truly exxxtreme

Instead of climbing at Mr. Lee's this weekend, where I should have been, I went dumbassing with Micah and Elhanan at Seven Falls. It rained in town. A lot. So, obviously, we hiked/climbed through Seven Falls in wetsuits. Seriously.

total jackassery

exactly

Were you pulling down mono's in a wetsuit at Seven Falls yesterday? Cuz I was. And I didn't see you there.

That's not just a photo of a deluge of water. That's a photo of Micah in a deluge of water.

so close, and yet so far away

I got up to Santa Maria last Wednesday and Saturday, days 14 and 15 of my season epic on Hard Boiled. Wednesday was a disaster: 3 falls throwing for the crux crimp, not even a high point. And then there was Saturday. First, Chris redpoints it on his first go of the day. What an asshole. On my second go I caught the crimp, then the pinch, made the last clip, made a bid for the chains, and fell on the last move. It gets better. Weather forecast for the week: rain, every day. Pretty inspiring, I know.

my back is stupid

Last Saturday didn't count. I went to Mr. Lee's but a cramp in my back was so painful I couldn't climb. I tried to warm up on Shores of Hell but it just got worse. Then it got bad. It got bad and stupid. Super aggravating. Oh well, at least I got to lay on the ground all day and watch everyone else climb. Fuck.

day 13

So, I finally hit the crux pinch on Hard Boiled. And for about 1/1000 of a second, it felt like redpoint time. Never in my life have I hit a hold that bad. My fucking fingers were, like, fucking folded under themselves or something. I can't really remember, except to say that it was bad. I though for a moment I could make something out of it, then I was outta there. I thought I might have had enough of the pinch to bump on to it, but no. The pinch spit me off. But it was close. Steve Lapen took these photos of Hard Boiled kicking my ass a couple weeks ago:

Mr_Lees_Dec_2007