Well, its been awhile since Matt and I have posted anything on this blog. I guess that our lack of pictures make it less appealing to use this. Anyways, my apologies for those who sit on the edge of their seat all day long, waiting for a glimpse of what we've been up to (Jeff).
The familiar coo of 'were having such a great time' continues. The weather is fantastic and we ARE having a great time. Most of our time has been in the gorge, doing sport climbing. We've tackled some very challenging routes, and we have the scars on our hands to prove it. One afternoon I was trying this interesting climb that went straight up for 30 feet, then it moves horizontally for another 30 feet. Right when I'm at the 'crux' (the hardest part of the route) I look down to see my faithful belayer (matt) chatting up a storm with some old hippy man that appeared out of no where! After finishing the climb I finally came down off the rock to meet Matt's long-lost friend, 'Uncle Mike'. This guy looks weathered, and friendly...and he's been climbing for over 35 years! We started chatting more with him, and realized that he had set quite a number of the routes in the gorge, and spent a lot of time climbing with some legends. Then he took us up on the offer to climb the line I had just put up, (an 11b...not a walk in the park by any means) and he agreed. ALthough he struggled a little, he made it up the face with relative ease. He became our buddy by the end of that day, and we spent a few days climbing with him, and hearing his stories about all sorts of adventures. Unfortunetly we didn't get a picture of him, but I leave it up to your imaginations.
I just wanted to note for those few that know the lingo...I red pointed my first 11c today! Its called 'Flex Your Head', which I certainly did! My hands are still sweating like crazy just thinking about it! Anyways, thats what the picture is of me at the base on it. You can see the line move up the face with the white marks (chalk).
THe other pictures are of the Upper Gorge (farther up stream than the first pictures); Matt and I being narcissitic, b/c its beautiful; and us on an 11d.
n.b. red point: to lead a route from beginning to end with no takes, falls or rests on the rope!
1 comment:
Nice work guys, it was great to hear from you... Helmets look good and are always a good idea, especially when there are mountain goas above you knocking off huge boulders.....
Have a great time on the rest of your trip and we'll see you in Calgary soon!!
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