Winter is Coming

 

Oh my.  How time can truly fly.  Time flies over us, but leaves its shadow behind (Nathaniel Hawthorne).  Clocks slay time…time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life! (William Faulkner).  As if you could kill time without injuring eternity (Henry David Thoreau).

And nothing could be truer than the spirit these quotes embody.  I find it absolutely fascinating how time can exist in one moment and then cease to exist in the next.  The moments that filled the last three weeks have ticked by like the clocks in Faulkner’s quote.  But eternity blankets those moments in which we have forgotten ourselves in nature and in love.  The early mornings in which I find myself being pulled from sleep and a warm bed are not filled with the rising suns light anymore.  A small shift is not far off, I can feel the air changing and the true season for climbing is beginning.  What could be more exciting?!!    

 Kevin about to launch into getting a good highpoint on Lost Horizons (8c)

 

I’ve been sitting on my thoughts and updates of my comings and goings for the last few weeks and finally a good friend of mine requested that I post something, so here it goes.

After the ‘big send’ I felt an enormous amount of relief.  All of those feelings of inadequacy and doubt that had latched onto my psyche during the projecting process faded away and I was left with clarity.  That clarity lead me to Squamish, a land so inexorably beautiful and magical that it’s odd to not want to immediately move there upon visiting.  I had fashioned a groove so deep in my weekly routine that walls had started to close in on me and the only way to break out of this rut-like trench was to turn my focus to onsight climbing.  It was like a breath of fresh air.  For the last three weeks we have made two trips to Squamish and one trip to an old crag where I cut my teeth as a new climber (Exit 38’s Nevermind wall).  All three trips yielded some good onsights and even better some great opportunities to work on this highly elusive and difficult to cultivate skill.  Here in the NW we have a ton of rock but due to other obligations, seasonal fluctuations, and/or travel troubleshooting sometimes it feels like we have very little.  You run into this problem in Squamish as well, but when you do get those good weather days and you find yourself in the heavily saturated rocky corridors of the Sea to Sky Highway it’s very easy to get hooked all over again. 

 

Justin working the complicated and pumpy yet beautiful sequence on the bomb-proof rhino-stone of Lost Horizons (8c)

 

What I’m trying to say is that onsight climbing is easily my favorite style of climbing and one that I have been historically terrible at.  The last few trips to Squamish and the subsequent new rock has absolutely enlivened me.  Onsight climbing is fraught with nerve wracking self-doubt and high expectation and the best part about is that it sucks you into being present.  It is absolutely a form of meditation in a way that differs from project climbing, hard redpoints or otherwise.  After you get a couple good ones under your belt you feel the momentum of confidence and all you want to do is go for more.  If I could just quit my job and go on the road for the next year and visit all of the amazing sport crags this country has to offer I would no doubt be in heaven.

On a side note, the coolest thing I got to see in Squamish was Sean McColl at the Big Show doing a speed lap on Division Bell.  It literally took him under 60 seconds to climb from the bottom to the top, sheesh.  Not only is he an extremely fit dude he is also a really humble and funny human being.  I love it when that happens.

 

Summer abruptly came to a close here in the NW.  While we were in the throws of some uncomfortably warm temps we lamented Fall's crisp embrace, yet now that it's gone I look back on those sun-saturated days spent bathing in the warmth of the lazy sun and regret I did not spend more time working in the garden, lounging on the porch or basking in the power of Prometheus's glow.

 The weather for the last few weeks has also not been ideal for hard climbing.  With temps reaching into the low 90’s on more than one occasion seeking shade at new crags has been a welcome reprieve from the sweltering heat.  But now, as I alluded to earlier, we are facing the beginning of the Fall climbing season!!  Starting this week the clouds have moved in, the temps have dropped, and looking around I’ve noticed those Fall colors starting to creep across the bright green façade of summer.  It's this time of year that gets me into the mood!  September is meant for climbing, okay, maybe September AND October, but with the oncoming weeks' temps forecasted to be in the mid 60's it's hard not to think about sending a project or two. 

Ruth aiming for a repeat on the classic Aborigine (6c+) on a baking day at World Wall.  We were in the shade all afternoon on a day where the temps reached a high of 92!  Yowza!  That's hot anywhere.  But surprisingly the climbing was legit, except for a few near encounters with lazy hornets, we had a pretty decent session.

 

Steven Dimitt, the man with all of the beta you'll ever need to know about Smith Rocks came up for a brief visit and a casual send of Technorigine (7b+), also on a sub par condition day.  He donned this bright red shirt nonetheless and sweated up this ultra-classic 95 foot route just so I could snap a couple shots of the send.  It was awesome to be at the anchors as he chugged up the last few feet sticking the high step with nail biting anticipation and letting out a deeply held breath of success.  We will be seeing Mr. Dimitt this weekend for three days of rhino-stone wrestling, get psyched!!

 

 

And then there's beer.  Awwwww, delicious beer.  I've tasted a lot of good IPA's this summer but I'm nominating Reuben's brewery as the producer of my favorite IPA of the season, their Summer IPA has been hands down my favorite.  A close second was Bale Breakers' Top Cutter IPA.  Although, in the end, it doesn't really matter what you happen to swill, as long as you are in good company, the sun is shining, and you can relax on your backyard deck surrounded by massive trees and a beautiful garden.  Heaven.

SO proud of this woman.  We will see some good stuff from her in the years to come. 

 

 

I finally dedicated a weekend to doing something besides climbing.  My amazing older brother had a birthday in late July and in early August we swooped him up and made him walk the slopes of Mount Doom.  It had been almost exactly two years since I had summited Mt Rainier and returning to it's door step at Camp Muir with two of my favorite people in the whole world was rejuvenating.  It was also a perfect day for a long hike. 

 

Embracing my faves at Camp Muir with Mt. Adams in the background.

 

 

This Summer has seemingly been all about some sort of progression.  Progressing physically and mentally on the rock by sticking it out through mentally-trying high points and subsequent failures on hard projects; to pushing through those barriers and sending.   To trying new routes, getting scared and vulnerable on onsihgts and getting a renewed perspective on climbing on new routes in new areas.  And finally learning how to train in the gym without getting hurt but at the same time getting stronger.  I think the best thing to come out of the last 8 months has been my ability to recognize when to push it and when to rest.  I credit this approach for all of my success in climbing this year and I look forward to refining it even more.  Of course I’m sure now that I’ve written about it my next post will be on the harrowing injury I sustained to my finger/shoulder/wrist whilst training, typical karma.  My plans for the upcoming climbing season revolve around three places: hard projects at Little si, onsight climbing at New Halem, and bouldering  in Leavenworth.  Let’s see how it goes. 

Happy start-of-the-climbing-season to you all, I hope everyone reading this is of course surrounded by people who love them, inspire them, and motivate them to be something they didn’t believe they could be.