Positive Feedback

This is it, I thought.  I’m right beneath the chains.  I had to find a way to calm down and ensure I didn’t over-grip or not grip hard enough.  My heart rate rose and then fell again.  I had that weird surge of energy accompanied by that sinking feeling in my gut that attaches itself to failure.  I couldn’t keep hand matching on this small block and resting, it was literally two more moves to a giant bucket and the chains.  Okay, here we go.  I moved up right hand sinking into a incut side pull.  I walked my feet up on polished smears and found the small left foot jib I stand on to make the powerful move to the glory jug.  I caught myself with a right hand crimp, and stood up easily grabbing the sharp jagged jug and with it the first victory of the season.

    Somewhat anticlimactic, glorious nonetheless, and totally motivating. 

I found myself, after a somewhat poor week of training, feeling quite good on Saturday afternoon.  Arriving at the crag with two of my favorite people in the world.  Sunshine illuminating the sky and reflecting off the bright white surface of the rhino stone.  The wall was actually seeping way more than I would have thought.  After a dry week the ledge was wet and my hopes of getting on Pornstar were somewhat dashed.  It didn’t matter, when my options are limited it’s kind of nice because it gives me a chance to really focus and not feel so scattered.  I warmed up on Softliner and felt pretty strong.  I didn’t exactly have the energy I was looking for but my power was there.  Thank you weighted pull ups and circuit boarding!!  It’s also nice to climb in a tripod.  It gives me a chance to really rest between sets and give myself enough movement in between to recover efficiently.  Something like 45 minutes passed and I wasn’t sure if I was ready or not, I nearly hopped on Techno for a secondary warm up but then thought, what the hell, this could be my secondary warm up, get the jitters out.  I absolutely flew up the route, I felt a rush of energy and power and felt unstoppable.  I got to the type writer and decided not to hang out very long, took a couple shakes, and kept it moving.  I was surprised that this strategy worked.  I launched into the last sequence and was feeling relaxed and most importantly focused.  Goddamn that feeling is addictive.  I’m sure I felt so good (despite my poor performance in the gym that week and feeling super tired all week as well) due to the fact that I hadn’t had a sip of alcohol in five days and had also been dieting.  I made it to the last few spots you can rest before you have to do a four move boulder problem on small crimps and bad feet.  I crossed into a large undercut mouth and grabbed a brick shaped undercling with my right hand.  I clipped and then placed my left hand back in the mouth shaped undercut but I felt something soft and furry and all of a sudden a hissing noise came from the hold!  I ripped my hand away immediately and came off the route feeling a little stunned and angry (I was stunned at first, and then incredibly angry).  I shouted obscenities and kicked the wall.  I knew what had happened, there was a small bat tucked up into the corner of the undercling I use to shake out before the red point crux.  I was pissed because that was a legitimate attempt and a possible window to send and I didn’t even really give myself a chance.  I lowered and thought to myself, fuck, what do I do?  I can’t get back on it knowing there is a rabies-riddled bat on one of the holds? Luckily m friend Zi went up Chronic and on his way down he did me a total solid, he whipped his brush out and finagled the bat out of its resting place.  We watched in semi-frozen horror as the bat helicoptered down to the ground, one wing extended the other tucked into its body.  It did a that weird kind of half helicopter motion that Maple leaf seeds do when you throw them in the air.  It was insane, and just as quickly as my hopes had been dashed, they were suddenly re-built again.  Waterfalls kept saying ‘If that bat flys out and gives Zi rabies you better send or you have to pay Zi’s medical bills.”  Well, thank god no one was hurt, except maybe the bat?  (Turns out the bat was just fine). 

I drank a beer and thought about the outcome.  Could I tap back into that focused mind state?  I wasn’t sure.  But I was only two pitches deep, and the one thing that has become abundantly clear to me is the fact that I always climb better on my third pitch.  So, the waiting game ensued.  At this point I didn’t really expect to send, I just kind of expected what has always happened would happen again, and I kept saying to myself, ‘it’s not going anywhere, you’ve got plenty of time to do this, just climb fast and give yourself another shot.’  Well, I’m not sure if it was the mental coaching, the training, or having all of my good luck charms on the ledge that day, but I finally managed to climb Extended Illness on Saturday March 26^th, 2016.  It felt so effortless, I felt so light and strong, and when it came down to it I climbed it the way I like climbing hard projects, efficiently and in control and in good style.  Linking through a piece of climbing I’ve never linked through before is akin to a kind of strange magic that is better left to the realm of the unexplainable. 

Just the other day I made my first ‘after work’ expedition to the crag.  It was truly the first good weather day we have had since summer ended, the sun was blazing, we got out of the car in the parking lot and were hit by a heat wave radiating off of the pavement.  I couldn’t believe I was packing my puffy and long pants up with me, but I also knew it could be a good decision.  Out of the sun and into the dimly lit shady grove at the base of the wall.  The puffy and long pants came in handy.  I was bubbly and somewhat tired but ready to try and climb hard anyway.  The wall was actually pretty wet surprisingly.  There were literally pools of water on some of the flat buckets on Psychowussy and wet streaks lined the wall seeping from the various cracks and crevices.  I was stunned to say the least, we had just had three days of sun and yet the wall was leaving little to be desired.  I tried Pornstar but it was hard to take it seriously with one crucial hold sopping wet and a few others leaking.  I did manage to decide on some new beta at the top but the last move (the roll into the pocket will remain the ultimate crux, especially in manky conditions.  I know what I need to do to succeed on this route so I’m psyched to plunge into yet another Little si epic.  The day however, belongs to my good friend and training partner Zi.  The entire way up the trail to the wall he lamented the fact that he didn’t think his current project Californication would ever go.  It was obvious he respected the route and I tried to be encouraging amidst his doubts, it’s obvious to me that he is strong enough to climb the route but it’s a lot harder to convince somebody else they are.  After a his first time ever warming up on Technorigine he decided to go for it.  He yelled through the traverse to the type writer, sailed through the Californicator crux and rested on a very wet jug, before making it to the abo chains.  He rested quite a bit, then fired the techno crux, fired the move to the mail slot and it was apparent to me that if he just kept his shit together he would have the send.  Moving upwards to the last clip his foot popped off unexpectedly but he held the swing and shook out just beneath the chains making sure he had enough for the last few moves.  He shot upwards and with one final highstep he up and over and clipping the chains.  Very cool to be there to see him send his hardest route to date and also really awesome to watch him go from nervous and apprehensive to sending in one fell swoop.  Zi totally deserved this send.  As his training partner for the last six weeks or so I know how much time he has put into getting stronger and preparing for long power endurance routes but there was also never a point in which he acted like the route was beneath him, he showed a lot of respect to this project and I think that makes the send even more special.  It was really entertaining to watch him climb, there were moments when I was sure that he was done and coming off but he always reeled in the next crimp, made it to the next rest, and kept moving upwards.  It’s going to be (and already has been) great to see him progress this season, I’m looking forward to more after work sessions.