So once again there has been a major change in plans. Kristina and I decided to leave the Valley in two days. Earlier than expected, I'm just maxed out on Yosemite. I never thought that I would say that, but I think that it's pretty accurate. I've been here a month (hopefully no one from the national park service is reading this), and the general Valley mayhem has just become too much. I also feel like I have done a lot here and with the heat options are becoming very limited. Kristina and I talked for a long time and I am grateful to have such an outstanding partner who was willing to listen to me and understand where I was coming from. The plan from here is to go to Mammoth and do some cragging and hot-springing and relaxing. Maybe do a little climbing in the Lover's Leap/Tahoe area if time permits. Stop and see the family for the week-end, then go ahead and head to the Bugaboos for 3 weeks. A week and a half trip to the Tetons, then I am going to do some short international trip by myself. Should be cool, don't know what it will be yet. I'm actually looking at tickets and stuff after I finish updating the blog.
So what have I been up to route wise. Well, Leaning Tower was an awesome route. Harder than I thought. I probably used the cheat stick too much and was a little disappointed in some of my leads. I did call two friends from Ahwanee ledge about the next pitch, which looked impossible from our bivy. I learned at that point, stop stressing, trust the guide-book, and have confidence in yourself. It was super over-hanging with crazy jumaring and cleaning. The hauling was a breeze. Khristina did great and will definitely continuing to excel on the walls in the future. We had planned to do one more before taking off, but I just don't have it in me right now. We took a rest day after the Tower.
Yesterday we did Super-slide/slab (depending on guide-books). It was supposed to be a chill cruiser get back into free mode route (5.9). Well, we did a variation called Trial By Fire (Khristina led). She got a huge flapper ( that's where the skin rips away from your body and leaves a flap of skin for you non-climber types). Then, I dropped our hand-drawn topo somewhere in the chimney/off-width I am assuming. Then I am sure that I got off route in this wandering 5.6 munge, that I'm sure was much harder. We finished the route, I led the rest with Khristina having such a bad tear on her hand. Yes, I did encourage her not to do anything that would cause pain or injury but she's a trooper and insisted that we continue. After finishing the route and beginning to rap, a rope got stuck. That meant releading a pitch. Finally got back to the car in the dark (short walk out). It was a good beat-down with the heat wave that's been happening lately. I also noticed that I had a huge tear in my shorts from the chimney/ow section. All in all, I will never do that route again!
Today was a good planning session, got a lot figured out. I've learned that there is nothing in life that is permanent. Go with the ebb and the flow. Try to be understanding and flexible. Be gentle with yourself and with those around you. Hope you are all staying cool, and someone please drink a huge Mojhito for me!!
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