On the coldest of the last 10 days, Jenny and I decided we were ready for some rock climbing outside. We naturally sought out the coldest possible crag…Canal Zone. In the parking lot, we felt the shady side of a boulder (as a sample of what the crag would be like) to see if climbing was possible. Off to the crag!
It turned out to be *much* colder than our sample. Oh well, Geronimo!
In short order, we were standing at the base of Made In The Shade (5.9) discussing rope management. We didn’t know there were a set of lower anchors for 60 meter ropes, so I had brought two ropes. We went over the sequence of events, prior to Jenny’s lead.
She would go up to the anchor. Clip the rope into the anchor, then herself, then tell me to take her off belay. Then, she would pull up the slack and put me on belay…It’s a lot to digest, if it’s one’s first time!
Jenny had been on the route before, so she took off for the redpoint. And, redpoint she earned!
As I followed, my fingers turned into icicles and I could no longer feel anything from the wrist down. I think it was around 40 dF with a slight breeze…I went as fast as I could, but I had to stop to warm the digits.
Jenny was shivering at the anchors. I’m happy that she got the experience of belaying a follower from the top of a pitch, but it was definitely cold up there!
Here’s a picture looking down from the lower anchors. I went over the basics of joining two ropes, and showed her a few tricks for managing the ropes.
We were both frozen climbergirls after MITS, so we headed over to Levada (5.8). The belayer would be in the sun with this climb, so we warmed up and soaked in the rays.
I launched upward, making the first few clips with no problem. Then, I got to a crux. I could go left to a blank looking arete (the best way in terms of safety), or right into a chossy chalked up gully. I decided to go right (doh!).
I had a bit of trouble reaching the bolt, so I plugged in a little grey alien. The protection gave me the courage to make the move, and then the crux was over. The rest of the route was okay, and I protected the 20 feet run-out to the anchors with a green alien (fit perfectly in a little seam).
We rapped off Levada and then went to the gym, to climb in warmth.
We were tired of the constant teeth chattering as well as the presence of a small group of obnoxious dudes who were gracious enough to show up just as the crag was warming up. They were drinking beer, shouting really loud, and allowing their dogs to walk all over our rope. Totally inexcusable behavior.
The 2 hour session at the gym was an excellent way to finish the day. Can’t wait for warmer weather!