Bags all packed
So in about 6 hours I’ll be heading to Kentucky again. This time I’m armed with a little more experience and an idea of what I’m getting into. Last year I struggled most of the time down there. I’m just not used to that kind of climbing. It’s funny, 4 years ago I probably would have been better suited to climbing down there, but the past couple years I’ve been focused more and more on trad here in the Adirondacks.
In previous years I used to crank out time in the bouldering cave and on the wall working hard problems/routes. Now I’m more focused on keeping my endurance and strength in maintenance mode and keeping overall fitness up so I can get out and increase my plethora of trad technique/experience, as I feel like that’s where the bulk of advancement is made in moderate to hard trad climbing.
I’m getting away from the point here. Last year I managed to finally settle in on the last two days in Kentucky and was able to hit easy 5.11 (not bad, but not great). This round my goal is to attempt to get on 5.11d, or if things are really going well 5.12a. Last year I was scared to fall or move above a bolt if I felt like I was going to fall (residual self-preservation from climbing in the Adirondacks). This year I’m rolling in with more experience and coming off an ice season with some leads that put me in a soloing head spaces. I managed to roll this into the rock season already this year and got into a hard roof crack (hard 5.9) that I took a couple falls on (bomber gear). It was a big step to get on a route where I knew I would likely fall.
So in short, this time around I’d like to push above bolts and not be worrying about falls (a ridiculous fear most of the time) and concentrate on climbing at my limit (the whole point of sport climbing). Hopefully I can have some success in Kentucky and bring it back here to the Adirondacks and fuel my push into the 5.10 grade, but only time will tell.
I previously posted my “report card” from the 2009 rock season. So to follow suit, here’s my goal list for 2010. It’s exceedingly bold and optimistic. We’ll see how things go. 2010 Rock Goals
I ran across Plogger today. After installing it and playing around with it for a little bit I was sold on it. It’s simple, yet still has a bunch of features, is theme-able, and supports a plugin architecture. It had me at hello. The “Photos” link above will take you to it.
Fifty Classic Climbs of North America from Mark Smiley on Vimeo.
I think there is a lot of potential for some good footage to come out of this project. I think this first clip is done well and provides an interesting look into the dynamics of a climbing partnership. I’m cautiously optimistic about the Smiley’s project. I’d also like to offer my best wishes in getting the right conditions for Gorillas in the Mist.
Edited: I just realized that this is Fifty Classic Climbs and not Fifty Favorite Climbs, so my comment about Gorillas in the Mist is irrelevant.
Here’s the report card for the 2009 rock season. I think it’s a pretty strong showing, especially towards the end of the season when I got my confidence up. Counting down the days until I can let loose on the rock again. 2009 Rock Report Card
So I lost the old site due to a power outage caused by a squirrel (long story). I’m going to make a serious effort to get this back on track. I’ve got a lot of stuff going on in my life right now and I think some of it is worth sharing. I’m sure this will just end up with me never updating this…as usual.