climbing

My first climbing of the season

4/10/20094/10/2009 mike d. 1 Comment climbing

Last night I got home from work totally exhausted. I laid down for a one hour nap before I would go to the rock climbing gym. After about 15 minutes I awoke to a phone call from Pete. He was at Cathole and they had a rope set up.

And thus it was that I zipped over to Cathole and worked on two toprope problems: Saturday Night Special and Millions of Dead Dogs. (5.9- and 5.10- respectively). It was nice to get on the rock. Halfway up S.N.S. I stopped and looked away from the rock. Cathole has a unique aspect to it in that it’s very exposed. When you turn around and look back the Earth drops away quickly.

It’s nice being on the side of a cliff. Kind of lets you forget about everything else that’s going on.

I’m glad it’s climbing season again.

3/27/20093/27/2009 mike d. 1 Comment climbing

I had a great night of climbing last night. I cleaned my first 5.12a since my return to climbing last month. It’s a pretty tight climb that works up an extruding corner. The climb allows ‘features’ which are small edges and bulges in the faux rock wall. Normally I don’t enjoy climbs that allow features or an arete (corners that are considered part of the climb) because they often end up working one side of the body far more than the other. But this particular climb does a good job of staying balanced. I need to keep working this route because it’s not smooth and I think I could ultimately make it smooth. Fluidity is important to me, so while I can check it off on my completion list, I’m far from finished with it.

After that climb, I started working on another twelve in the back room. I’ve figured out how to power through the first half without fault, but the climb is really continuous and the second to last move requires gripping a round sloped hold that has no favorable surface. I love the beginning because it’s very technique oriented. I don’t think it’ll be long before I clean that one.

Finally, I tried a 5.13+. It may very well have been the most fantastic example of failure I’ve ever been a part of. You start the climb with your right hand on a tiny chip and your left hand on a side pull. Your right leg is on the ground and your left is Waaaaay up by your waist. The power needed to lift yourself off the ground is staggering.

Someday perhaps. But not last night. Last night I whipped off that first move more times than I can count. Falling on the first move of a climb is always humbling. Special thanks to Big Aaron for his expert belay.

Climbing Report

2/20/20092/20/2009 mike d. 6 Comments climbing

As many of you know I took off a lot of time from climbing during the last 6 months of my MBA. For the past few weeks I’ve been going two-three times a week and I’m really excited to say that I’m pretty much back in business. I’m working 5.12’s with success and climbing 11’s with some semblance of gracefulness. I really have to focus on those 11’s because I think smooth continuous motion climbing is the most rewarding for me – both mentally and physically.

The weather is beginning to warm up, and by the time my next stint of travel ends it should be nice enough for weekend climbing excursions. Next week I’m off to Ohio and then I’ll be hitting up Oregon for vacation. After that, there may be a quick trip to Alabama (haven’t been there before) and also Brazil (definitely haven’t been there before).

That should put me at about March 20th. Sarah is visiting from the 21st to the 30th… and… then BANG! April!

And then there shall be a summer of leading.

Thor’s Hammer.

8/28/20088/28/2008 mike d. 2 Comments climbing, Features

One of my favorite rock climbing routes in Connecticut is Thor’s Hammer. It’s up at East Peak in Meriden and reliably delivers chills and thrills at each ascent. I’ve talked of its majesty in the past. It’s just great in every way.

I hit up Thor’s hammer a few weekends ago with Pete and Ben. We got out there reasonably early, set up our rappel lines and then zipped down to try our luck. Other than some heavy heat, the day was successful.

As an added bonus, I got to do some ascending with Pete’s equipment as well. Ascending requires using special equipment to quickly ‘climb’ ropes. Here’s a picture of some of the equipment that hovered above me as I ascended.

The advantage of setting up an ascending line adjacent to the climbing route is that it allows us to get a unique perspective for taking climbing photographs. Pete has a beautiful Canon 10d camera, so it’s always worthwhile to spend some time setting equipment to help with photos.

We each climbed Thor’s Hammer twice. This route is unique in that it has two roofs that require either stretched lean backs or furious fist jams.

Here’s a picture of Pete working his way to the first roof.

Here’s Pete again working the second roof.

It was a great day and a gorgeous climb. I hope that I’ll be able to climb it a few more times before the season ends. I desperately want to lead the route.