The goal is feeling good this week, as I have been able to make quick work of a handful of 5.12s. I have just felt good as I have worked at things, even though I have been very tired. In this post I wanted to share two experiences that I have had recently.

First I wanted to write about the hardest 5.12b I have ever done. A week ago today, I met up with my friend Ryan Stott, who is a very cool guy, and a gifted climber to go climb at Cannabis wall after work. I had spent the morning before work that day working on a 512d/13a on the Hell wall called Guillotine. I had worn through most of my skin, and was feeling pretty weak by the end of that session. I had not gotten enough sleep, and an 8 hour workday sitting at a desk did not sound prime. While I was at work Ryan texted me and asked if I wanted to meet him at the Cannabis wall after work to work on a route called Tear Drop. My body was telling me no, but my psyche was high, not to mention it has been getting harder for me to find people to climb with consistently, so I told him yes.

After work I was very excited to get up the canyon and go climbing. We got to Cannabis, and I got confused on my warm up, trying to figure out where the line was intended to go. I tried warming up on a route called Mission Control, which was rated 12a in the old Ruckman and Ruckman guide. I found myself looking at a blank section of wall, and determined that I must have been off route. I down climbed about halfway down the route, to what I thought must have been the line, only to find that it blanked out as well. Frustrated I took and lowered off. Coincidently a climber I really admire named Colin, (who's last name I have no idea how to spell, and we are not friends on Facebook so I can't look it up there), was at the crag, and he told me where the line was intended to go, and explained that the blank section was just a matter of 2 or 3 awkward balancey traversing moves back into good holds. After that explanation, I sent the route my next go with little effort. I wish I could say that it was an easy 5.12, but I believe that it is 5.11c at best, and does not merit the 5.12 grade.

After catching Ryan on his warm up, and an attempt on Tear Drop, I decided to try a 5.12b called Merciless Onslaught, thinking I would be able to do it pretty quickly, and have another route ticked off the list. With that in mind, I was quite surprised, and humbled by my first couple of goes at it. My first burn I didn't even make it to chains before my feet hurt so bad I wanted to come down. I found the moves to be really awkward, and I felt really out of my element. It became clear fast that Merciless Onslaught was not my style so to speak. As I climbed I kept telling myself, "this is only 12b, this shouldn't be that hard for you!" and things of that nature. After miserably failing at a 2nd burn redpoint attempt, I considered just packing up and coming back fresh, rather than trying to do it exhausted and void of skin. My skin was hurting and even the easy moves felt hard. I caught Ryan again on Teardrop, and that was all I needed to get motivated to give it one more burn. Ryan was climbing really well through Teardrop and got about as close as you can get to sending without actually doing the route. I  was inspired by his effort and decided to give Merciless Onslaught another burn.

As I pulled off, I was dismayed to find that the first few moves felt harder than they had on the previous 2 attempts, and I started thinking like I had on my other 2 burns. "Why is this so hard for me right now? It's only 12b!" As I kept climbing, I started to feel more and more tired, and I was certain that each move would be my last, all the while thinking I shouldn't be struggling. After clipping the 3rd bolt I realized why the route was so hard for me. I realized that I had for some reason considered this route beneath me in that it was "Only 12b," I realized that thinking that way was a very prideful mistake, and that I wasn't focussed on just enjoying the route. I was very tired at this point, but I decided to switch gears, and just focus on enjoying the route, and it's awesome movements, rather than worry about how hard it was. I wish I could say that it was easy after that, and that I just cruised to chains, but it wasn't. I fought for every move, and I loved every moment of it. Before I knew it I was clipping the chains. I honestly felt more accomplished, and more proud of the send, on this 12b, than I have on any other route so far. Even though I know it is not the hardest route, it was easily one of the most enjoyable.  Because I was so tired, it felt harder than any I have done so far, and because I learned an important lesson, I think I enjoyed it more than any other so far. I was exhausted at the end, and one of the climbers at the crag mentioned that I made the route look really hard. I assured him it wasn't as hard as I made it look. For some reason that experience has been sticking in my mind and I wanted to share it.

