Progress by degrees

[wshaffer]

Had a relatively good climbing night last night, despite being a bit tired and headachy from allergies, and despite Planet Granite being the most crowded I'd ever seen it. I climbed a 5.6 that was overhangy, then slabby, then overhangy again, and which had utterly defeated me when I tried it a few weeks ago. I flailed around on a 5.7 a bit, and then climbed the World's Hardest 5.5. Seriously, this thing was weird - it had a weird balancy start, with big but awkward handholds, and then there were a couple of places on the way up where I had to just take enormous (for me) steps. The person who set that route has an evil mind, and I like them. I want to go back some time when I have more energy and climb it a few times in a row just to see if I can figure out what makes it tick.

After that I messed around a bit on the lower reaches of some 5.6's and 5.7's, and then called it a night.

Comments

[swan-tower.livejournal.com]

It amuses me that you could transplant this post to matociquala's LJ, and I might not notice a difference. Clearly there is a distinct vocabulary of Climber Jargon, which one acquires in the course of learning to climb. :-)

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

There really is a distinct Climber Jargon, and they ought to issue us glossaries with our first belay lesson, because I remember being thoroughly confused by a lot of it. It didn't take me too long to figure out that a climber saying, "I'm totally pumped!" means "I'm exhausted" (and that it derives from bodybuilding jargon), but it took me a lot longer to figure out that someone asking if I wanted "beta" was offering advice on climbing a route. And that's all before we even got to the terms for specific climbing moves or techniques.

Funnily enough, I hadn't realized that matociquala also climbs.

[inflectionpoint.livejournal.com]

Good work!!!!

[little-ribbit.livejournal.com]

At some point when I manage to climb at the same time you do, I'll be curious to know which ones you're referring to. I'm climbing at roughly the level you described, though I haven't quite attempted a 5.7 yet. I found the green 5.6 that starts out with an overhang (facing all of the lead climbing stuff) to be REALLY hard but satisfying, for where I am right now. I'll make sure to try out the World's Hardest 5.5 if I can recognize it based on your descriptions.

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

I think we might be talking about the same 5.6 - it was green and in that area. The World's Hardest 5.5 is back in the area I've always heard called "The Icebox" - that rectangular area in the back that you get to through the doorway where you have to look out for lead climbers coming down. It's pink.

It'll be fun to climb together sometime!