so i've decided that it's time for me to start writing detailed reports about all the climbs i do. i've been checking out a lot of climbing blogs lately, and this appears to be in vogue at the moment. i don't currently have any videos of me doing these things, but i'm thinking about investing in a tripod and a camera soon, so i can make such videos.

ok, let's start with yesterday, oct. 29, 2008:
my friend nick and i rolled up to easter rock, in boulder canyon. we parked. we packed our crag bags (i had to carry my 70m 10.5mm rope! omg!) and set out up the short 'n' steep approach. at the crag, we plunked down all our stuff at the base of a route we both spent a day on last week. it's called nevermore, a 5.13a. there's a 5.12b version that splits off left which we'd both done, and the 13a variation adds a boulder problem after the bulk of the 12b's hardness. totally my style, in case you were wondering (and i know you were).

anyway, i hung the draws. some of them were these sweet new black diamond draws, and some were my old beat down black diamond draws. i cruised up to the crux boulder problem and rested, cause the rock was cold and i didn't want to get flash pumped. after my tips de-numbed, i climbed the boulder problem, which starts with a good right-hand side pull and a long move to a terrible little sloping ripple. you use this ripple to bring up the right foot to a good ledge. standing on the right foot, you bump your right hand along a slopey rail to an absolutely piss sloper gaston thingy, get the left foot up (blind toe dragging), and then come in and match the rail, which has one ok part, off which you must clip. clip, set feet, grab a piece-of-shit right-hand potato-chip-like crimp, set feet higher on horrible little pebble thingies and then fire for a haleluja jug. nick hit this jug last week once, but not deep enough, and his foot popped, sending him down despite pretty much being done with the climb. heartbreaking.





anyway, nick warmed up, hung before the crux, and then fired. then i went again and fell going for the move. then nick went and sent (so PROUD of him. can't describe the endless fields of joy...). then i went again and felt like shit and took without even trying the move. then nick went up the hill and did a 5.11 that looked really cool.

i rested a fair bit before my next burn, cause i wanted to be fresh. only problem with easter rock is, it's cold as hell when the temps are below 60, cause it NEVER gets sun. wtf. i stayed in my belay parka and tried to keep my core warm, cause numb fingers are a very real problem on nevermore. the final move is hard when you can't feel your right-hand crimp.

finally, i was ready. i kept my jacket on and borrowed nick's hat, to keep the core toasty. i shoed up (miura velcros, w00t!) and tied in, taking the jacket off only at the last second. i climbed through the vertical jug haul of the 5.12b, cruised the crux roof of the 12b, skipped a pointless clip, and then set up perfectly for the crux. this was it -- if i didn't send now, i'd have to come back again, cause i had to get back to work (lolzers!). i dug into the right-hand crimp, feeling it bite my index finger like an angry gerbil, pasted my left foot on a little nubbin, hauled off, and fired for the jug. and...

i stuck it.

hell yes. life is good. i love you all. more detailed reports of my every move in which i make everyday and entirely selfish acts seem to be valuable in a larger sense via in-depth, humorless reporting.

peace, braus!