Injury, Bonking, Postponed Dreams, New Stoke... AKA Life as Climber

If you spend any time reading about outdoor adventure or climbing like I do, you've probably heard how "peaks" are fleeting and "valleys" can seem to last forever and everything really boils down to "enjoying the journey," which can be an emotional roller-coaster.  My September (AKA Sendtember) was a year's worth of those cliche truths wrapped into one month.  

I had plans for a bid on the Nose in mid September with my brother Matthew, but the last week in July I partially tore a pulley in my ring finger working some lame boulder problem at the gym.  Suddenly the El Cap bid was in question, and I swore off bouldering forever (my only real climbing injuries have happened while bouldering, of course I have also been bouldering since).  I spent the next few weeks practicing aid and resting.  Some initial healing happened quite quickly and I was soon confident on 5.9.  I even found I could climb harder if I stuck to crack climbing and stayed away from crimps.

With the alpine rock season winding down, I made some last minute plans to climb Pervertical Sanctuary, 5.11- on the Diamond.  It had been on my tick list since last summer and I thought it would be good training for the Nose, as well as a test of my finger.  I've only climbed the Diamond twice and each time it had proven to be quite a challenge.  My partner, Anthony, and I headed up on Friday afternoon, planning on bivying at Chasm Lake.  However, after a comedy of errors we got to the trail-head just before dusk.  We were out of daylight and too late to obtain a bivy permit.  After weighing our options, we decided to camp nearby and go for it car-to-car in the morning. 

Looking down the Diamond

The Diamond car-to-car makes for an arduous day, but the climbing was spectacular and we had perfect weather.  I was hoping Anthony would lead the hard stuff, as he usually climbs a bit harder than me and I had a bad finger. Unfortunately, the approach and alpine conditions were pretty taxing on him which left most of the leading up to me.  After the second to last pitch (5.10 off-width at 14,000ft) we were both bonking.  On the last pitch to Table Ledge my hands kept cramping shut every time I let go of the rock, due to the cold, dehydration, and exhaustion.  It made climbing tough and placing gear even tougher.  Thankfully the climbing was only 5.9 at that point.  We did the D7 rappels and hit the trail for the 3hr hike back to the car.  After a 2am start we finally made it back to the car by 10pm.  I still can't believe Steph Davis free soloed this route!  The video below is an account of her free solo, it has some great footage of Pervertical Sanctuary and is a good depiction of climbing on the Diamond, except that she makes it look way too easy.  It felt great to climb the Diamond, but I'm a little embarrassed about how much it worked me. 

 

 

Upon returning to Boulder, I had a text message from my brother Matt, saying he had broken his arm slacklining.  Just like that Yosemite was unquestionably out the window.  I canceled my flight 2 days later, but we are already making plans for next year.  It was pretty disappointing though.

I spent the rest of my September climbing around Boulder.  I'm super stoked on Lumpy Ridge right now.  The climbing up there is so good!  I also made a trip to Independence Pass.  I was very impressed with the climbing there.  I wasn't expecting it to be such a destination, but the setting was very pretty and the rock was excellent with a mix of great trad and sport climbing.  Apparently Rock and Ice agrees, because it is currently the cover article!

Lumpy Ridge

 UP NEXT:  Indian Creek? Ski Season? Country Club Crack Send?  The Naked Edge?