Healing

Well, it's been 3 months since I injured my finger and I can say that it is finally feeling better.  If I had recognized the injury sooner or accepted it sooner I think the recovery time would have been less.  Through much conversation and personal research, my amateur diagnosis is a torn pulley that I made worse by continuing to climb on it.  So, I know I'm not at 100% but at least I know it is healing.

 It feels so good to be back in action.  My focus right now is not re-injuring myself and still getting stronger to keep up with the Jones'.  I have chosen mostly hard slopey problems with BAD holds (biggie Shorty ext.) and hard moves ( wedgie project).  I feel like a year without progression is a bad one and I am willing to look in many places for any sign of it.  So, I think with the time remaining in the season I should be able to make a come back and hopefully progress my climbing in the next year.

To get the ball rolling I was surprised this past weekend with three ascents of problems I have always wanted to do but never really found the right moment to try them.  The first was Tommy Boy 7C.  I was done climbing as far as I could tell and Nate H. had plans of ending the day on Reflections 7C+ while it was in the shade after having blasted some skin off of it's baking surface earlier in the day.  Well, work was done and you can't help but wonder what the two lines next to it are.  So, he moved pads and began working the moves.  After watching for a minute I decided it was better to practice the beta I was preaching instead of shouting it from my perch just behind him.  And that was that. Sure enough the really small but good high foot and some lock off skills lead to a crazy sequence of sidepull underclings and hand foot matching at the top of this boulder until you stand up to the top.  SCARYYYY!!!!  Wow, that was one hell of rush.  Too bad we didn't get any photos or videos.  I doubt I'll be doing this one again.

I returned the next day for more attempts on Biggie ext..  This day held a handful of surprises too.  After the warmups Chandler suggested that we go over to the cliff line to try and scale the walls of Stone Fort. Our line of choice was Storming the Castle.  One of the most aesthetic and beautiful pieces of rock in the world.  Perfect silver sandstone featured with shallow wrinkles lead you to the top of a 25ft low angle wall whose exit is guarded by sequential movement.  Whoa, I am so happy that I can finally mark this one off of the life time list.  Alli did it too!  

Then we headed back to Biggie Shorty to do more work.  I reaaaaalllly want to do this problem!  I have done all but one move now.  After matching the shared hold you have to pull it down and lock off high to gain the crimps at head height on the OG Biggie.  That move seems to be the hardest.  Work was done but my skin became the limiting factor after a few goes through the middle section.  The day was pretty much over so I just started climbing on everything in Area 51.  I ended up being enticed by High on Crack, a 25ft leaning finger crack of bliss.  What a pleasure it was to climb this beauty that splits the bullet rock just left of Psychosomatic.

Crux photo from last year

So, that is mostly what's been going on.  We went to Dayton yesterday for the first time this season.  I felt pretty good after an initial flailing period.  I managed to do Redheaded Stepchild 7B+.  I'm not sure if this one exits on sandblaster or dune, so I did it with both finishes.  Psyched.  Then I started working out the moves on Vapor Lock 8A.  I am realllllly psyched to do this one now too.  I did all the moves but one, which I was close on, so we will see how the next session goes.  Joe Kinder was there and gave me his two cents on piecing it together while he and Colette shot their bouldering joint.  Thanks dude. 

I'm off to Nashville for the holidays. So, until next time, keep it real and merry christmas.  

Cheddar.