It's 6am and my alarm clock is ascending to it's peak. Why? Oh yeah, I'm going to Boat Rock today! As I hurry to get things packed I wonder when the sun will rise. It's now 7am and the GreenLife parking lot is as dark as Gotham without Batman. All I can see is Amanda and her mom and the lights on inside the store. "Before we leave", I said, "we need to get some goodies for the ride." Perusing the shelves it seemed that some dark roast coffee and a blueberry muffin would be all I need for our two hour drive.
After a quick redirection from a nice fellow at the bus stop we were just minutes from the boulderfield. "There it is!" Boat Rock Rd. is one of many suburban streets off of I-285. However, it is the only one with 25 ft granite bowling ball and egg shaped boulders on it. The pull off was obvious as we rallied down the road trying to make up lost time.
"You can't park there." Why thank you, glad to be here I thought. "We'll just be a minute, let me unload my car." The pull off was crowded with volunteers, vendors, and the first wave of competitors unloading off the shuttle. A few fire pits were all we had to help us stay warm on this frigidly cold and crisp day. Thanks to Todd and Barry from Unique Outfitters the Evolv tent was up in less than five minutes of arrival and the demo was in full swing shortly after that.
"It's soooo cold." "I know. Go walk around or climb some." It seems as though the parking lot is getting less and less sun as the day goes on. Colder and colder too as the wind blew making me wish I had the opportunity to climb. "Hmmm....where is Preston anyway? He can watch the booth or maybe Amanda could when she gets back from her tour of the boulderfield."
Eureka! The time had come. Amanda and I grabbed our favorite pair of shoes and took off up the short hill to climb the first rounded clump of granite rock we saw. But first, how do we climb this? There aren't any holds? Slab arete? "Put your foot here." "What!?"
The rest of the day was all about sending new problems. It's a really aesthetic place here. Smooth, clean, and very little weakness in the rocks.
The one problem I wanted to try was Paint Can Sit. I took a walk earlier that morning and checked it out. With shoes in hand I managed to jump in the rotation of competitors and flash the stand start. "Word. Let's check out the sit now." A small left hand crimp and right heel hook lift you off the ground, followed by some fancy foot work and core to gain the better holds leading into the stand.
Check it.
Up next on the agenda is some business time in the boulder fields around chatty. I want to send these projects of mine soooo bad. Golfers don't wiff, runners don't walk, and climbers don't fall so much damn it!
Cheddar
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