What's in a name?

James is so good because he can conjure a third arm!

 

Oh man, I crushed the piss out of churning.  The ass whooping it gave me two years ago was re-visited on it 10 fold this past Saturday and holy shit did it feel good.

 

Look it’s not the hardest route, it’s not even the hardest 13a, all of that stuff doesn’t really matter when it comes to this route and the redemptive properties sending it had for me.  Sometimes grades just really don’t matter.  I’ve seen everyone from small children to old crusty local cragsters to pseudo camp 4 hipsters so drunk and high they thought they were on 5 gallon buckets warming up on this rig so I’m not trying to brag here.  It was simply a matter of redemption.  When you have a history of failure on a route regardless of its grade you always feel like it’s a challenge that stands out above any other.  A benchmark if you will that applies only to you.  Crushing this route was like validating my progress as a climber, it was an obvious marker of how far I’ve come since the first time I tried it.  Besides all of the cathartic diarrhea I experienced after clipping the chains this past weekend had nothing but great surprises in store for both me and Ruth who has been working on Heinous Cling.  Not only did she try it on lead for the first time but she also got it clean on top rope!  Holy jesus the send is going to be nail biting and heroic all at the same time, I can’t wait to go back next week and watch her climb this epic route. 

 

James on Latest Rage (7b) looking cool, calm, and calculated.

 

I was able to clean up Latest Rage which was literally an end-of-the-day hail-mary attempt.  I got on with beta being sprayed from all angles falling just shy of a good pocket up high, lowered, waited 10 minutes for my friend James to climb it and then said ‘fuck it’ and cruised to victory utilizing a perch in the middle to shake out and a somewhat off kilter lunge to the jug rail at the top.  Nice to have a double send day for once with clouds swirling around the horizon and a hot pizza waiting for me at Wild Ride.  I’m not putting up Nina Caprez numbers or anything but it is so freeing to feel comfortable in a place like this after so many trips where I have left feeling uncomfortable, unaccomplished, and weak. 

Last call for shots on the arête.

 

The next day was brilliant as well, not only because we got a good dose of sunshine, something that is sorely lacking in our dark corner of the country, but also because there was progress, shirtless climbing, friends, and near sends!  I had wanted to do Kings of Rap since the first time I laid eye son it and today was no different.  After flailing on it to retrieve beta I came down feeling like I had one more good attempt in me before we had to jump in the car and drive 5 hours home.  The sun was at a decent angle, although most of the route was still being bathed in light, so I sacked up and with the pressure of time weighing down on me launched into my half-baked sequence.  Friends had just arrived at the base of the climb and added to the psych!  I cruised the sketchy start and hung from a nice flat jug rail.  I tried to gather my breathing before launching into the first crux.  I wanted this one!  A couple of grunts and some holding of the breath and I was in the stemming corner trying to shake off the incredible pump I had garnered while over-gripping below.  The feet were small and sketchy but I trusted them nonetheless.  I pulled out of the roof, tried to regain some composure at a long rest off a deep jug and then decided to meet fate head on in the last hard pumpy sequence.  I nailed it, sort of.  I was clipping off two good crimps with my feet in an awkward stance pulling up rope when suddenly a foot pop sent me plummeting rope still in hand.  It was a nice soft fall and I was glad to be free of danger but after the adrenaline wore off I was a little disappointed.  Coming so close to ending the trip with another classic was far beyond my expectation but it was also invigorating. 

Silliness below Kings of Rap.

 

We are now waiting comfortably, rehearsing beta maniacally, and keeping a stinky eye on the weather for our return trip next week.  This time we will be there for five whole days which is both comforting and overwhelming.  I’ve never been this psyched and confident on Smith before so I’m trying to keep my expectations grounded in reality while at the same time looking for a good challenge.