My Return

After a four-month hiatus, I have made my return to climbing.

Kind of.

Sort of.

Well… I’m working on it.

Star was cold so she put my vest on

If you’ve wondered where I’ve been between Squamish (August) and now, (aka prime Fall climbing season…) the answer is that I made a foray into the working world.  Yes, I, Laura Patton, got a job.  Not just any job, but a real, big girl job, that required me to dress nicely and work for eight hours at a time.  Aside from allowing me to go into the grocery store on a semi-regular basis and pick out the food I really wanted rather than getting whatever was the cheapest, all it did was reaffirm that the working world is not for me.  Between working 30 hours a week, going to school full time, and writing my senior project, the only free time I had left was 20 minutes before bed each night when I would sit on the couch and despair about the dismal turn my life had taken.  When I was applying for jobs I told myself that I could sacrifice climbing for six months in order to save money, but it quickly became apparent that that wasn’t true.  Sacrificing climbing was like sacrificing happiness, and that is for sure, one thing that I can’t live without. 

Promptly after leaving my job, Eric and I packed up the car and headed for Bishop.  It immediately become clear that not climbing/doing any physical activity for four months doesn’t do wonders for your climbing skills.  Fortunately, I was able to push all my old projects out of my head, and focus on trying climbs at my current ability (aka everyone’s warm-ups).  I really did enjoy going back to a bunch of classic V1’s, 2’s, and 3’s, trying hard, and sending them.  At night, when I got into the tent under a beautiful night sky full of bright stars, surrounded by the Eastern Sierras, I thought to myself, “this is where I belong,” and drifted peacefully off to sleep.

Can't beat that psych!

On the opposite end of the spectrum from me and my re-attained noob status, lies my roommate Alex.  In the last year, he has experienced a meteoric rise to boulder crusher extraordinaire.  Psych leaks from his pores and permeates everything around him.  On this same trip to Bishop, he sent his first V12 (SECOND ascent of Rastaman Vibration… very epic, look it up!), then his second V12, Aquarium, and ticked off several 11’s including Xavier’s Roof, a classic 10, Center Direct, and countless other problems.  Props!  Eric was also feeling the psych and during our pre and post Christmas Bishop trips he sent several longtime projects including Cholos V9, Fall Guy V9, and Sharma Scoop V8. Solid work guys!

Fall Guy V9

 So, back to my return to climbing.  So far in this post, I’ve gone on two climbing trips (Bishop before Christmas and again after).  I wouldn’t say I climbed a ton, but I did get back out there and try some problems, which felt great.  After that, winter break was over.  Fortunately, my rigorous academic schedule this quarter includes four hours of class on Tuesday and another four on Thursday.  And that’s all.  After my first “week” back at school we headed to Joshua Tree. 

So much for winter weather

Sharma Scoop V8 by headlamp

J-Tree is traditionally one of my FAVORITE places to climb.  I love single pitch trad climbing for its accessibility and simplicity.  We arrived after dark on a Friday night and the whole campground was lit up by an almost full moon.  I jumped out of the car, grabbed my harness and said, “let’s go climbing!”  Eric didn’t take much convincing and we had a fun moonlight guided climb up Toe Jam.  We filled the rest of the weekend with classic moderates like Sail Away, Illusion Dweller, Double Cross, Overhang Bypass and Rib Pinch.  The wind picked up and it got cold, but it felt so good to place gear, and even better to feel solid hand jams.  Such a delight!

Apparently this is the only picture I took in Joshua Tree

 That brings us to three climbing trips in three consecutive weeks.  Sounds like I’m back to my old self, at least statistically speaking.  Still, I know that I’m not quite there yet.  It still doesn’t feel quite right.

Yup, planking on Chacos

I think about previous breaks I’ve taken from climbing and my subsequent returns to the sport.  The first big break I took was about a year after I started climbing when I went to Honduras for six weeks.  Terrified of forgetting my newly acquired skills, I tied little figure 8’s out of twine while I swung in the hammock.  In the mornings I would do planks and push-ups on the concrete floor of my little room, where the crickets and scorpions crawled.  My roommate, Isa, would join me, and our host family would look in inquisitively, wondering what on earth we could be doing. 

Upon returning to the states, my climbing partner, Kelsey, who had just spent eight weeks in Nicaragua, and I tentatively took to the gym.  It was hilarious how awkward we felt on the wall.  We even began climbing at 6 AM before school started so we didn’t have to be embarrassed by a gym full of onlookers who kept asking, “what happened to you guys?”  Soon enough however, we returned to our old selves, climbing after school for four, five, or six hours at a time, doing laps in the lead cave, and eating doughnuts between burns.  We were definitely back. 

Keeping after it in Peru

My second long break came after another trip to Latin America, this time nine weeks in Peru, Chile, and Argentina.  On this trip, I didn’t worry too much, buildered occasionally, told myself breaks were good and that they made you stronger in the long run.  After that trip, Chelsea and I took our climbing into high gear, going out essentially every weekend of the next three quarters, alternating between Yosemite, Joshua Tree, Tahoe, and Bishop.  Immediately following school, we moved to Tahoe, climbed everyday, and then took fall quarter off from school, moved into the car, and either drove somewhere awesome or climbed everyday for the next three and a half months.  No question about it, we were back.

Based on these previous experiences, I have faith that soon I shall be back at it in full force, both physically and mentally.  And I can’t wait! (Although it looks like winter might actually be ready to start soon.)  Now to work up enough psych to go the gym…