2014 Climbing Goals

I've been thinking about my climbing goals for 2014 for awhile now.  I didn't want to focus on chasing any grades, so I decided to keep them big, but very open:

1.) Lead 39 outdoor pitches.  I'll be turning 39 this year & decided this was a good goal to encourage me to lead more.  I wanted to specify trad leads, but with limited partners, didn't think this would be achievable.

2.) Climb Cannon Mountain. I've read and heard about the classic moderate routes & have seen the enormous rock face from the side of the road, but have been too intimidated... that tallus field looks brutal! 2014 will be my year to summit Cannon.

3.) Try ice climbing. This one is going to get checked off right away, so it's sort of a give me, but I had to add it to the list. I'm taking a lesson in January with a friend & can't wait to swing my first axe!

4.) Lead Funhouse (5.7 trad) @ Cathedral.  This was the very first trad route that I followed on & it should have been my first 5.7 trad lead, but the weather didn't cooperate.

5.) Hike Mount Washington.  This isn't quite a rock climbing goal, it's one of my personal goals, but since it will be an intense hike/climb, I'm going to count it as both.

I have some additional personal goals to round out the year, including my current 100 day no-alcohol challenge (23 days completed successfully so far!).  It should be a great year.  Happy New Year!

100 Days. No Alcohol. Seriously.

With the Fall climbing season over & Winter settling into New England, I've found myself devoting more of my free time to social events rather than rock climbing.  While initially this was a fun change of pace, lately I've had more hangovers than I care to admit. So, I've decided to take a 100 day break from alcohol.

This was on my list of personal goals for 2014, but I just decided "why wait?".  I don't need the calendar to change over to make a decision to be more healthy.  The upcoming holidays may be a little rough, especially New Years Eve, but I'm looking forward to no hangovers.

What will I do to distract myself over the next 100 days?  Seems like a good time to focus on my training again.  I have some big goals lined up for 2014 & they'll be a lot easier to achieve if I'm in top cardio & climbing shape.  It's not going to be easy, but I'm up for the challenge.

Chipmunks can Climb 5.13

I've never seen a chipmunk climb a route before this weekend.  It's pretty awesome to watch.  They don't have any technical moves, just fast and fearless movement.  I was standing at the base of my first 5.7 trad lead trying to get my head together & convince myself that I could do it when a chipmunk approached. As if to show me that it wasn't a big deal, the chipmunk climbed my route right in front of me.  It was exactly what I needed at that moment.  I burst out in nervous laughter & that seemed to calm me down.

This lead has been a long time in the making.  One of the goals that I had set for myself this year was to lead a 5.7 trad pitch by the end of the summer.  Well, I achieved my goal!  It happened a couple of weeks late, but weather played a hand in that, as I was suppose to try my 5.7 lead a couple weeks prior, but got rained out.

My partner and I were at The North End of Cathedral & had just finished climbing an intense 5.9 crack route called They Died Laughing.  My crack climbing skills are pretty weak, but I managed to land some decent finger and hand jams following him.  After watching me on this route, my partner thought I should go for my 5.7 lead on a crack route called Kiddy Crack.  I walked over and checked it out.  It looked intimidating for a 5.7, but the crux was low & I knew that if I could get past the crux, the 5.7 lead would be mine.  I also pacified myself that I could bail at any time and pull on as much gear as I needed to.  The goal was to just do it.

Next climbing goal: lead a 5.7 trad pitch clean!

Red River Gorgeous

Red River Gorge was great!  It was a perfectly balanced trip of roughing it/pushing it and luxury/just having fun.  I climbed a total of 7 sport leads during the trip, including my first 5.9 onsite.  I also got a chance to TR a bunch of 5.10's.  Here's how it went down:  

Day One
The first day of our trip was a little rough.  We didn't hit the road until 6:30am and stopped several times on our way for gas, lunch, bathroom breaks & driver switches causing us to arrive at Miguel's just before 10pm.  It was a Saturday night, so the place was b-u-s-y.  Initially we thought we would hang out and socialize for awhile, but fatigue quickly settled in and we decided to just pitch the tent and call it a night.  Except, we didn't get much sleep.  It was pretty loud with people staying up until about 3am talking... Crazy climbers.

Day Two
I wasn't psyched to hear my alarm go off.  We met my partner's friend for breakfast around 8:30am & then headed to Muir Valley for the day.  It was great to climb with someone who had experience in the Red & could recommend the best walls to hit for our individual climbing levels.  My first climb/lead was a heady 5.7 & I had a mini meltdown on it.  It felt way harder than a 5.7 at the crux and I didn't have my lead head dialed in yet.  I took some time to pull it together & finished, but it was definitely not the best climb to start out on.  The rest of my climbs that day were all strong & enjoyable.  We also met a couple of guys from Baltimore who were leading 5.10 & made plans to join forces with them to climb at PMRP the next day, along with my partner's friend.

My tick list for the day, all at Muir Valley - Bruise Brothers Wall:

• Lead - Trundling Kentucky, 5.7
• Lead - Send Me On My Way, 5.9- **My favorite climb @ the Red!**
• TR - Workin' For the Weekend, 5.10c
• TR - Rat Stew, 5.10a
• Onsite - The Offering, 5.7

Day Three
We met up with the boys at Miguel's and caravaned to PMRP in 3 separate passenger cars due to everyone's different schedules that day.  FYI - you probably shouldn't go here if you don't have an off-road 4x4 vehicle, or if you care anything at all about your car.  You need to navigate crazy gravel unmaintained roads to get there.  I just grabbed onto the *oh shit* handle in the passenger seat and kept telling myself "thank god this isn't my car".  At one point, everyone had to get out of their cars and push one of them out of a ditch.  We didn't even make it to the legal parking area... that road just looked like a series of continuous ski moguls.  We all parked illegally on the side of the road and just hoped that we didn't get towed.

We went to the Gallery Wall, which was mostly above my lead ability.  I ended up only TR'ing 3 routes here. They were longer, quality routes so I was OK with it & still a little sore from the previous day's routes.  My partner decided to project her first 5.11 here.  She couldn't pull through the end of the roof on lead & decided to TR it at the end of the day to figure out the moves.  I think this was the first rappel that she had to set-up on the trip & made a couple of critical errors.  She didn't tie a knot in the end of her rope & didn't lower her rope all the way to the ground.  Basically, she set herself up to rap off of her rope about 20' above the ground.

