New Yosemite kicked my ass. I went in thinking I had this 5.9+ in the bag. Wrong. A little humility and a pulled groin muscle. I'm still limping a little. I tried to climb a couple of days after I got back, Tuesday, but that wasn't happening. I got seriously spanked!
The lead climbs, however, were epic. I lead on three sport routes at the Beer Walls in Bubba City. One was a 5.7. I do remember being scared at one point, quite scared. I thought I had made a bad decision, and I couldn't down climb, so I was basically screwed because I couldn't see my ascent up the wall. It was a moment when I realized this was much more a mental exercise than a physical one. And a specific type of mental exercise, one that combined judgement, risk and creativity. It was a defining moment in my climbing career. I realized this was why I was out here. This was the reason I was climbing. It's a very memorable moment. I can think back right now and recall just how I felt at that point up the route. When I looked back on the climb later that weekend, I remember thinking I wanted to try something even harder, push myself even further. I wanted to experience that risk and subsequent fear that makes you insanely focused on the task at hand. A surge of adrenaline and a rush of fear immediately followed by the knowledge that the best course of action was to breath and think slowly and carefully. This moment of razor focus is pure zen.
Wunderkind 5.6, onsighted, lead
Near Beer 5.6, onsighted, lead
Gilded Otter 5.7, onsighted, lead
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