Climbing Goddess

I realize that the title of this entry is a tad bit narcissistic. I harbor no delusions about the impressiveness of my climbing skills, which are most aptly characterized as ‘above average’. However, this past week in Durango resulted in the best climbing I have done in ages – if not ever – and I can’t help but feel a little bit like a goddess. So please, just let me bask in my personal glow…

When I first started climbing about 4 years ago, I went to Horseshoe Canyon Ranch in Arkansas, where I met another climber named Lucas. We only ran into each other a few times before he moved to Colorado. Then, a week or so ago, Lucas saw that we were crossing into Colorado and invited us down to his cabin in Durango.

Having a local friend meant that we felt less socially isolated and also had a tour guide to show us the best places for hiking and climbing. We spent our days climbing and our evenings eating, chatting, doing jigsaw puzzles, and watching me win at Settlers of Catan despite never having played before (I figure I have to keep with the narcissistic theme of this post).

Our first few days saw lots of rain. Colorado has been having an unusually rainy season where thunderstorms hit nearly every afternoon, but the weather is great the rest of the time. Eventually – despite more rain predictions – we decided to hit up the Lemon Reservoir to climb. Naturally, it started pouring just as we got to the wall. Lucas insisted that we should wait it out, but John and I were skeptical. In Austin, a rainy day means climbing is a no-go for another day or two while you wait for the rock to dry; the idea of climbing immediately after rain seemed downright nuts. Yet we huddled under a tree for more than an hour before the drops stopped falling and the sun came out. And lo-and-behold, most of the climbs were dry within 30 minutes! Lucas convinced me to try climbs way out of skill range, and I was able to do a large portion of each one.

Me climbing a 12a at Lemon Reservoir

The next day, we hit up the other side of the Lemon Reservoir under similar conditions. After the rain – and all the other climbers – cleared out, we got in some tremendous climbing. I climbed both an 11a and an 11b CLEAN – a feat I have only accomplished a few times ever, and those were on climbs that I had done many times. Additionally, a stronger storm blew through while I was on the 11a, turning to hail as I struggled to finish the climb as drops hit my eyes and my feet were slipping on the wet rock.

Lucas climbing at Lemon Reservoir

After Lemon Reservoir, we then hit up East Animas – a collection of spectacular sandstone climbs up at the top of a steep hike. Again, I surprised myself by climbing an 11a clean, and getting up an 11b and c with only a few takes.

Not only was I conquering climbs that were incredibly challenging for me, but these climbs were tall. Just a week ago, I had a spectacular freak-out on a similarly tall climb at Rifle Mountain Park. Keeping my head together while performing difficult moves on a tall route is one hell of an accomplishment for me. Let’s just hope that I can keep this streak going.