I had just finished cleaning a route of my own when I saw her getting ready to rappel at the other end of the crag & something told me to go over and give her a fireman's belay.  When I arrived at the base of her route and saw the situation she was in, I panicked.  Her friend had already left the crag & the Baltimore boys were off scouting out their next climb.  I told her stay put & stop rappelling so I could think through what we should do.  She freaked out and decided that she was just going to keep rappelling - still not sure about the logic here - but, she was weak and sore from working the 5.11 and didn't think that she had the strength to stay put.  As she continued rappelling, it looked like she was going to make it to a ledge, so I let her continue and bit my tongue.

Luckily, the boys appeared back just as she was arriving at the ledge and I yelled to one of them to help.  After running over and quickly assessing the situation, one of them free climbed to the ledge and helped her fix the rappel.  It was one of the scariest climbing situations that I've witnessed & I was so shaken by this that I almost burst into tears and my hands were shaking.  Something had told me to go over to my partner & I had initially brushed it off, telling myself "she'll be fine, you should change your shoes & get some water", but then a stronger feeling washed over me & I went.  Always listen to that voice in your head that tells you to do something -- especially if it speaks twice.  There's no doubt in my mind that she would have rappelled off of the end of her rope & sustained serious injuries had I not been there.  After this incident, we called it a day.  I had rented a luxury rental for us that night & we decided to leave early to check in.      

My tick list for the day, all at PMRP - The Gallery:

• TR - 27 Years of Climbing, 5.8
• TR - Murano, 5.10b
• TR - A Brief History of Climb, 5.10b

Day Four
We decided to take a full rest day.  We were both sore & still shaken up from the previous day, so we spent the morning lounging around the rental.  Miguel actually showed up to check our hot tub & gave us a tour of the larger rental on the property, which sleeps 14.  He was really interesting to talk to & has seen what he described as two generations of college kids over his years of running Miguel's.  Super nice guy.

In the afternoon, we decided to venture out and explore the Natural Bridge.  It was a beautiful day and we had fun taking pictures and enjoying each other's company.

Day Five
This was our last day in the Red.  We decided this was the day that we were going to hit it hard.  It was just the two of us, so there were no distractions.  We headed back to Muir Valley and started at the Land Before Time Wall.  This is where I onsited my first 5.9.  It was awesome!  My partner thought I was going to fall at the crux & ended up pulling me pretty tight, but I hung on.  We had the crag to ourselves, so I wasn't being shy about letting out some pretty serious grunts on the big moves & she mistook my grunt as a potential fall.  This wall is where my partner left her leave biner.  She had attempted an awkward 5.10 & ended up backing out rather than risking a fall.  I didn't blame her - it was pretty sketchy.  I didn't leave a biner on this trip, but this idea is still front of mind for me in pushing my limits.  After running out of dry climbs at this crag, we headed back to the Bruise Brothers Wall where we had started our trip.  Here we found a few more climbs & I ended my day and trip feeling pretty strong.   

My tick list for the day, all at Muir Valley:

• Lead - Prehistoric Ext, 5.8+
• Onsite - Ryanosaurus, 5.9
• TR - LittleVipor, 5.10b
• Onsite - CH4, 5.7
• Onsite - The Bee's Business, 5.7

Day Six
After packing up the car, we sadly drove away from our rental & headed to the Lexington, KY airport to drop me off.  I left most of my gear in my partner's car as she was continuing on to Ohio to visit family/friends for the weekend before driving back. It was a successful first trip to the Red & I'll definitely be back here climbing within the next year.  If only it wasn't such a long car ride away!

Final Wishes

Here's an interesting topic for rock climbers... Death by rock climbing.  Do you think about it?  I joke about it all time & wonder if my life insurance policy (paid for by my work) would cover such an accident?  Probably not.

As a single person without a will, I recently decided to make my final wishes known to my family "just in case" I died on my next rock climbing trip.  Of course my mom freaked the eff out and told me to be CAREFUL.  To which I responded: "Yes, yes... I'll be careful, but careful is a relative term based on what you're doing."  Probably not the best answer for a concerned parent who knows nothing about rock climbing. But, I've always been too honest for my own good.

The conversation with my family stemmed from a recent cancer diagnosis of a relative.  Very sad, but it got me thinking what my immediate family would do if I suddenly passed away.  Also, I'm still shocked by the passing of Steph Davis' husband from a base jumping accident last weekend.

I'm freaked out by traditional funeral customs.  I don't want to be embalmed.  I don't want a wake.  I don't want a church service.  I don't want to be buried.  I guess these things are really meant to be comforting for the living, but I don't care.  I'm dead.  Let me be selfish.  I want to be cremated and have all of my ashes spread on the top of Mount Washington.  Don't save any pieces of me in some stupid container that you put on your mantel. 

Also, at least one of my family members must hike to the top to accomplish this... there will be no cheating and driving me to the top!  (Since none of them are rock climbers, hiking is the next best thing)

A Pair of Leave Biners

"Adventure is when you're not sure what is going to happen." - Steph Davis

Yup, it's time for another adventure... In a couple of weeks I'll be jumping in a car with a girlfriend & heading to Slade, KY to check out the Red River Gorge.  It's been awhile since I've taken a week off & I'm pretty psyched for this trip.

It's a loooong car ride from Boston, but we're hoping to leave at 4am and arrive by dinner.  The loose plan is a couple of nights of camping followed by a few nights in a luxury rental (my surprise treat) & lots of climbing!

I've been scoping out the different crags and climbs on Mountainproject.com, but finally caved in and just bought the guide books.  They'll be useful when we're wandering around & I'll want to make notes in them about my climbs.

I'm pretty geared up from all of my adventures so far this year, but there is one thing that I plan to get: a pair of leave biners.  One for me & one for my girlfriend.  My goal for this trip is for each of us to push ourselves to the point of using our leave biners.

Training for Kilimanjaro (sort of)

A couple of weeks ago I learned that one the interns at my work was training to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.  This took me by complete surprise & I instantly bonded with her.  Prior to this, I really hadn't made an effort to get to know any of the interns. Work has been pretty crazy lately & all of my energy has been focused on just staying afloat in the sea of deadlines.  It took an offsite meeting with a couple of glasses of wine for me to strike up a conversation with her.

I was so inspired by her story that I volunteered to help her train.  She was looking for a partner to climb Mount Wachusett with.  "No problem!" I said, "I'm free this weekend!". But, she didn't have any free weekends to train... She wanted a partner to climb with after work during the week.  Well, I wasn't going to pull back my offer to help, so I agreed.  But, Mount Wachusett isn't very big... it only has a 2006 foot summit.  Confused, I asked her how this was going to help her train? That's when she said we were going to summit it twice before the sunset.  Now that just sounded like crazy talk to me! I was going to work a full day, drive an hour in rush hour traffic to a mountain, summit it twice & then drive back home? I think she saw the look of horror on my face & asked me if I was still in? Yup. I was in. It sounded just crazy enough that I had to do it.  I've been struggling on my long approaches and really need to strengthen my overall cardio fitness.

