Maybe Slower Than A Sloth

I am in awe of the human body.

Yesterday was my first time making it not only over the arête but up the dang And You're Ready Now?, the 5.8b route that I have been trying to ascend for what seems like forever.

I wondered if my muscles would remember. They did. Unbelievable. There were so many aborted attempts to get over the arête. At one point, I felt like a 12-month old trying to stand up but I couldn't stand up in order to reach a crucial hold -- even though I knew the power was in my legs and that climbing is best done relying on one's legs.

And You're Ready Now? is still a challenge but getting over the arête doesn't seem nearly as onerous a task as it did before.

As I was waiting for the route to open, this guy climbed And You're Ready Now? I was captivated by his ascent. He moved up the route like a sloth -- maybe slower than a sloth.

Patti was telling me that's how great climbers ascend a route. When Patti and Jessica took their six week introduction to rock climbing course, one exercise included wearing bells on their shoes with the goal being to make as little noise as possible while ascending a route.

Right now, I'm bullish about my ascents -- not intentionally; that's just the way it is right now. The sloth has been climbing for four years. The whippersnapper started the sport when he was 18.

I climbed eight routes:

5.7, Sol (Warm-Up Route)
5.6, Truxton or Bust
5.7, Gymnopaeda
5.7, Unnamed
5.8, Bright Idea
5.8, Face Plant
5.8b, And You're Ready Now?
5.6, Sunshine (Warm-Down Route)

Climb X Media has a series of videos featuring accomplished climbers. Lynn Hill's main advice? Patience. In this video, she scales a rock that looks totally unscalable.

Hoping That My Muscles Will Remember

The final piece of the puzzle is in place. I scoured the internet for a harness and decided to get one from Upper Limits and I'm glad that I did. The harnesses have instructions but there's nothing like a human telling you that you need to double back on your buckles or that you can belay and climb on the auto-belay through the belay loop but for climbing you need to have two points of contact for your rope.

I also got to try on the harness and climb in it before I made my decision.

Behold, my Black Diamond Momentum Al harness (XL size):




At first, it felt weird not climbing in the rental Yates -- probably because I've been renting and wearing the Yates exclusively. I should have invested in a harness a long time ago but I wasn't sure if I'd be really bitten by the rock climbing bug. And, oh boy, have I been bitten. I miss the wall almost as soon as I step out of the gym.

I finally managed to get up the 5.8b (a.k. a. #1 nemesis) And You're Ready Now? route. It took me many takes and I don't really know how I made it over the arête but I did; I'm hoping that my muscles will remember. I was sapped after that 5.8b and could barely muster enough energy to make it up less demanding routes. Nevertheless, I was quite satisfied to have finally made it up And You're Ready Now? Yay!!!

Here are some videos about how to look for a harness and how to put one on.





On a final note, looking at my, woo hoo, smaller butt makes me think about Greta over at Big Bottom Blogger.

And, of course, Da Butt also comes to mind.

To Kill A Two-Headed Muscle

Patti and I decided to go rock climbing at 1 today since last Saturday it was crowded in the a.m. then thinned out around lunch time. It was still super crowded. Plus, there were some classes going on and, once again, my comfort routes were roped off or otherwise occupied.

I climbed the following routes:

5.6, Truxton or Bust
5.6, 5x
5.7, Sol (twice)
5.8, Bright Idea
5.8, JW
5.8, Face Plant
5.8b, And You're Ready Now? (About five attempts but no cigar)

I should rename And You're Ready Now? the biceps killer because it had the biceps in my right arm smarting for three days and there's new throbbing going on now. As I approached the route, I had butterflies similar to the ones that appeared when I was taking swimming lessons and my teacher wanted me to swim the length of the pool doing the front crawl. It's so frustrating because I know I have plenty of power in my legs but I just couldn't get my feet on these two holds that I needed to get over the arête.

When I approached my longtime nemesis Face Plant, Patti told me to just keep climbing, to not slow down and to have fun. I surprised myself by marching up Face Plant. I don't know how much fun I had though.

When I was headed up JW, I was waiting until a kid who was using the auto-belay got up to a certain point.

Patti: I think you'll be okay.

Me: Have you seen the way I climb all over (i.e. rainbow climbing) this route?

Patti: Yes, I belay for you. I've seen how you climb all over the route.

Ha, ha...

I headed up and managed not to collide with the kid.

As we were waiting for a 5.9 to clear for Patti, she said that she wished she had started climbing as a kid.

Me: I wish that I had learned to swim as a kid.

Me: I wish that I had taken Spanish classes more seriously...

As we were leaving, this pre-teen told me: I saw you rock climbing, you're good. That was so sweet of her to tell me.

Sometimes I forget about the kids up in the balcony area until I smell pizza or see balloons. I hope that the pre-teen will climb for many years to come at Upper Limits or at some other rock climbing joint.

Here's a father teaching his kid how to do a drop knee maneuver. If lil' shorty can do a drop knee, I should be able to do one too. Shouldn't I?