route I feel good.  I feel like trying hard, I feel like it brings who I truly am out of me, out of some kind of ether that floats around me at all times but I don’t quite utilize to its full potential.  And I think, I hope, that’s why we all want to climb hard routes or boulders.  We all try to look for ourselves inside of these routes, these stationary paradigms, these eternal alters of the mind. 

 Mt. Adams

 

 Camp Muir

 

 Vantage

 

What’s on the horizon for me?  Well, the good news is that my finger injury has nearly run its course, hallelujah!!  Every training session, rehab session, outdoor climbing session, it has felt better and better.  I just had my first ‘real’ power endurance training session yesterday and it went quite well.  I’m constantly impressed by the setting at Stone Gardens.  The problems there are of such high caliber in my opinion.  I don’t think you can find a better set of technical, powerful, thought provoking, aesthetically pleasing boulders anywhere in this state.  Really psyched to have this place to train at.  They recently re-set the 45 and stacked it with powerful V.5’s one right next to the other.  SO, for my PE cycle I have been trying to link all of the V.5’s on this wall into each other.  YIKES!  It’s hard, really hard.  But, it’s also a mesmerizing challenge and one that intimidates and motivates me.  As far as my goals for the next month, well, they boild down to trying to get insanely good at overhaning jug hauls in preparation for the Red, and sending a project I’ve been working off and on for the last eight months.  Extended Illness represents the last of the attainable 5.13’s at Little si (besides the three I have left to do, Black Is All We Feel, Hadley’s Roof, and Oval Orifice).  It’s been a very persnickety process.  I’ve failed at finding the correct way of using the monster no hands kneebar rest just before the crux so instead I’ve opted to just climb my way through the rests and try to send the crux on link.  I get a few good shakes in the underclings but for the most part it’s just coming down to raw fitness.  I’ve one hung this rig several times but everytime I go for the link on point I just completely lose it in the crux.  It will come down to sheer determination and a lot of good breathing. 

SE Ak

SE Ak

Mt. Rainier

Sitka Sound

SE Ak

*On a side note: as for the whole perma-draw situation; I would just like to note that Luke has changed out the draws on Psychowussy, from the ‘franken-draws’ to some really nice looking grey banded steeltecs that clip well and look very streamlined.  This whole discussion about what to equip, when to equip it, and why has given me some good perspective, new and old.  For this crag, seeing as how there are so many extensions off both Abo and Psycho it makes sense to have these two bottom lines equipped as well, especially when it’s done properly and the equipment used is minimal and aesthetic.  I would like to thank everybody who has put time and money into making (and maintaining) World Wall One a safer and more enjoyable crag.  Justin has glued the creaking horn on Chronic, a few rusty and sketchy looking bolts have been replaced on Chronic and Abo, a few climbers have gone up Extendorigine and done some cleaning.  Erich Sachs has been working feverishly to connect the dots between psychosomatic and pornstar as well as placing a new bolt to link black ice into the top portion of lost horizons; adding a couple of new challenges and hard linkups.  It seems as if everyone is making a concerted effort to keep World Wall up to date and open for new developments. *