Well, tonight was the night.  We left work at 4:45pm and arrived at the base around 6:00pm.  Halfway through the first summit, I announced that I didn't think I had a second summit in me.  But, somehow I caught my second wind & pushed through the second summit to be rewarded with a spectacular sunset.

I really pushed myself hard on this climb... running on the flatter surfaces and keeping a steady pace on the steep, rocky parts. I was motivated to keep up with my partner & we were both running against the daylight clock.  It was awesome!

    

Two Toes Up for Resoling

I currently own 4 pairs of climbing shoes. My first pair was the 5.10 Coyote, which were retired within my first 6 months of climbing after I tried the Scarpa Helix.  I wore my first pair of Scarpa's for a couple of weeks until I realized that they were too small for me -- I lost a couple of toenails enduring their tightness & telling myself "they're suppose to hurt".  But, I liked the fit and comfort so much, that I bought another pair one 1/2 size larger & fell madly in love with them.  I wore these until they started to get noticeably more sensitive in the toe box area with some peeling action starting to occur.  At this point, I bought another pair of the same size & started to break those in.  However, I've never enjoyed breaking in new shoes & decided to research getting my beloved pair resoled.  That's when I found Rock & Resole on the internet.  Tons of great reviews can't be wrong, so I packed up my shoes & sent them on a spa vacation to Colorado.

It took a few days longer than anticipated, but I finally opened the mailbox on a Monday afternoon to find my shoes inside... Joy!  They were pretty stinky when I first took them out of their plastic mailing pouch... they smelled like high strength glue capable of killing brain cells.  I quickly got over the smell once I tried them on & recognized their personally molded comfort, along with a surprisingly sticky outsole that grabbed the lint off of my living room carpet with a vengeance.  They actually felt "better than new".  Seriously, the rubber that they used to replace my worn out Scarpa rubber was actually of better quality (turns out they used La Sportiva XS Edge).  I lead several routes at the gym that night with them & had complete confidence in their ability to stay put on the holds.

Even though the process costs about 1/2 of what a whole new pair of shoes would cost (at full price), I think that I will do it again when one of my pairs wears through again.  I didn't experience a stretching of the shoe upper, which I've heard many complain of, so the great fit didn't change for me.  La Sportiva probably makes a better climbing shoe (or at least an outsole), but my feet like the last shape of the Scarpa better.  So, my "newest" shoes have the best of both worlds for me: broken-in Scarpa upper with a La Sportiva outsole.  Ahh... now I need to wear down the outsoles on my other Scarpas to have them resoled with La Sportiva rubber.  Climbing diva?  Someone has to be.

Lost In the Sun

This past weekend I had the chance to climb my longest multi-pitch route yet: Lost In the Sun (5.5) in Crawford Notch, NH.  It's a 7 pitch route, but with running water over the bolted section of the 6th pitch, my lead partner decided to rap after completing 5 pitches.  This was just fine with me.  Prior to this, the longest route I had climbed was Birdland at Red Rocks and I only completed 4 pitches on that route due to timing.  I had gone into this climb with the goal of climbing my longest multi-pitch (check!), but it ended up being so much more than that. 

Our day started with a 6:15am alarm to give us enough time to pack up our campsite from the night prior and eat a good breakfast before driving to the highway pull off.  I'm not a morning person, so I gave myself a big gold star for this one.  We probably left camp at about 7:30am & arrived at the pull off around 7:45am. The approach was intense.  Not quite as bad as Seneca Rocks, but so far this approach takes second place.  I knew this when I agreed to climb the route, so mentally I was somewhat prepared, but physically I was not prepared.  Right off the bat, I had to cross the Saco River barefoot.  My partner was able to cross by stepping/jumping from boulder to boulder, but I just knew that I would fall in and hurt myself if I attempted this.  So, I clipped my shoes to my pack, rolled up my pant legs and crossed the river barefoot.  My feet were almost numb by the time I reached the other side, but I was proud of my accomplishment.  Only yards from the car... and I was giving myself bonus points.

The online descriptions that I read for this climb estimated the total approach time to be 30-45 minutes. Mine was over an hour due to the slow pace that I kept (my partner could have made in 30 minutes flat!).  We stopped to rest a couple of times at my request. The heat wasn't awful, but I was sweating up a storm and wanted to make sure that I was staying hydrated & giving myself time to catch my breath.  We finally made it to the base of the climb sometime around 9am.

The climbing was fun and easy (although run out).  My favorite feature on the climb was the famous Snake Flake.  I had intentions of swapping lead with my partner, but after seeing how run out and wet most of the pitches were, I ended up just following him.  All went well until he reached the top of the 4th pitch & I took him off of belay.  I was preparing myself to go on belay, when he yelled down to me that I needed to take cover fast and get down low.  I was confused by this command until I heard a loud rumbling noise & realized that a rock fall was happening.  I had no visual on this before getting down low, so my heart was pounding thinking that the worst was about to happen. I stayed down low until the rumbling stopped.  Apparently, a large boulder had come loose from the top of the mountain.  My partner witnessed a cloud of debris at the top of the mountain as the boulder made it's way down and alerted me then.  Luckily, the boulder rolled down the gully that we had hiked up on our approach & not the slabs that we were climbing on.  The gully was just yards away from the route that we were on.  Crazy stuff.  Luckily, neither one of us was on lead when this happened!

We rapped down 5 times with our double ropes, took our time descending the steep, rocky trail & called it a day.  Our big reward for the day?  Dinner & ice cream frappes from a diner on our ride back to Boston.  And we live to climb again.

I'm No Longer a Virgin

Well, the Gunks trip was a success!  I'm no longer a virgin & was able to get in my first Gunks lead climb.  I climbed a total of 8 pitches between the 2 days.  It was a slower pace than I had expected, but I was happy with all of the routes that we did.  I was able to climb on a wide variety of features that included some crack climbing, off width, layback, slab, chimney stemming & roof pulling. It was an interesting mix & a good full body workout.

On my first day, I seconded the first two pitches of Beginners Delight (5.3) - the third pitch was too wet to climb - and both pitches of Son of Bitchy Virgin (5.6).  I could have lead the first pitch of Beginners Delight, but with it being my first climb at the Gunks & my first trad in a couple of months, I just didn't have my lead head to jump right in.

