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