Code name: Cobra

Great Success Gypsy! The Cobra Crack is complete! Yes, the world continues to turn. President Bush is still the leader of the “free world”, 37 year old Kelly Slater has just about clenched his 9th world title, and the roads are constantly changing here in Squamish, but yesterday the earth stopped spinning for a moment so that I could climb the Cobra Crack from bottom to top without falling. It was so reminiscent of last summer on realization it’s uncanny. Coming agonizingly close to sending after making quick progress, beating the crap out of my fingers and having to leave the route, then coming back with all kinds of doubts if I could even do it, and finally sending. But on this route there were no other holds to find. I just needed to know the route and all the moves well enough to climb relaxed and fire it. After pulling the crux I found myself kind of sad that it was over, so I took my time on the top, savoring the last moments. Of course I am very psyched and relieved, but it always amazes me how quickly the high from sending a hard project fades. I’m already thinking about what’s next…

My first day back in Squampton, after reuniting all the members (-Cory) of site 52 and meeting a couple new ones, Matt and I decided to adventure up the Black Dike (13a/b) route on the Grand Wall. We pretty much swapped leads the whole way, except I led the two crux pitches in a row since Matty had already done the route. I ended up falling on, literally the last move of the 13b pitch and blowing the on-sight. So close. I just pumped off a jug crimp that was only 6 inches below a bucket that I didn’t see on the lip. Oh well. All in all, the climb was really fun even though it was mostly slab (often wet) chossaneering, that I climbed in my D’esents, mixed in with some fun overhung climbing. After descending we ate lunch and came back to life. I went out for an evening bouldering session and actually did a hard problem that I hadn’t done before, the V11ish Sharma Campus problem. A really nice line in the middle of this big blank overhang, starting with a jump start to a perfect flat egde, then a big lunge/campus move to another identical hold. The mantle was a little wet still from the last days of rain, so it was a little desperate, but fortunately I didn’t pitch off backwards and break myself. I was going to try the Catcher after that but I was pretty tired and there wasn’t quite enough light, so I ran a lap on Young Blood instead. I pretty glad now that I didn’t get on the catcher because I had that much more strength for the Bra.

Yesterday after rapping down the Cobra and deciding it was dry, Matty, Kevin and Will Stanhope all took a TR burn on it. It felt pretty darn shmarmy to me, and I didn’t even climb through the crux. I tried it again on lead after everyone had gone, after it was fully in the shade and the rock got a chance to cool off a bit, and once again it didn’t feel very good. Kevin and Matty both took another TR burn on it, Matty bassically one-hanging it, looking ready for the lead. I decided to give it one more try while we were up there, since the conditions were improving. This time I wore the Moccasyms with a little extra rubber on the toe, so my feet didn’t skid out of the crack, and I used a little piece of tape to attach the crux placcement, a blue TCU, to my harness to save time and energy through the crux. But the biggest difference was that I was able to relax on the moves, all the way through the hard part, and I knew exactly how to do every move and body position, including where I had fallen three times previous. So this time I just gritted my teeth and beared the pain, opening up the giant goby on my middle finger, but still hiking it all the way through. It actually felt easy, the way I wanted it to feel when I did it. And I wasn’t super nervous, which made a lot of difference.

Well, Kevin and I are at the Brew pub now, chillin and resting, gearing up for another couple climbing days. I’m pretty psyched to free-climb the grand wall, and just go do some new shit!!! There is so much potential for new stuff around here it’s staggering.