On my second day, I lead the first pitch of Betty (5.3) & loved it.  It was just scary enough to keep my attention.  I was pretty proud of myself until I started belaying my partner up & a guy who was free soloing climbed up to my belay ledge.  No helmet, no rope, no gear. Hell, he wasn't even wearing his climbing shoes - they were hanging from his belt loop. Jerk. After this climb, I seconded Belly Roll (5.4).  Lots of exposure on that second pitch!

I always seem to learn at least one new skill every time I climb. On this trip, I learned how to manage double ropes & how to properly coil my cordelette.  Oh, and I also got some much needed feedback on my poor belay anchoring.  Ugh, I need more practice at that!  I built a solid 3 point anchor, equalized it with a cordelette, but I built it so low and off to the side of where I was belaying from that the anchor wasn't weighted during the belay and I belayed my second from my harness.  It worked & I think it was safe, but definitely could have been better.  Hopefully I will have the chance to get back on lead soon & sharpen up this skill.

My first Gunks lead - start of Betty 5.3 PG

It's a Completely Different World

I'm in the middle of packing for my trip to the Gunks tomorrow & I can't help but feel nervous and panicked...  Do I have everything?  Am I ready to trad lead in the Gunks? I don't think I can fully explain it to someone who has never rock climbed before, but this nervousness and panicking is actually part of the allure of rock climbing. It's the build up before the main event...sort of like foreplay.

So many questions swirling through my head -- Do I remember how to build a belay anchor? What if I can't complete my lead? What if I get my period? (yes, I'm expecting my period this weekend. Ugh... guys have it easy!) Do I trust my partner(s) with my life? Literally. 

 

As my co-worker commented to me before I left the office today: "It's a completely different world."  We were discussing why I had taken tomorrow off from work & when I explained what my long weekend was going to entail, she literally shrugged her shoulders in horror.  Her big plans for the weekend include getting a manicure. Don't get me wrong, I used to enjoy a weekly manicure myself before I started getting serious about rock climbing (hence the name of my blog). But, with the polish lasting a mere few hours before getting jacked up from a climb, I only indulge in this now when I really need it or when I want to feel girly for something.  I didn't even bother getting a manicure for my last internet date & he noticed. He actually remarked on how "short & unpainted" my nails were. Oh, boys.

I'm bringing very few comforts with me. My iPhone will be my biggest comfort by far, complete with a new mophie juice pack air (+100% battery life) & an external battery charger to juice up both in the tent at night.  The mophie was a last minute purchase feeding into my fear of running out of battery life during this trip.  I'll be using my phone all weekend as my camera, watch, alarm clock, compass, GPS, radio, portal to my Facebook addiction & guidebook mid-climb (I'll be taking pictures of each climb description from the guidebook prior to each ascent & referring to them if needed).  If I run out of battery life during this trip, I think my world will promptly end.

Gearing Up for the Gunks

Ever since I started rock climbing, I've come across many articles & have heard people talking about "The Gunks".  From what I've heard and read, this is the destination for serious trad climbers in the East.  "Tough, old school ratings" & many "classic routes" are the buzz words I've seen and heard.  Even my most recent internet date asked me within our first few email messages if I had been to the Gunks yet?  Well, no...  But, I plan to!

Without a partner, I had looked into guided trips earlier this year & came across an REI camping weekend for June 14th-16th.  It wasn't a trad trip though - more of a group top-roping trip.  I didn't book it because if I was going to spend $600 on a solo climbing weekend, I wanted to get trad instruction.  So, when I saw a Meetup group posted a couple of weeks ago for the same weekend pairing up experienced trad leaders with experienced followers, I jumped on it.  I didn't know the host, or even anyone who had signed up already, but this didn't stop me.  I wasn't sure if my experience was going to be enough to make the cut (the trip was capped at 10 people & you had to fill out a questionnaire about your experience).  But, a week after signing up, I received an email from the host that I was in!  Bonus: one of my climbing friends (also a trad beginner) had signed up for the trip & had been accepted as well.

I was so excited... I couldn't sleep that night!  I spent most of the night on the internet buying gear.  First order of business was guidebooks.  Our host strongly felt that we should all have books for the trip, so I found the recommended titles and checked those off of my list.  Next order of business was camping gear.  I was seriously lacking in this category.  I found a tent (Marmot Limelight 3) & a camping stove (Jet Boil Flash) after pouring through many reviews and options.  I already owned a sleeping bag & pad, but ended up upgrading the pad I owned to something thicker & more comfortable (REI Camp Bed 3.5).  I also bought a couple more cams to complete my double rack.  All in all, I spent almost the same amount that I would have spent on the REI trip, but now I have some sweet new gear to show for it.  Oh, and I purchased my last critical piece of gear tonight: a portable iPhone 5 charger from Amazon.  I think I would have a legit meltdown if my battery died on this trip!

Climbing Outside of the Box

Tennessee 5.10

My climbing routine had started to get a little stale lately, so I decided to mix it up and sign up for a Meetup to climb in a crag that I had never been to with all new climbers that I had never met.  And to really make things interesting, I carpooled to the crag with a complete stranger (who I thought was cute).  The crag was Rose Ledge in western MA & the group ended up being a total of 10 climbers.  The crag was great - it was super hot and humid and the wall that we were working was in the shade for most of the day.  I had no idea what to expect from the day, but it was fun!

I was a little nervous with my carpool situation as I was going to be in his car for an hour and a half & we had only exchanged a few text messages prior to meeting, but it all worked out fine.  I was a little concerned when he asked me the diameter of my rope - I'm not going lie, I had visions of him tying me up in it - but he turned out to be a pretty normal climbing dude.  We spent the ride talking about our climbing experiences, which made the time fly by.

We met up with the rest of the group at a convenience store near the crag and then followed our host to the parking lot - none of us had climbed there before, so the escort was helpful. The 25 minute uphill approach to the ledge had me covered in sweat & pretty sore, but it was worth it.  I got in 5 solid climbs on 4 routes & finished all of them: Double Helix (5.9), Widowmaker (5.10), Marie Antoinette (5.10) & Tennessee (5.10) - I climbed this route twice.  I think my favorite climb was the Widowmaker - it was tough and couldn't be finished by everyone, but I pushed through the finish.  I did a lot of finger and hand jamming on this route, which I rarely get a chance to practice. I also enjoyed the layback & roof of Marie Antoinette.  All of these climbs were quality routes & well worth the effort to get to them. I'll definitely be back to this crag again.

Our group was small enough that we really had a chance to get to know each other & support each other on our climbs.  This is when I tend to have the most fun climbing - when I can get encouragement and beta from my fellow climbers to help push me through the crux.  I definitely made some new climbing friends today & hope to climb with them again soon.
  

