Rock With You

It's been over a year since I was last on the crags of Tinandog, Atimonan, so the invitation from Pastor Noel and Jane (ROX) to join their rock trip on Labor Day was too tempting to pass. 

My only problem was lack of sleep. I came home late the night before because of UP Mountaineers business. It was past 1 a.m. when I finished packing the gear; and the call time was 2:30 a.m. The group already left so I boarded the next trip out and met up with them in Lucena. Pastor Noel was cheerful as ever. We catch up on things on the drive to Paradang Rizal.

Brought Richard's Osprey Stratos 40. Roomy enough to fit all my gear.
Jane told me she'll help me upgrade. (fingers crossed)
[photo by Mark Anthony Santos]

We spent the entire day at the North Wall, taking turns climbing three of the classic routes: Yema, Take Me Home, and Bladerunner; perfect intro for people new to the sport, yet challenging enough to make them come back for more.

Karl at the crux of Yema. Take me home is route following the chimney in the middle-left

Grace of the multi-colored hair was first to top out Bladerunner

Pastor asked me to lead all three to set the routes for top-rope climbing, so I got my day's quota in the first hour of the session. A light drizzle fell when I got to the crux of Bladerunner, making some of the holds slippery. A few nervous moves later, I clipped on the anchors and drew a sigh of relief. I had a terrible time when I last led this route a year ago. 

(photos courtesy of Boyong Talite)

Despite the long wait for their turn to climb, everybody seemed to be having fun. This rag-tag group jelled quite well after the initial getting-to-know-you phase, and jokes were flying in no time.

Kei navigating Bladerunner with ease as Jane belays

Cavz on belay at Take Me Home

Lunch was perfectly-timed. We were at the bahay-kubo by the time the clouds unleashed its midday rain. Filled with grilled tuna with rice and Coke on the rocks, everyone slipped into a post-lunch coma.

Pastor Noel supervising the siesta

Sir Paul and I had to leave early because of work commitments. As a parting "gift", Pastor re-set the anchors to the immediate right of Yema and showed me (a still-unnamed?) route that requires "laybacking" on the flake. The flow was spot-on and I had to agree with Pastor that this was a committing but fun route.

SPV helping me out on belay duty.

We bid goodbye to the group and took a couple of swigs from their Bacardi mojitos mix (my mouth was minty fresh after). A quick bath at Kuya Billy's house and we're off on a bus to Lucena. To our right, the silhouette of a cloudless Mt. Banahaw shows no trace of the scar she got from a massive fire a month ago. 

A poor shot of Mt. Banahaw and Banahaw de Lucban. 

I agree with Sir Paul. Maybe next time instead of day-tripping we could spend a little more time in Atimonan; to fully enjoy the crags without the lethargy from the lack of sleep.