SAdkClimber Blog

I won’t be zipping along in my snazzy lil’ blue car anymore. I knew it was decaying to the point where “safe” was no longer an applicable adjective, but I didn’t know just how deeply it had dived into the danger zone until last weekend. After seeing $1600 of needed repair work before pulling off the last wheel – and suspecting another 1K worth – we chose to get what we could out of the Elantra and buy another. No complaints about the Elantra: with 172600 miles on its odometer, it was one of the best cars we’ve ever had.

We found a used car that fit most of our requirements, its only obvious fault being an automatic transmission (I tremble in fear of CoO on that account), but having desperate need and no other appealing alternatives, it made it to the finals and won (if being driven into the ground by the Harrisons can be construed as “winning”). Introducing our new car, a 2008 Kia Rondo:

Yep, that’s Jesse Maiolo again. He must cringe every time he sees us walk in!

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We’ve added a variation to the first pitch of Recuperation Boulevard. Two, actually; one a good alternative lead that ups the ante by one grade without greatly changing the protection level, the other a good TR option.

Tom leads the 5.8 variation of Recuperation Boulevard (yellow). The green arrow shows the 5.10d TR move. 

It began last Saturday, while climbing with Tom. After a run up Recuperation Boulevard’s  standard line, we both thought a variation heading directly up the face above the casket-sized alcove might be possible, so we shifted the anchor to the right and began working the line. Both of us flailed away heartily at different ways to climb the steep face without success. I could see that it would be possible if we allowed the initial start up the flaring chimney, but excluding that option, we couldn’t manage the feat, and after torturing ourselves for an hour or so, let it go for awhile.

Monday came, with no calls to keep me busy, so I decided to risk a drenching and head out to the BAW. After a few hours’ work scrubbing and tidying up a winter’s worth of clutter, it still hadn’t rained, so I headed up Full Recovery. Rigging the rope at the top, I heard Tom’s halloo below. Rappelling down, we had a handy top rope set before I touched down at the bottom, so we began working the variation once more, and once more got shut down. I pulled the rope and we decided to give the easier method a shot on lead.

Tom set out, and without any real difficulty, reached the anchor. His lead adds a nice 5.8 option to the route, and of course, gave us one more chance to find a solution to that lower bit.  This time, Tom switched feet on the key hold and pulled off the move, albeit barely. It looked way too stretchy for me to manage (Tom is 6’1″, I’m 5’5″). On my turn, I flailed away at an intricate set of crimp and bump moves, and after awhile, thought it might go in one shot, but no amount of trying could link all those tenuous moves. I finally took a lesson from Tom’s playbook, and managed to emulate his line. At 5.10c or d, it’s a strenuous, tenuous move, but it goes, at least on TR. Without contriving protection via the regular line before tackling the move, a fall would result in one’s back would hitting that alcove, so we deemed it better to remain a TR variation.

Pretty much says it all. We climbers voluntarily go out, bruise, batter, and scrape ourselves to exhaustion for fun, and do it smiling. But hit us with four rainy days in a row – especially on the weekends – and we wail like the Israelites in the Wilderness. So coming up with reasons to be thankful for this wet spell goes against the grain, but here goes:

First, MCA graduation was yesterday, and Lord knows twould’ve been hard to pull myself off the mountain to attend it, had the weather been luscious. So without resentment, I was able to enjoy the ceremony and proud to see so many young people I know swing that tassel. Congrats to Hannah (great presentation, btw), Beffers, Scottie, Rachel, Fluffy, Shin, and the rest of the gang.

Second, it must help wash away the grime I scrubbed off El Muerte Rojo. Heh.

Third…well, it’ll make me appreciate good weather more??

So it’s a no-sun Sunday, looks rough for tomorrow again, then Tuesday dawns nicely – but I’ll be motoring to Massachusetts that day. Ugh! Maybe a desperation run to Rocksport is in my future…

So much for Farmer’s Almanac. June will be dry. Not quite accurate from my POV.

Worked as an Spec Ed teacher sub at an Elementary school today; quite interesting work. Good kids, no rough bits; but challenging to teach Earth Science stuff with no props and very few fundamentals preplaced. How does one define “mineral” without any other complicated terms? Describing a few helps, but distinguishing them from plain ol’ rocks…

Spent the afternoon and evening working on erosion control at a nearby climbing area. Far too wet to sneak a TR in before dark. This is tough weather for rock climbing, even for someone willing to deal with a little dampness. This is a LOT of wetness.

I’ve traded the upward world for a decidedly downward one today. Our septic line clogged up somewhere, so I spent the entire evening up to my shoulders in a toilet pipe. I have no idea whether I fixed anything or not, but I got plenty of exercise forcing 45′ of snake down the line in an effort to clear whatever out of it. All the hot water we have can’t make me feel clean right now. Six or seven showers more and I might feel OK.

Looks like I only have one day of guiding this weekend, which is OK, considering that I have subbed every day this week and will tomorrow as well. I am really looking forward to a rest day – whenever it comes.

Even more, I’m looking forward to climbing some ROCK. If the temps do indeed get up in the 40s and it is warm on Sunday, perhaps a snowshoe out to the Measles Wall in the afternoon for some ice AND rock climbing…

Much against my will, I’ve not climbed since Monday night. Not that I’m complaining: I am absolutely blessed to be able to climb as much as I do. But I’ve got this goal (more on this some other day), and three days off doesn’t advance it at all.

I have subbed every day this week, and since that work comes right off a three-day stint guiding up in Placid, I’m beginning to feel worn out. Ugh, old age!

There are tentative plans to run up north Friday evening and climb until well after dark, then head home. Of course, I’ll then be heading back up there the very next day. Sounds like I’m gearing up for a rerun.

Wow, what a weekend. Three days in Placid. Olympic fever running high up there right now.

Great time with my folks this weekend, despite the huge snowfall making the backcountry downright unsafe.