Mission Cliffs

So I had been really looking forward to going out to mission cliffs. And I did climb better than i probably would have if we had been at Iron works, but i just started the day kind of fried, and i got the results i pretty much expected from being fried. Not only was yesterday a hard hard workout day, but I also had to pick my mom up at the airport @ 1pm so i didn't get to bed until relatively late. Anyway

I started with a 5.8 and climbed it clean; it was a pretty straight forward climb, but I could definitely tell that my limbs were tired.

Next was a 5.9 that I climbed mostly, but not all, clean. There was one take right near the top where the geometry of the way the climb worked was not immediately apparent to me (nor had it been for Katherine who had done the climb before me.) but i muddled my way through it and got to the top.

The next climb i attempted was a 5.10a. I lost count of how many takes it took to get to the top but while it was a bit sloppy and anything but graceful, I did eventually get to the top and without cheating - just a lot of resting. This was actually a really interesting climb and I'd like to try it again sometime when I'm fresher. It started with a fairly significant negative incline, but it didn't get easier once the wall straightened up. Sometimes handholds very clearly want you to use your weight against them in a specific direction, and this climb wanted you to change directions with basically every hand hold. It really made you practice your transitions which is something i can really stand to work on. I frequently try to use my left when i should use my right side just due to the difference in strength and ability.

The last climb i did actually went pretty well. I might have weighted the rope briefly, but I didn't have any takes. it was a 5.9/5.10a. Sometimes they'll put a route together that has two way-points and the route up to the first point is a certain rating, and then if you continue on to the second way-point the route will have - usually one rating higher. So another nearly clean 10a! woo-hoo!

This climb is on a wall that I have always liked and is a corner climb - which are generally my favorite sort of climbs. You get to use a lot of force-in-opposition techniques and you frequently get some really nice places with solid balance to rest (without relying on the rope).

All in all it was a good day. not as good as it might have been if i had been better rested, but fun nevertheless.