Just Like Lucas
Kenway and I left Manhattan at 6:30 to pick up a tired Miss Pssst in New Rochelle (the reason being that she had seen the Indigo Girls the night before). It was smooth sailing from there to the Gunks (after a quick stop at TRC to get pants... go figure).
It was a beautiful day and there were not too many climbers, which allowed us to warm up on High E (5.6 G, two pitches). Miss Pssst lead the long first pitch, followed by Kenway and I. I then lead the second pitch, and although it wasn't pretty and took forever, I managed to pull through and do it. Miss Pssst lead with the gear in place, but then had to move a few pieces around because their placement was not great. BTW she took a rest with a knee bar somewhere in this pitch, all I have to say is: wow! Kenway followed and then we all rapped down.
The hold is... right... there...
Got it! Now comes the exposure...
After eating a bit of trail mix, we headed towards Ants line (5.9 G, 1 pitch 80 feet), something we had discussed in the car and which made Miss Pssst say that I was just like Lucas (a kid who climbs at TRC): a moron. Apparently Lucas, after barely getting to the top of his first 5.11, and just learning to lead, asked if he could lead that 11 he had recently top roped. So Kenway attacked the route first, and with great maestria (or mastery as you would say) lead the first half placing only impeccable pro while fighting the burning calfs (since this route involves heavy stemming). He came down, leaving the gear in place. I went up to the point he had stopped at, replaced his last piece which was the only one that wasn't perfect, and then started climbing, one clip at a time, sitting for long periods on each piece as I tried to fight the pump. Despite the lack of style, I made it to the top. Miss Pssst made a beautiful pink point of the route, making it look easy, and graceful, as usual. Kenway climbed it again, on TR, to clean the gear.
By then it was 4 and we started packing our stuff. We dropped off Miss Pssst at TRC at 7, then rolled into town a little before 8. This was followed by the Metrics show at Terminal 5 for me (great sold out show).
Great day for morons, and for others (I think). I'll let Kenway add the pics (if he has time before Vegas) [edit - full set of photos here].
Some memorable quotes:
Friction doesn't need roughness.
How come don't you.
You know the guy is good when he climbs in his PJs.
Your nut is in my way.
Fuck.
5 comments:
Nice! The weather gods sure were smiling on you yesterday!!!
Good to know you can time travel when you need to.
You know the way Guillaume drives is enough to warp space-time, don't you Brian?
It was a good day, the weather was cool enough to be enjoyable but not too cold. Lots of water runoff in places though, esp in the corner system at the bottom of the 1st pitch of High E. Nothing you couldn't work around. Ms. Psst's kneebar was right after the move, once she latched the handholds on the face and got her body around - looked pretty comfortable, though I could not for the life of me replicate it once I got to the same spot. Nice lead on that pitch, G.
Ant's Line was classic, and I'd definitely like another go at it clean. Veeery stemmy, but kind of endurano-pumpy by the end. Protection's bomber, though. I very much like the idea of harder short, single-pitch trad leads.
I wish I could time travel! I corrected my mistake. (You see Kenway, I can admit I was wrong!)
Maestria sounds a lot like a medical condition, doesn't it?
BTW, uploading photos now to Flickr, I'll post some of the better ones here...
I just noticed the new quotes of the day that were added. "Fuck" is my favorite, but I still can't believe I said it.
If you remember French a little, you can read this http://fr.wiktionary.org/wiki/maestria
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