Marie Antoinette 5.10

My 5.12 beer and Sasha DiGiulian

When my alarm went off at 8am on Sunday morning, I had no idea what I was in for.  After indulging in a couple of snooze buttons,  I finally got up, showered & ate a light breakfast (a nectarine & some Chobani pineapple yogurt - double yum!). A new rock climbing gym just opened up in the Boston area this past week & I wanted to check it out along with a group of my friends.

We had all made plans to meet at the gym @ 10:30am, but only one of my friends had arrived with me on time. After filling out our waivers & taking the belay test, we looked around for an easy 5.7 climb to warm up on.  I tied into what I thought was a 5.7 rope, but then realized that I had tied into a 5.12 rope by mistake. I looked at the route & decided to just give it a try, not expecting to make it too far.  It was crimps the whole way up, but I did it - my first 5.12 climb!  It felt great!

That set the tone for the rest of the day for me. I felt like I could conquer anything.  After this climb, I jumped on a 5.11, which kicked my butt for 20 minutes, but I didn't give up.  My poor belayer... She ended up ripping off a callous on the palm of her hand belaying me on this route. I climbed mostly 5.11's and 5.10's for the rest of the day.  At one point, one of my friends said that there were some pro-climbers working out in the gym.  I honestly didn't know who they were, but watched in awe as they lead 5.11 routes on the lead wall like they were 5.6's.  It was only after we had left the gym did I realize that the girl that I had been watching was the best female sport climber in the world - Sasha DiGiulian!  C-R-A-Z-Y!  She was in town for the weekend for a competition. We all had so much fun that I hardly noticed how long we had been climbing.  I was shocked when we left the gym & I realized that I had been there for 5 hours.

Every new accomplishment and experience leaves me loving this sport more and more everyday.  Of course the day had to end with a 5.12 beer (Allagash).  Cheers! 

West Virginia - Part Two - Summersville Lake

5.6 Unnamed Trad lead at Orange Oswald Wall

We arrived at our cabin on a Monday afternoon. One of the first things I did was take a shower.  I didn't mind camping out at Seneca Rock, but after a couple of days and nights sans shower, it was pretty much the first thing on my mind.  The cabin was awesome & the perfect size for 4 adults. I think it was described as being able to accommodate 8, but this would have been too cramped.

After relaxing for a bit, we ventured out to find a supermarket and liquor store.  I don't remember if we heard the news about the Boston Marathon bombing before or after we ventured out.  Since we're all from the Boston area & Jess is a part of the running community, this news was quite shocking & odd to experience from far away.  We made a pasta dinner in the cabin that night, watched the news until they kept repeating the same information & then tried out the hot tub.

On Tuesday morning, some of us more hung over than others, we packed up and headed to Summersville Lake.  We got a little lost trying to find the Orange Oswald Wall, but we made it there eventually. When we finally reached the crag, I warmed up by top roping Hippie Dreams 5.7 and then trad lead the Unnamed 5.6 corner route just to the left of Hippie Dreams.  This climb was the highlight of my climbing at Summersville Lake.  It was a long route (about 60 ft?) and had a couple of tricky gear placements.  I never felt like I was in any real danger of falling, but still felt challenged by the climb.  I loved the sandstone feel of the rock.

Tuesday night we went out for Latin food & margaritas.  There was another group from Boston that we had met at the crag that day who recommended Diogi's in Fayetteville.  I had the fish tacos and a strong margarita.  Perfect refuel from a solid day of climbing and bush whacking.

Amazing view of the New River Gorge bridge

Wednesday morning was rainy, so we decided to take a rest day and go for a hike along the New River Gorge.  It was a much more interesting & dramatic view with the fog lifting off from the river.  Then after our hike, we went into Fayetteville for some shopping and a visit to the Cathedral Cafe for lunch.  For dinner, we went to Pies & Pints and ran into our fellow climbers from Boston.  Oh, and we played credit card roulette for the tab.  It was my first time playing this, as well as our waitress, who had just as much fun playing as we did!

Thursday was a perfect day for climbing.  We had enjoyed the Orange Oswald Wall of Summersville Lake so much that we returned there again to try a couple more 5.7 routes on lead.  On this day, I sport lead Hippie Dreams 5.7 as my last climb.  I had watched everyone else lead this route on Tuesday, so I had to try it again on lead.  So much fun!  Also on this day, Jason taught us all how to set-up a self-rappel.  Thursday night we had an elaborate Mexican meal in the cabin- so yummy!

Friday we checked out of the cabin and headed towards our final destination of the trip - Philadelphia.  This had randomly worked its way onto our itinerary out of a need to stop 1/2 way on the long road back. 15 hours was going to be a long ride back home without a stop, so Lu had recommended Philly with the promise of experiencing the best Moroccan restaurant that she's ever been to. We had a hotel room at Le Meriden and after checking in, we grabbed some drinks & then headed to the restaurant for our meal.  Knowing for months that this was on our itinerary, I had tried to work in some meat to my pescetarian diet, which was met with much revolt from my stomach.  I gave up on working it back in & just decided to go-for-it that night.  I gorged on chicken & lamb (which tasted so good!) and surprisingly had minimal reaction from my stomach.  It was the perfect end to a memorable climb trip with good friends.  Can't wait to plan our next trip!

  

West Virginia - Part One - Seneca Rocks

Our trip started early on a Saturday morning. It was a 10 hour car ride from Boston to Seneca Rocks & we had a packed car with 4 adults and enough gear to climb and camp with for a week. No lunch stop, just bathroom and gas breaks. We had plenty of snacks in the car & took turns playing music from our personal collections. And by snacks, I mean: a box of donuts, 3lbs. of Laffy Taffy, a massive tub of Cheddar Goldfish crackers, various forms of nuts, mandarin oranges & some other random items. It actually went by faster than I thought it would.

We arrived at our campsite before sunset, pitched tents & headed out for some pizza and beer at FPR (Front Porch Restaurant). The pizza wasn't great, but the beer was quite refreshing after a long car ride. After some campfire s'mores and another drink, we turned in for the night.

There were a few light rain showers overnight, but the morning was clear & sunny - a perfect day for climbing. We had some hot beverages at the campsite & then packed up to grab breakfast. With full bellies, we headed to the parking lot to begin our climb.

I didn't know what to expect for the approach & it was pretty intense. I had to stop about half way up to take the rope out of my pack & have Jess carry it.  Even though I can fit all of my gear in my pack, I'm too small and out of shape to handle my trad rack and rope for such an intense approach.

