25 May 2018

Honestly there’s nothing I love more than sharing my love of climbing with other people. 

Perez and three of his friends wanted to go climbing, so they asked me if I could take them out climbing. So Zaynah and I brought them up the mountain, to The Havens. It was such a gorgeous day for a climb! 

We hiked in, and set up the first couple of routes for them, Inspiration (5.7) and Separation Variation (5.7+). They really enjoyed them, and I love setting easy-peasy routes. Then I can focus on technique and just having a smooth time.

After, we ate lunch, and Z and I set up the next couple of routes around the corner to the left, Black Stain (5.7) and Meagan’s First FA (5.7). Again, super easy time, and they really enjoyed the routes. 

Today, I also taught Perez how to lead climb! UGh I cannot explain how much I love teaching others all about climbing, everything from lead to setting anchors to cleaning. I was so proud to help Perez with that before he left Tucson. I also felt honored that he trusts me enough as a climber and friend to take him and his friends out climbing. 

Besides Zaynah getting on me nerves a little bit, it was a fantastic, easy day of climbing. It was my last day on Lemmon for the summer, and I was happy to spend it in that environment. 

I had only been to the Havens once before, but I want to return to try out some of the harder routes they got there.

24 Feb 2018

Day two of climbing in a busy weekend. Today I went with Patrick and Zaynah. We spent a lot of time trying to figure out where we were wanting to go, and eventually set on Ridgeline. It was a short day of climbing, but a good one nonetheless.

As the “designated lead climber” of the group, I pretty much end up deciding what we climb. The thing I don’t like about this is that I don’t always have the most confidence in my lead abilities, which means Patrick and Zaynah don’t necessarily get to climb at the grades they would otherwise. 

It is a fun lil hike up to the crag, and when we got there, there was a bunch of snow, and lots of sun, which was beautiful. The routes and guidebook there don’t exactly match up, so its hard to tell which one I ended up leading. My guess is “Winds of Change” (5.8). It was a bit of a difficult route to get up! I felt like I was climbing a 9 or so. Quite a kick in the stomach once I realized it was only an 8, especially after having lead a 10 the day before. It was alright though, and Pat and Z topped it after me. 

We finished that route, and moved left to “Onsight or Flight” (5.9-). I was a little tired and still feeling defeated from the last route, so I had to hang for a second in the middle of this short route, which I hated. But I finished it, and lowered. When I got to the bottom, I decided I wanted to do it again (on TR) to get the crux move that had me hanging to figure out. I made my way up it, and successfully completed the big, bouldery, sequence. I came down, and Patrick and Zaynah followed me on toprope. 

Overall, it was a short, but fun day of climbing with a couple great friends. I think we want to make it a more frequent thing, which I would love. Stoked to get back out there. 

Don’t focus on the ratings, focus on enjoying yourself.

It’s okay to not do great on a route. That’s how you learn and improve.