Thursday May 15th, 2008:
Micah and I headed out to Little Si today with high hopes...weather conditions were bright and clear with temps conviently cooler than predicted (80 degrees was forecasted!). The hike out to the crag was full of laughter and siked-ness for the day ahead but we were more than a little surprised to discover that the ENTIRE World Wall I was wet...we were 1st in shock (as it set in that our day was going to be drastically different than what we had willed it to be), and then disappointed.
Everything was wet, we're talking even..."Psychosomatic", "Aboriginee", everything. ...well, the only things not wet were:
a.the hardest 5.13b in the world- "Chronic"
b.the best 5.9 single sport pitch in the state- "Reptiles and Amphetimines"
c.the most sandbagged 5.11+ (according to some folks) in the universe- "Rainy Day Women"
d.our appetites for climbing here at all until august 4th
Micah's theory concerning the weather is that either higher elevation precipitation or maritime weather migrated and settled right next to our precious climbing crag- low level fog/moisture in other words; it also rained a few days before. My theory was that God didn't want us climbing there...which certainly made sense given that neither of us had ever seen World Wall I that wet- I've watched Dominator destroy "Technoriginee" 5.12c here in a downpour that cascaded just out of reach from the wall... and we didn't get wet ...no joke...so ... needless to say we were a little surprised given the circumstances nice sunny weather, wet wall.
We decided to each do a round on "Rainy Day" and call it good here (ohh, and for the record, "Rainy Day" is a 5.12a . ...bitch.) . I was up first and took along a shirt towel on my harness to dry up a couple holds down low (I think next time I should be more prepared and bring speedos and goggles as well) ... well I managed the lower crux before the ledge, climbed smoothly and efficiently until almost popping off at a right sidepull catch on the headwall and mixing up my finishing beta, but thankfully with Micah's coaching (he's a living, human guidbook for any crag!...I love you Micah), I managed to clip the chains and enjoy a milestone- I successfully managed to warmup on "Rainy Day" for the first time!
After Little Si , we decided to salvage our day and trip with a stop @ Stone Gardens in Seattle... an opportunity we seldom can do or afford (even with the student discount the grand total is $15.67 plus tax ). We had fun and humility as we climbed by all the strong climbers, proud lines, and stiff grades that are at Washington's best climbing gym.
Micah and I finished up our day with a stop at Second Ascent, a great "some new and some used" outdoor gear shop...sometimes being in this shop is like a kid's shopping spree @ Toys' R Us and Micah definitely was the kid who got the best "Lego set"- he scored a pair of mint condition 5.10 anasazi velcro shoes that fit perfect for $50.00...nice find Micah! I hooked up a pair of pants and a nice windbreaker for multipitch climbs.
All in all, to sum up the day...I'll use an old adage (thanks Micah) past on throughout the ages from generation to generation:
"...well, let's make some lemonade out of these lemons."
God bless y'all,
NM
Monday, April 21, 2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
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