As the seasons begin to change, so has been with my focus. From cold to warm to hot, my thought process has been slowly transforming into rock climbing. It's been weird though...this has definitely been the best year i've had for mixed, but i can feel rock climbing tugging at my sleeve. I've recently begun to learn that within each part of climbing comes a specific need. It's hard to climb strong in mixed and ice, then into the various aspects of rock. Whether trad, sport, bouldering, big wall...they all have their specific needs...and if you want to be a part of them, you need to adhere to their needs.
The art of bouldering has caught my attention as of lately. IT's amazing watching the top sort through these crazy problems filled with stupidly powerful moves. The creativity, the focus, the strength...it's amazing to witness. I'm not there yet, but my goal is to focus on the training side for bouldering...basically to allow me to be a better all around climber. Competing has a way to allow you to learn from others...observing, practicing...just being able to get on some National and World level boulder problems...it really is a great learning curve and experience.
Lately, my friend and I have been developing a new mixed climbing destination. It's actually pretty darn amazing. The routes are just about 30m long and super fun. Anything from M5 WI3 to M9 WI5...wicked. I love it. It's been great to finally give back to the climbing community by putting up new routes. I've always been so focused on climbing, that i'd never put time back into the sport. It's a sense of accomplishement really. Now, we have this canyon full of ice climbs as well as a total of 8 mixed climbs (and lots more on the way). I was actually on the M8+-9 the other day...super fun...13 bolts worth in length and really steep and sustained the whole way...rad! I was at about the 10th bolt when my tool skated off and i went for a big whipper. Initially, as most would, i screamed...but gathering myself all was ok. I'm headed back to this climb tomorrow to send it and put that to rest.
As seasons change, so does your direction. I'm stoked for the upcoming rock season as i have a few projects to get back to. I'm excited to climb hard and send some difficult routes. I'm learning and loving it. Everything is an experience...it just depends how you use it for your "next time".
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