September 15, 2005 - Open Projects and Closed Chapters

Yesterday was eventful. It was spent at a crag at Red Rocks called the Pier, home of some challenging climbs. 5.12 has always been at the limit of climbing ability (at best…walking down the street is tough at worst) and the Pier is full of them. Trang, Edison and I all had a climb called Geometric Progression on our minds. My first climb was an “easier” 5.12 with a name to which I am not privy. The rest of the day was spent wrestling with “Geo Metro”. In the end, some helpful climbers pointed out a new sequence for me to try. After slamming my head against a wall doing trying to do the powerful sequence, I tried the alternate and found it much more to my liking. I still couldn’t climb it clean. Edison, of course, successfully climbed it on lead the “powerful” way. Trang found success with her own 5-foot-tall variation and was able to do the climb on toprope. Watching them each climb the route utilizing their individual strengths was inspiring. I’ll make another appointment with this climb.

It has become somewhat of a tradition to go out for some Pho on the last day of our trips. I’m not sure how this came to be but I surely don’t mind since a bowl of Pho brings warmth to my belly and soul. It’s always tough when the end of a trip is reached. It’s time for good-byes and I’m pretty bad at them. So, I prefer see-ya-later’s. Trang and Doug have been incredible hosts to Edison and Me…once again.