We decided on the Old Ladies (5.2) route to the summit. This was my first multi-pitch lead & I didn't want to get in over my head.  It was all easy climbing and gear placement, but well worth the effort to gain the summit.  The only part that really got my heart racing was a small chimney section on the 3rd pitch.  I also wasn't thrilled about scrambling up the 4th pitch.

The summit was amazing.  We signed the log book, took some great pictures and then had to wait awhile to rap down.  We didn't have time to climb any other routes, but I think the summit was still worth the trip.  We had planned on climbing again the next day, but there was some surprise rain overnight and into the next morning that cut our visit to Seneca Rocks short.  We packed up camp in the rain and hit the road to head to the New River Gorge area where we had a cabin waiting for us.

Gear Crazy

Oh, there are plenty of other things I could be spending my money on right now. Girly things... like clothes, or jewelry or makeup. But, somehow I find myself building my trad rack. I now have a double set of BD C4's from .5 to 2 with a couple of singles on either end of this & I just bought a six-pack of Metolius TCU's from 00-4. I'm not sure what my total investment in gear is at this point, but it's well over $1k with my cams, nuts, alpine draws, quick draws, rope, shoes, beaners, GriGri, webbing, etc...

With all of this gear, the pressure is on to actually have fun putting it all to use. I have a group climb trip to WV coming up in a week, but we will only be climbing trad for 1 or 2 days on this trip. So, without a regular trad partner, I basically have 3 choices to get some trad experience: find a random partner, hire a guide, or do some moc-leading on top rope.

I just met a "random partner" at the climb gym the other night, but I'm too hesitant to take him up on his offer to trad climb. So, this weekend I've decided to break in the newly expanded rack with some moc-leading on top rope. It feels sort of silly to moc-lead, especially when people are watching you, but its valid practice for gear placement. Can't wait to try out the new cams!

First Climb Trip of 2013: Easter in Rumney, NH

My sport lead partner Maria & I decided to go rock climbing for Easter. The weather was going to be nice & last Easter was her 1st visit to the crags in Rumney, NH so she was eager to return there this year. We arrived at D Acres around 9pm on the Saturday before Easter. D Acres is an organic farm with a hippie vibe that opens its main building to visitors as a hostel. They're located about 10 minutes from Rumney. You can either rent a room or floor space in a communal room where they practice yoga.

After laying down our sleeping bags in the communal yoga room, we proceeded to find our way to the campfire with a bag of candied pecans & a mixed 6-pack of Harpoon IPA and Negro Modela. A head lamp would have been highly prized for this mission, but we managed with the light of my cell phone and many giggles as we dredged through the snow, falling through the icy crust unexpectantly every 8 steps or so - resulting in the giggling. We finally reached the campfire and chatted for awhile with some fellow climbers from Quebec City about the climbing conditions at Rumney.

We didn't sleep much that night. It was unusually hot in the room and there were 7 or 8 of us sharing the space, including a snorer. I think on the next trip we will try camping or getting a private room. Easter morning we awoke around 8am & enjoyed a delicious farm breakfast of scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, kale with garlic & fresh milk served out of a jar with a ladle. Perfect fuel for a day of climbing.

We packed up and headed to the crag around 9:30am. The sun was shining, but it took a little while to warm up above the 30's. We met some other climbing parties in the parking lot and proceeded to the aptly named Parking Lot Wall to start our first climb of the day. Maria was leading & started with a 5.7 slab route called Easily Amused. I top roped it & cleaned the anchor after her. She then got pretty confident & decided to lead a 5.9+ route just to the right called Easily Aroused. I was nervous for her getting to the first clip, as the party that had just jumped off of it used a stick clip. She nailed it. She was really nervous, but managed to keep it together and stick the pinchy, sharp holds. I top roped this route after her & struggled a few times on the crux. I can't imagine how scary that was on lead. From there, we moved on to The Meadows area where we both hopped on another party's top rope to climb Holderness Arete - a 5.10b route. We then grabbed some lunch & tried to find the 5.8 Crag to meet up with some friends. Somehow we got lost and ended up free climbing this steep cliff of rocks and trees, which would have required a rope to safely descend. We decided on a safer route back down which required a ton of butt scootching in order not to slip on the leaves that covered the ground.

We gave up on finding the 5.8 Crag & just returned to The Meadows where Maria continued her leading streak with 2 more routes. A 5.7 route called False Modesty, which she nailed cleanly & then a harder route, which was either Dung Beetle 5.9 or Easy Terms 5.8 - I'm not sure which. She had not taken a lead fall outside yet, so the plan was for her to take an announced fall after the 3rd clip, which she did, but I had the rope managed so tightly that it really wasn't a big fall. She proceeded to clip into the 4th clip & then started working on the crux just before the anchor. Unexpectedly, she fell on the crux and took what we both now refer to as her first outside lead fall. It was probably 6-8 feet and brought me to my tip toes on the ground. She shook it off and continued to clip into the anchor as she didn't want to leave any gear (good motivation!). After that, we decided to call it a day. The sun was tucked securely behind the clouds and the wind was picking up making it a little uncomfortable.

We packed up & headed back to the car. Next stop before making the 2-hour journey back home was Plain Jane's Diner for some well deserved, hot Easter meals. All-in-all, it was a successful short climb trip for NE in March. I didn't get any leads in on this trip, but my focus was really just enjoying the trip & getting a feel for Rumney again. Next time, I might try to lead Easily Amused 5.7.

Z-Clipping

I've been throwing myself out there to get more lead experience lately. My eagerness might be confusing a few of my single male climbing friends... But, a climbing girl's gotta do what she's gotta do. I need experience. I'll gladly fess up to my intentions if asked (and I have been). But, really -- is it so tragic that I want to spend time with you because you can lead?

The only way I'm going to excel at leading is actual lead experience. Nothing can replicate the mental state that you're in when you know that you're tied into the sharp end of the rope. It's such a mental game. I love it. I only have one female climbing friend right now who's lead certified & she's not as eager as I am to rack up the clip-ins and big falls at the gym. I'm currently at over 30 clip-ins & 3 big falls. (Yeah... total newbie to be counting my clip-ins & falls.) She really enjoys climbing outside & needs to be in the right mental state to lead - especially indoors.

This past weekend, I managed to convince her to come to the gym with me - along with a couple of our male climbing friends. She really wasn't feeling it, but guilt between climbing partners can run pretty deep. I only got 2 leads in before she left, but managed to learn first hand an invaluable lesson in lead climbing -- what Z-Clipping is.

