Typically, I'm lucky if I get outside to climb twice a year. I'm sitting here in August and I've already been outside climbing in 3 new places and hoping to add one more trip in October. I figured with the start-up job, I'd be out climbing less, but I was actually able to add a half day of climbing outside of Denver on a work trip and the October climbing will also probably piggyback off of a work trip. Funnily enough, I did not make it to the Gunks this summer.
Generally, my fitness has been above-average for climbing compared to last year. Knock on wood- I've had zero shoulder pain. I have noticed some soreness in my finger joints, but I think that's just because I'm trying to climb harder grades. I'm pretty good at crimps but still terrible with finger pockets. Rockville has definitely made their grading stiffer over the past year, which is probably a good thing, given the local crag (the Gunks) is severely sand-bagged. I'm sure it helps that I've focused on mobility, strength and stretching on a regular basis. Band-work that I learned from Simon for the shoulders does wonders and climbing-focused strength work like wrist curls, assisted pull-ups and hip openers have also helped. I still have a long way to go, especially on the hip mobility. I can see moves in the gym where I'm limited because I can't get the hips open and flush to the wall enough to make a move- mostly in cases when the foot-holds are in front of me vs. to the right or left of me. I still get annoyed when I pump out. Doing endurance sessions (5 sets of 3 consecutive climbs) helps, but I often get tempted to try a harder climb in the middle of this and then I pump out before I can get all of my sets completed. Climbing two days in a row is still not comfortable. I'm at the point where 10 a/b is feeling pretty solid and easy. I can send most of the 10 a/bs (autobelay included) in the gym cleanly and feel elegant and strong on these. There are a few 10 b/cs and even some 10 c/ds that feel good, but it's been awhile since they've set any 11 a/bs that I can climb cleanly. Some of the 9+ climbs are even feeling tricky and hard- this goes back to grades getting stiffer. I can't complain though, because with the number of setters at Rockville, there's always a wide variety of new routes to try. My current favorite is a 10 a/b set by Dan. I love how he tried to mimic an outdoor route but making route-finding part of the climb. He added a bunch of extra footholds so it's not obvious which to use. It's a "choose your own adventure" kind of climb and everyone I've climbed with does it a different way.
Running has also definintely helped my climbing. Currently, I'm low mileage at about 20 miles per week. I've been doing 3 week cycles, where I will try to ramp from 20 to 25 miles per week over 3 weeks and then take a down week with 15-18 miles per week. I've been trying to really focus on footwork with the climbing, so that's where having strong legs helps, especially when I need to smear or flag on the wall. I still have something annoying in my right foot which is sometimes painful after running, but it seems to resolve with a lot of massaging, either with my spiky ball or the massage gun. I'm also dealing with a weird high hamstring strain on my left, most likely brought on by sprinting to race some 7th grade girls at running club earlier this week. I should know my body well enough to know that sprinting all-out is almost always never a good idea. Strides = good. Sprinting = injuries. When the hammy heals up, my plan is to get back to doing at least one hill workout per week. It times well with the temps and humidity getting back to a humane level. I'm still considering a longer mileage goal before the end of the year, but not sure what yet. Not getting into the NYC Marathon has kind of lowered any motivation to train up to higher mileage. It would probably be a good thing if I could at least get to the point where I could run 10 miles comfortably at a go-all-day pace by the end of the year. I do have an audacious goal for next year, but not publishing that yet.
Back to climbing outside- one of the main goals was to practice lead (sport) climbing so that one of these days, I could go outside with a partner and not need a guide. I will say that having a guide has always been great though. Not only does it feel safe, but I usually enjoy swapping climbing stories and I always learn something new from the guide. The first climbing I did outside this year was during the kids' spring break. Sadly, Dylan could not join us because his break was the previous week. We flew out to Vegas and then drove to Zion and Bryce. Chris and I split the day- he climbed in the morning, so I could hang out with the kids in the morning and then I climbed in the afternoon so that he could be with the kids in the afternoon. We climbed out at Lambs Knoll with Mike with Sundial Guiding. Mike was super efficient. He was able to drop a bunch of ropes right next to each other so in the end, both of us got in 10 climbs in a half day. The climbing was very different from anything I've ever done. We were climbing on basalt, which is pretty smooth and can be slippery. Most of the routes were quite bulgy, so that required some smart body-positioning and grabbing onto slopey holds, which is definitely not my forte. Still, it was all amazing- challenging at times, but Mike was impressed with both Chris and I. We got in more than he had expected. The best part of outdoor climbing is the reward of the views at the top. Lambs Knoll was also very cool because it wasn't crowded so it all felt very peaceful, with only 3 other parties out while I was there. Weather couldn't have been better. Mid-60s and sunny. Not windy.
