Every 5.12

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.