Who Wants to Play Rock Climber?

I’m racked and ready to go to J-Tree.  Can’t wait.

Not Too Long

In just over one week I will be on a plane to California.  I’ve got gear to round out my rack in transit.  It will (hopefully) arrive in two days.  I’ve been reading climbing literature and seeing some marked improvement in my climbing.  My grip is solid.  I weigh in at a cool 180 lbs and have never felt lighter.  I still have time to drop three or four more pounds before I hit the rock.  Maybe I will, maybe I wont.  Either way, this is going to be a good trip.

Will I climb 5.10 trad?  No.  I’ll play around on 5.4 and 5.6 leads, building up my confidence.  Maybe a solid 5.8 like Double Cross toward the end of the trip.  My biggest enemy is going to be nerves. I get so damn sketched out on lead as soon as it gets run out or the holds get thin.  I’m not sure what the problem is, but step one of the solution is probably just logging some miles on low-difficulty climbs with really solid pro.

It’s going to be good to get away for a while.  I need to just kick back and relax.  One month of fun in the sun.

Winter Plans

My family intends to spend Christmas in San Diego this year with my aunt and uncle.  Fortunately for me, they have a little crag about 20 minutes from their house which will allow me to climb with my sister and cousin (and the rest of the family should they choose) until just after the 25th when I intend to drive to Joshua Tree and spend the next two weeks climbing in the desert.

Adam will be coming out to climb with me (as of now) as well as a couple other friends.  They will be staying home for Christmas (suckers) and then flying/driving out to meet. me.

The best part of all?  My round trip ticket, departing December 16 and returning January 10, was $212.39.  The only other expenses will be gas, camping, and food for the J-tree leg of my trip.  That is one damn cheap vacation.