Bulgy and smooth. Taking a rest.
Pushed out postitioning is not my favorite, but it's good to try hard things, right?
I don't know if any of these routes were named. It's a newer climbing area.
The views
THE VIEWS
I don't know if any of the climbs we did were named, but basically, I warmed up on a 5.8 and then jumped right into 5.9+ and 5.10s. After Mike had collected all of our top ropes, we still had a bit of time, so he decided to lead a harder 5.9+ as we were leaving. I followed and was happy that I didn't have to lead it. It was hard enough on top rope. It was probably one of the few times I've seen a guide struggle on a climb. Mike was definitely a strong climber, but he said that he had spent a lot of time guiding and less climbing. He was also an avid trail runner and had grand plans to link up a bunch of routes with a buddy of his for an FKT, which included running up Angel's Landing in Zion. I can't remember the exact link-up, but it included canyoneering, running and climbing through a series of canyons . Sounded like quite the adventure.
Second outdoor climbing adventure was back in June at Clear Creek, CO. This was such an awesome climbing day and we crammed so much in the 4-5 hours we had. My guide Peter was a gifted climber but also an awesome instructor. I loved that we started with an easy multi-pitch climb (3 pitches) called Tortoise Scute. It was the perfect warm up. Limestone climbing, which I am familiar with. I liked how we used walkie talkies to communicate, given the road noise. Instead of just rapping down, we were able to traverse a bit and rap down and climb up a couple of harder routes (Labby and Calvin). We then got to the base of the crag and I practiced leading easy sport routes (Yellow Dog Dingo, Old Man Kangaroo). Very funny that we were able to hit one last sport climb in the parking lot, aptly named "Parking Lot Route". Clear Creek is wonderful because it's just 20-30 mins from downtown Denver. It's an easy, steepish approach, but not the prettiest crag since it's next to a major highway. Still, I loved the accessibility and all of the variety we were able to hit in a half day. I also loved that apparently I made everything "look pretty casual"- as Peter put it. The sport-climbing was so much fun. Definitely built some confidence in my ability to lead. It helped that there were mussy hooks on the anchors. Peter was a great guide. Super kind and encouraging. I mentioned NAMI since I had been in Denver for NAMICon and he actually knew them as someone who works with folks in sobriety. I loved hearing the stories of how he got people into climbing and how he works with young kids who love to climb. Clearly, he loves climbing. He also guides in Boulder, so I've made a mental note to look him up as a guide since I'd love to get out there and climb the Flatirons.
Easy slab climbing to practice leading
Not the prettiest of views
Mile high, intense sun
The latest climbing adventure was in Boise, ID. Boise was incredible, all-around. Smooth, steep running trails were just a 10 minute drive from where I was staying and the Boise River greenbelt loop was steps away from where I was staying. Low humidity and cool morning temps made it an absolute joy to be outside. The climbing on basalt towers was so much fun. My guide, Chandler, called it "3D climbing". It was cool to play around with stemming, going up aretes and finding little edges and cracks to pull on in the rock. Black Cliffs was just a 20 minute drive from where I was staying and the approach was super steep, but quick. Thankfully, we walked down a different way and it was much less steep. Chandler guides but also coaches young climbers at a climbing gym so it was great to get his feedback on my climbing. We warmed up on an easy un-named 5.7 and then did 6 more climbs. Chandler was impressed by how much we were able to do in 4 hours. I think my favorite was a 5.8 called Sweet Adele. There weren't really many climbs in the 5.10 grade, but last one I did was a 10 a/b called Perception vs. Reality. Other climbs: More Than I Can Chew, Fat Ankles, Almer Casille, Populace. Unfortunately, this crag wasn't really set up for beginner lead-climbing. The first bolt was often placed 15 ft off of the ground. Chandler was saying that old-school climbers did that on purpose and were resistant to adding a lower bolt, which didn't make any sense to him.
3D climbing
Fun colors in the rock
Getting ready to top out
Funny mud houses made by some kind of bird
Fingers crossed I make it out to Red Rocks in the fall, but if not, it's still been quite the year of climbing outside!
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