The first time I had heard this term was right before my lead test when my tester declared that there was "No Back Clipping or Z-Clipping". I had enough experience to know what Back Clipping was, but had to ask what Z-Clipping was. He explained it & I understood it, but without first hand experience it really didn't completely register with me.

This past weekend on my second lead climb, I was climbing a 5.8- route and had just clipped in to my second quick draw when my partner yelled up to me that I was Back Clipped. I examined my situation and yelled back that I wasn't and was going to continue climbing. She insisted that I was Back Clipped and yelled over to one of our male climbing friends to come check me out. I stood still and awaited his assessment. He calmly asked me to unclip my second clip & re-clip it. I wasn't Back Clipped. However, I was indeed Z-Clipped.

Three huge lessons learned on this day... #1) what it actually looks like when you're Z-Clipped - from the climber's view, #2) always trust your belayer & #3) never doubt your belayer.

Quantity never equals quality. Although I may have only got 2 leads in this weekend, they might have been the most educational leads of my climbing "career". I thank not only my lead belayer, but my male climbing friend for identifying my mistake & calmly correcting it. Good climbing friends are hard to find. I'm grateful everyday for the friends that I have made & their genuine care for my well being. Z-Clipping... Just say no. :)

I Can Pee Like a Man

Prior to rock climbing, I'd never been as jealous of man's ability to discreetly relieve himself while enjoying nature. I think my envy really settled in last year on my first climb trip...

It was Memorial Day Weekend & I had signed up with 2 of my best climbing girlfriends for a fun weekend of instructional climbing in Acadia National Park, ME. We rented the "penthouse suite" of a bed & breakfast, so clearly we weren't planning on roughing it too much that weekend. We had comfy beds, a gourmet breakfast & a cute park-ranger-in-training chauffeuring us around and wooing us with crazy-thoughtful gifts. It was pretty much a perfect single girls weekend climb trip. Except for one small detail... how and where to discreetly pee on Otter Cliffs.

Otter Cliffs is an awesome cliff formation right at the edge of the Atlantic Ocean in Maine where you can set-up a top anchor and be lowered down just above the waves to climb back up. It's an amazing feeling to hear the waves crashing and echoing off of the rocks as you climb up the cliff. Nature and sport at their extremes and in perfect harmony. I loved every minute of it. Except when I had to go to the bathroom.

Otter Cliffs is missing one critical facility - bathrooms. In order to relieve oneself, you had to walk gingerly and strategically to a part of the cliff that no one was using and quickly do the deed. Even if you thought you were shielded from the tourists and climbers, there were still a lot of boats anchored or trolling in the waters off of the coast that I imagined all had binoculars or telephoto cameras on stand-by just waiting to capture hot climbing chicks peeing. I know, I have an over-active imagination. Maybe... Maybe not?!

Well, I'm now happy to report that there definitely won't be any weird peeing pictures of this climber chick floating around on the internet. I'm now the proud owner of a device sold at REI known as a "Freshette". It's a personal urinary directional device that allows women to pee standing up. I have not given it a test run yet, but plan to bring it with me on an upcoming climb trip to West Virginia.

Essential Climb Trip Gear

Lead Certified!

Recently I've been making some significant progress in my goal to overcome my personal & climbing fears. It feels good. Really good, actually. My latest climbing feat was getting lead certified in a gym. This happened a few days ago. The original plan was to meet my climbing partner at the gym @ 10am on Sunday morning. However, with the time change & moving my apartment the day prior, I managed to get there at 10:30am with the help of 4 Advil.

We picked a gym that has good leading but that I had never been to before. My partner was up late the night before and didn't show up until 11am, but this gave me time to get my waiver completed & get a feel for the gym. Oh, and also enough time for me to fumble my iPhone 5 onto the concrete floor and smash the glass screen. Grr....

Since it was my first visit to this gym, I had to do the standard belay test first. Once that was out of the way, I wanted to go right for the lead test. No warm up, just test me. My partner was hesitant in taking the lead test that day, but she had no choice. If she was going to be my belay, she was also going to have to be tested. She's a better climber than I am, but was actually more nervous.

I climbed first. The tester picked a 5.8 route with 4-5 clips in it, about 30' high. It was a pretty juggy route, but I wasn't expecting my first lead to be a 5.8. I thought I would be able to flash a 5.6 for my certification. My confidence in passing the test was very low at that point. I was sore, hadn't climbed in a week & wasn't warmed up. But, I decided to just go for it. Oh, and there was no yelling "take!", you just had to flash it.

The first clip was pretty high off the ground - maybe 12'? It felt so good to clip into this, and I kept going clipping into #2 and then #3. After #3, my arms and legs began to shake. I thought I was toast. I really wanted to yell "take!", but fought through it and managed to clip into #4, at which point I was told to climb above the clip and then take a fall. This was my first fall. I wasn't nervous letting go & remember feeling like I was falling for what seemed like a pretty good length of time before I finally felt "caught" and bounced my feet off of the wall. It was so much fun & I was so proud of myself. I gave my belayer a big hug & then we switched places.

I started anchoring in and was told not to. My tester wanted to see me handle getting lifted off the ground. Oh boy, I wasn't expecting this as I'm so light I usually get launched in the air pretty quickly, but it was actually fun when you know to expect it. My partner quickly reviewed what "back clipping" meant before proceeding to climb. Her biggest fear was the falling part. She's lead sport climbs outside before, but had not experienced a lead fall yet. And when she fell, she grabbed the rope so tightly that she ended up ripping open a cut on her finger and was gushing blood. I had to untie her from the rope so that she could stop the bleeding and get it taped up.

It was an emotional climb for both of us & we were able to capture the awesome sense of accomplishment we both felt in a great picture. I can't wait to lead some more & get more comfortable with it before the outdoor season starts.

Oh, hey. SWF w/ climbing rack seeking SWM.

One of my resolutions for 2013 is to get serious about dating.  So, recently I've decided that the best place to meet/approach potential dates is at the climbing gym.  And the best place in the gym to meet single guys?  The bouldering walls, of course.  Especially on a Friday or Saturday night.  If you're hanging out at the gym on "date night", then odds are that you're single.  Oh, and props to the guys who are there solo and keep their wedding rings on while climbing.  Haha, I must not be only girl who has figured out this dating tip & they must be tired of fending off the single chicks.

As shy as I can be sometimes, I think it's a lot easier to start a conversation with a guy at the gym about a problem that you're working on than a random  stranger anywhere else.  You already have climbing in common -  and really, what else is there?  So, unless I have an actual date, or plans, then I am committing myself to climbing at the gym on one of these nights each week and starting a conversation with at least one guy - at least until the snow melts and I'm back outside on the weekends.  Game on!

