My first 5.11 beer

I recently climbed my first 5.11. It was an awesome accomplishment to celebrate my first year of climbing. As with many of my feats, it was totally unplanned. It was a Saturday morning a week ago & I had met two of my climbing friends at the gym when they opened at 10am. We top roped a few climbs and then in shear desperation of wanting to climb something new, I started to boulder this 5.11 route. I fell on my back trying to keep my grip on the 3rd handhold, so I decided to rope up and see if I could just make the next move without the fear of falling on my back. My friend Maria was really excited to see me succeed and wouldn't let me quit.  At one point when I wanted to give up on the crux, she pushed me back onto the wall to try again.  I would describe the route as a tricky start followed by the crux that has you reaching for pinch holds while awkwardly trying to get your feet and body up with an ending of pinch holds that are placed at uncomfortable distances and angles and a final hold that you need to jump to touch.

Oh, my climb was not pretty! I was hanging on the rope for a lot longer than I was actually on the wall. But, I did it! And without a boost. Climbing routes like this give you confidence and credibility, but if all of the routes in the gym were this hard & painful, I would not be a climber. My entire body hurt the following day. It was a good hurt though, as it reminded me of what I had accomplished.

I got back on this route the following Monday evening, but couldn't make it past the crux this time. This was extremely disappointing as I had gone to the gym that evening with the goal of completing this route faster/cleaner than Saturday. Fail. I had wasted too much energy trying to figure out the tricky start again & couldn't pull through the crux. I decided to continue bouldering the start to get all of the moves down so that on my next attempt I would be strong for the crux.

My last attempt happened on Wednesday evening. I was still sore from Monday's attempt, but decided to give it a shot anyway.  I sailed through the start, struggled a bit on the crux and then struggled even more on the pinch ending. I had an audience for this last climb, which I typically don't like as it distracts me, but was appreciative for their applause when I finally finished. My friend Lu then felt it was then necessary to announce my accomplishment to the other half of the gym that wasn't watching me & demanded their applause as well. Hehe, it was awesome. Thanks Lu!

So, obviously I want to climb this route again and try for a cleaner/faster climb. But, my hands are less than pleased with the abuse I've given them this past week & I might need to take a rest for awhile on the pinch holds. After Wednesday's climb, a bunch of us went out for drinks/food & I had my first 5.11 beer. Cheers!