So many missed opportunities for rock climbing happened in the last year. I've used plenty of excuses, and all of them seems lame (buzzword of the moment) in hindsight. Just to be different last weekend, I took on the invite of Ian to go to Wawa and feel the rocks again, despite still nursing a nasty sprain I got two weeks ago.
It was just me and Ian. I didn't bother to invite a lot of people since we were anticipating the arrival of Typhoon Dodong. We took a gamble that the weather would favor us, if only for half a day. And it paid off.
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| fine morning in Wawa (Rook area in the center) |
Our venue was the Rook/Veranda area. We've been out of the climbing scene for a good year, and frankly, I wasn't that confident I had the strength for anything more strenuous. To make it a bit interesting, we started off with a variation of the Rook Direct (grade 5.3. We started from the left, since we had no idea how to start it. hehe) using traditional protection (pro). I'm still accumulating experience in trad climbing, so I approached this challenge with both optimism and lack of confidence.
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| Rook Area |
After the first pro was placed. I started to feel my right ankle (the one with the sprain) pinch. It was hard to maintain my stance in the area where I planned to put the next pro. Ian kept telling me I was to far up to be protected properly, but it was hard going. I made the decision to go further up where I can secure my footing better and place a proper pro. It was not very smart, but it was that or wait for my arms and feet to give out under me, and fall.
I was hard going after that. Placing stoppers is still not second nature, and I scrambled through each nut size every time before finding the right one. Spacing each anchor is still something I need to get used to; there are placed I felt I over-anchored, and there are areas where it was sparse. I grunted in relief once I reached the top. My toes were screaming. My shoes are too small for me now, after months of hiking and running.
I belayed Ian from the ledge above, and we felt the same way after reaching the top: dehydrated and exhausted. I was really regretting all the times I skipped climbing at the gym. Our lives would have been much easier.
We did another round on this route; this time top-roped. I then transferred the rope to the east face of Veranda to try out the right-most route. Gax showed me last year how to set it up. My anchoring was a bit messy and I wasn't really proud of it; but it would do.
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| Veranda east face |
Ian went first. The heat was really getting to us. Where was that freaking storm? Mid route, Ian was having trouble, so the climb was marked incomplete. I was also already feeling drained, but I had no choice but to do it, and remove the placements above. Same story. I got in trouble around the same area where Ian gave up. The holds on the route were too crimpy, and I couldn't rely on my right foot because of the sprain. I had to escape on the right where there "friendlier" holds. By this time I wasn't thinking of quality in my climbing anymore. I just wanted it to be over.
Back on land, we declared ourselves unfit. We drove back with our tails between our legs; tired and defeated, but also happy with the experience. With a sense of urgency, I realized I have a lot of work to do if my dream of Ama Dablam is to become a reality. Sheer will is not enough for such a climb. Muscles will definitely come into play. And I don't have those at the moment.
I look forward to the coming months of training. I take inspiration from climbing god Chris Sharma:
I look forward to the coming months of training. I take inspiration from climbing god Chris Sharma:
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