1 + 1 = 2

How does a single climber chick spend her Valentine's Day evening?  Well, I already deleted my OKCupid profile... So, I've spent the evening cleaning and organizing my apartment for an upcoming move.

Oh, also drinking beer and eating fudge.  No worries, I'm allowed.  With a blanket of snow still covering New England, I've got plenty of time to get back into tip-top climbing shape for my next climbing trip, right?  Well, not really.

I'm about 60 days out from a climbing trip to West Virginia and barely squeezing into my jeans.  Time to buckle down and step up the training.  Now would be a good time to fall in love with cardio.        

That 4-letter F-word...

I've been thinking a lot lately about this emotion we call fear.  I'm currently struggling with some huge fears in both my climbing and personal life.  Fear is debilitating.  It sucks.  It prevents you from progressing, reaching your full potential & achieving happiness.  Have you ever experienced "Elvis leg" while climbing?  You have fear to thank for that.  So, how do I overcome my fears?  Well, I decided to first research exactly "what is fear?"  The best quote that I came across during a Google search said that "at the heart of all fear is losing something".  I'm going to repeat that because I don't think you fully digested it... This time, read each word and digest it before reading on... At the heart of all fear is losing something.  This struck a chord deep inside of me & felt like the key that I've been looking for to unlock that closed door.

To further simplify this quote - we fear loss.  Whether rational or not, loss is at the heart of all fear.  It's such a simple explanation for what feels like such a complex emotion.  Is it that simple?  And does it really explain all fear?  In order to put this quote to the test, I had to create a list of all of the "things" that can be lost in life: health, love, friendship, purpose, independence, happiness, possessions, control, status... what else am I missing?  Well, a lot I'm sure. But, so far this quote seems to be pretty accurate.  In one way or another, I've experienced loss in everything I've listed above.  Do I regret the losses that I've experienced?  Absolutely not.  I believe there is a deeper level of gratitude that can only be reached through experiencing loss.  Do I fear experiencing these losses again?  Absolutely.  Are my fears rational?  Probably not.

So, if I now understand what fear is & know exactly what I'm afraid of, how do I take the next steps to conquer those fears?  Well, this is sort of like the over-weight person who knows what the solution to their problem is - eat less/exercise more - but needs to dig down deep and find the strength and motivation to actually do it.  I just need some balls is what it comes down to.  I need to face my fears head-on to either prove them false or absorb their actual impact - not their feared impact.  I constantly catch myself thinking "what's the worst that could happen if I do this?" when I should be thinking "what's the worst that could happen if I don't do this?".  For me, the consequences of inaction are worse than the consequences of action.

Short and Sweet

It's 12:15am and I can't sleep. I can hear a snow plow outside clearing the parking lot, but my thoughts are all about climbing. I'm antsy because I didn't climb tonight. Holy crap, when did I become this obsessed rock climber chick? I should be obsessing over the work presentation that I have to give later this week, but instead I'm thinking about the 5.11 route at the gym and how I can power through the crux next time. I read a quote tonight that really resonated with me & where I am in my climbing: "I may not be there yet, but I am closer than I was yesterday".

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!

2012: The Year I Became a Rock Climber

2012 started with a whimper and ended with a bang.  Yes, I know the saying is whisper, but in my case it really was a whimper.  It was the first New Years Eve that I'd spent alone & I didn't do a very good job in distracting myself from this depressing fact.  I don't remember all of the details, but I probably spent some time on Match.com & some time thinking about what I wanted to accomplish in the New Year.  Two things were definitely at the top of my list: going on some dates & finding a new dentist (it had been 2 years since my last visit).

However, before either of those happened, I received an email with a Groupon offer to learn how to rock climb & decided to try it.  I received a 3-hour lesson on a Friday night with about 9 other students, along with a 2-week membership- all for about $25.  I was so scared!  I was the last person in the group to get on the wall.  I was terrible at it, but the adrenaline had me hooked.  I convinced myself that if I practiced enough I would get over the fear.  That weekend I bought my first pair of climbing shoes - red suede Five Ten coyote lace-ups.

Shortly after I started climbing, I became a vegetarian.  It wasn't a planned diet change - it just sort of happened.  I had tried a vegetarian diet for a week in 2011 and had struggled with it.  I even had meat mares (dreams about eating meat or accidentally eating meat).  This time around, I really didn't think about it much & found some good sources of protein that made it easy (greek yogurt is my favorite!). I eventually worked some seafood back into my diet in July, so I'm now a pescetarian, but no plans to eat animal flesh in 2013.

Ugh... dating.  I went on my first internet date in 2012.  I had been on Match.com for a couple of months at the end of 2011 before finally deciding to pursue some dates in January.  I needed some pushing from friends to "stop being so picky" and just go on some dates.  I can't remember if I ended up meeting 2 or 3 guys... I think just two.  There was the "almost divorced" bio-chemist who liked to ski in the French Alps & lived with his sister.  I stuck it out for 4 dates with him.  Even though he was really cute, there just wasn't any chemistry & he stopped pursuing me after I refused to kiss him and told him that I didn't think we were a match.  Next was a red-headed, mountain biker who worked in advertising.  He wasn't the cutest guy, so he was going to have to win me over with his personality.  He had some experience in rock climbing, so I thought maybe we could at least be belay partners?  Wrong.  I've never wanted to climb less for someone.  He had zero personality & took our climbing date so seriously that he actually snapped at me for giving him beta on a climb.  I couldn't get rid of him fast enough - even bailed on our after climb beer plans.  However, he was good for one thing - which I never appropriately thanked him for - he introduced me to Meetup.com.  Discouraged by the internet dating scene, I was eager to join some rock climbing Meetup groups and possibly meet some single guys there.  Ha!  I quickly learned that this is not a good pool for finding single guys.  However, it is an awesome pool for finding some of the most crazy, fun, strong & sassy climbing chicks on the planet.  So thankful for the friends that I've made through Meetup!     

After much procrastination, I finally found a new dentist & started the long, painful process of restoring my teeth.  I spent at least 20 hours in my dentist's chair over the course of 5 months ticking off a 2-page list of work that needed to be done.  I also had my first (and last!) experience with in-office teeth whitening.  Ouch.  After all of that work, I decided to consult an orthodontist to straighten my teeth as well.  I'm now 21 weeks into a full-case Invisalign treatment & so far I'm really happy with the results. I have about 46 weeks to go -- which seems like forever!

I'm not sure what 2013 is going to bring, but my approach will be similar to 2012:
1.) form some loose goals
2.) keep an open mind and heart
3.) enjoy the journey

Happy New Year!