The other experience I wanted to share, happened yesterday. I woke up at the usual time, (4:45am) and got ready to head up the canyon, only to find that it had been raining during the night. I decided to head up anyway and see what if anything I wanted to climb on was dry. As I warmed up it was still dark out, but I could feel puddles in every hold big enough to hold water. I lowered off and caught my friend on a couple routes before heading over to my morning objective, Shark Club. This route was rated 11d in the old guide book, but after speaking with my good friend Darren, who has done a lot of development up the canyon, I came to find out that Shark Club had subsequently been upgraded to 5.12a. I decided to try something I don't usually do. I tied in, and pulled off, without looking at the route at all. I felt very present, and moved through the route quickly and easily. When I got to the crux, which involves pulling a bulging roof, I felt like I was moving very smoothly and very controlled. I was able to pull the roof without incident and found myself clipping chains. Well, I know what you are thinking, 12a big freaking deal right? But for me, it kinda was a big deal, because I am a TERRIBLE onsight climber. I was so pleased that even the rain that started up as soon as I got to the ground couldn't dampen my spirits. It was a great experience.

Tomorrow I am heading back to Guillotine, whereas I think I have finally found a belayer that will go with me. The objectives: Guillotine 5.12d/13a and I'll Take Black 5.12c. We will see how this goes.

So I have just started a blog, and I already have too many updates for one entry. Climbing over the last few weeks has truly been an adventure to say the least. Shortly after redpointing The Abyss 5.12c/d, (felt more like 5.13a) I took a trip out to Lander Wyoming for the International Climber's Festival. I was invited by my good friend George Bruce Wilson, (the man who is making the Every 5.12 series), to come out with him to help film on another project he has going called "The Send Bros" which is a film documenting The Hörst Family, specifically Cameron and Jonathan Hörst. These two boys are 2 of the youngest kids in the world to climb the coveted grade of 5.14. Filming with this family was a real pleasure, and a special treat for me. I was very inspired by the family's approach to climbing and how efficient they were.

Our first day in Lander, we went out with the family to the Rodeo Wave wall, and I got my first taste of how awesome this family is, as I witnessed Cameron Hörst crush Rodeo Free Europe 5.14a on his 3rd try! The rest of the trip was just as awesome, and I invite everyone to checkout The Send Bros Film on facebook, and Three Peak Films for more details. 

On the trip, I didn't get a ton of time to climb, but I did have 2 pretty good days. The 3rd to last day and the last day of the trip. We went to Ten Sleep Wyoming, and I have to say, that I am in love with that Canyon. With a little encouragement from Eric Hörst I tried to onsight a 5.12d called Pussy Toes. Well... I didn't onsight it, but I did better than I thought I would, falling on the last move of the crux on my onsight attempt. I rested for about 15 minutes and then dispatched it, to my surprise, quite easily on my 2nd go. When I got to the bottom, I didn't even feel pumped, and part of me thought I must have done the wrong route. After consulting the guidebook however, I realized that I had climbed better than I realized. Later that day, with a little more encouragement from Eric, I decided to try a 13a as well called Burden of Immortality. Perhaps it was the miles of hiking, sleeping on the ground for 10 days straight, etc. but I felt awful on my first 2 attempts on the route. It was probably all in my mind that I was tired, but I just didn't feel good. I was grateful that those first 2 attempts were followed by a full rest day. 

After the rest day, I found myself back at the same crag filming Jonathan. Between burns I decided to hop on a 12a to warm up and give Burden of Immortality another burn. Well, I goofed a foot on literally the last move of the warm up and fell on my onsight attempt haha. It was not an encouraging omen, but I decided to give Burden of Immortality another go all the same. To my surprise, the moves that felt terribly hard the day before, (including a dyno off a good mono to a small positive edge), all felt surprisingly easy. I was elated to find that the only move that felt really hard, was the move that I could not even do off the hang the previous attempt, but even that took only momentary effort, and a good yell. After that it was smooth sailing until I found myself clipping the chains of Burden of Immortality. I was stoked to have redpointed a 13a in 3 goes, and my first 13a since returning home from my mission.

Sticking the Dyno on the Redpoint of Burden of Immortality 5.13a

So why did I share that here? Because after this trip I felt confidence come into me that I was lacking. I felt much more sure that I was going to be able to complete this goal, and climb Every 5.12 in American Fork Canyon. Since coming home I have ticked a number of 5.12's, including a few onsights. The grades in AF are definitely a lot stiffer than those of Ten Sleep, and they are still hard for me, but I am feeling momentum and excitement. I am really grateful I got to climb with Team Hörst and have this positive experience.

Left to Right: Bruce, James, Joe, Cam, Jon, and Eric. (Lisa took the picture).

Be sure to go to YouTube, EpicTV, and Dpmclimbing.com to watch Episode 1 of Every 5.12 featuring:

The Abyss 5.12c/d, (5.13a)

http://youtu.be/eCWm4Da20FU

Click the link above to see Episode 1 of Every 5.12

"You can't climb the Impossible"