Monday, July 5, 2010

Leaning On Each Other

During our normal meet-up negotiations, Patti said that she was ready to go (climbing) now. We still had about 24 hours to go but it made me wonder how often Patti would go climbing if she had her way. She responded two to three times and asked me how often I would go. Three, I responded. Patti was all like, well, let's start planning.

I love a woman who can make fireworks happen. Hee-hee.


I was chit chatting with Josh before Patti and company arrived. I asked him about how he coped with tender hands and he inferred in a very nice way that I, basically, needed to suck it up. What about tape? He only uses it for crack climbing or injuries. Injuries you say?


'Drea's Callused Chalk-Coated Hand


I also asked Josh about his ritual of hanging on holds. He's warming up his hands especially since a finger is injured. I thought he was strength training.


When Josh saw me, he started smiling -- not because he was happy to see me but because he assumed that Patti would be coming.

Me: What makes you think Patti is coming?
Josh: Because you all climb in packs.
Josh has been strongly nagging encouraging Patti to lead climb and she did lead climb three routes. The pack is so proud of our little shining star.


Patti Clipping In on Chag

So, as Josh leans on Patti, Patti leans on me. I briefly took a short, practice rope in addition to the regular rope to try my hand at lead climbing. I also attempted to climb the Chest Cracking Cart route. Yowza...

Route Tally:

Sponge Bob, 5.7 (Ascended and Down Climbed 2x's)
The Seven, 5.7
Hallelujah, 5.8
Chag, 5.9/5.8
Chest Cracking Cart, 5.9 (Aborted)
Pacman Revival, 5.9

I also did a little bouldering. Thanks to the rock climber with the star burst tattoo who gave me a tip about the rope while I was practicing lead climbing. Forty eight hours until I climb again...

Is someone leaning on you or are you leaning on yourself? Are you looking forward to your next exercise outing?

5 comments:

  1. I'm totally missing something. Why can you only climb every so often?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Ouch, the pic of your hands looks painful. Hopefully you aren't planning on any hand modeling while you are a climber!!

    Great job 'Drea. I've noticed on your routes how more and more are 5.9! Seems it was just a few months ago that you tackeled the first one. Now look at you! Seems like half of your climbs are 5.9!

    Hope you are proud of your accomplishments

    We are off for a week of family vacation. Take care and be well :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Angela,

    Good question. :) Most people climb in pairs and, sometimes, it's just a matter of dealing with each other's schedules. A lot of people like to climb at noon during the day which is not really feasible for me.

    Several of my belay partners stay in Il and the gym is in MO so they have to travel further etc.

    I could climb alone but I don't like to because then you have to depend on the auto-belay and you're limited to what routes you can climb.

    And, of course, if you're trying to get a larger group to climb, it's really hard to pick a day and time that matches everyone's schedule.

    Climbing can also make you sore depending on what kind of routes you're ascending. My hands were sore on Saturday. I wanted to climb more but my hands were so tender that I had to stop... So, I don't think my body would let me climb as frequently as I'd like to. Who knows? Maybe the body would adapt...


    @Diane,

    I think that I definitely have to give up my hand modeling dreams. :)

    The calluses are funny. They pop out when I climb and then recede later on in the day. Sometimes my hands are really tender and sometimes they're not. I've been thinking about getting some gloves. Maybe.

    Re: the 5.9's, I just wanna smile. :) :) I'm still slightly in disbelief. My goal is to continue to work on the 5.9's and climb then more cleanly but I'm definitely happy about the progress that I've made.

    Enjoy your vacation. Hope you have a grand time.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Your hands look sore, but strong. I have exercised alone for many years, although there was a short period of time when my backyard neighbor and I walked together. It was fun.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Diane,

    My hands are strong now and, in general, I feel strong. :)

    I would say that I exercise by myself about 85% of the time but it's also fun to exercise with others if it isn't too chaotic trying to figure out schedules...

    ReplyDelete