the first moment I grabbed hold of this super smooth and beautiful route, I knew instantly… I knew that this route would be one of my summer routes to thrash on, work hard on, and love every minute of it, and after a few weeks of working out the moves, I nabbed the SEND! Saturday was a such a glorious day… so sweet and it felt so good.
this pretty route has challenged me as a climber in more ways than one. in fact, probably more than any other climb to date. it has not only made me a stronger climber — physically and mentally, but it reminds me of why i love to climb. this climb, named sweet n’ sour by us, because we couldn’t stand to leave it as an ‘Unknown’ — is short, sweet and stout. very pumpy and sustained climbing, as you may be able to spot in Ethan’s rad video below. On another note: what a guy — belayed me, was super supportive, and even captured some sweet video shots to create the spunky video. thanks, e! sooo.. on to share the PSYCH! I was so incredibly focused and stoked to lace up and get back on my route on Saturday, that I did just that! first climb of the day and here’s how it went — the first two bolts are relaxed and relatively easy to clip. the first pumpy crux falls between the third and forth bolt. after clipping the third bolt and still feeling pretty relaxed, I made my way up some overhanging-slopey side-pulls to bolt number four. bolt four is slightly awkward to clip and very pumpy. (its the kind of pump that starts at the beginning of the route and lasts the whole way through). my hands are still on some slopey side-pulls and my feet are awkwardly dangling below. once I clipped the fourth bolt, I pushed through the pump and overcame some other slopey, vertical holds to a small layback side-pull; just good enough to catch my breath and regain some strength. from there, a stacked two finger pocket with my right hand and crazy pinch with my left hand allowed me to catch a slanted crimp with my right. I then lunged for a smooth, sloping shelf where I was able to clip the next bolt and compose myself before the anchors. during this time, my feet were also on some small, smooth holds, just big enough for the tip of my large toe to rest. once I clipped the last bolt, my final move was to perch myself on an awkwardly nice ledge, where I rested briefly, and eventually placed my chalky fingers into a decent lay-back crack, walking my feet slowly up the slick rock.. YEAH! I clipped the anchors!!
sweet ‘n sour. 5.11b. a beautiful and challenging route that reminds me of why i love to climb — the focus and challenge, the commitment, the psych and sharing the climbing love with friends, and last, but definitely not least, the love for the sport.
so, so awesome. please enjoy rad video below.
keep up the psych,
robyn
Sweet ‘n Sour from maowcakes on Vimeo.