Sunday, September 12

Kryptonite

Setting goals is really quite a beautiful process. It's essentially a method of bringing our dreams into our reality. After a few rounds of setting seemingly impossible goals, only to see them to fruition through hard work, anyone would be addicted to the process. A worthy goal should be one beyond reach - one that will require growth to access. In the case of 'Kryptonite', it would be years between my first dreams of climbing it, and actually being remotely capable.

A number of years ago, while training for my first 13d, I built a campus board in my parents garage. I dragged an old cushion from a patio chair underneath my feet and I cranked laps on those dusty Metolius rungs til my fingers gave up. On that campus board I inscribed '9a or bust' and dreamt of one day achieving such an astonishing difficulty. Obsessed with Tommy Caldwell and his achievements, I decided then that I would one day make Kryptonite my first 9a (and I even remember thinking to myself.. 'if I actually do that one day, I would just toss in the towel.. call it good.. that's how psyched I'd be').

Superman = not psyched
Today was my 5th day working on Kryptonite. My dad and I left Boulder late morning and arrived to a hot and sunny trailhead several hours later. I plugged in my headphones, and cranked out the 45 min hike with swirling thoughts of excitement, nervousness, beta, stress and all the other random things that pop up when you're too psyched on a project to remain still. It was quite hot. I was worried, but also confident.

I warmed up on the bottom of Kryptonite twice, lowered down, and took a 15 minute snack break (PBJ on millet bread if you were curious). I cranked my Solutions over my still busted up feet (I managed to semi-seriously hurt myself at a water park a couple weekends back), yanked my kneepad on and reviewed my beta. Once I left the ground, any nervousness, stress or anxiety dissolved.. I drew my attention to only my next move.. rest.. move.. rest.. move.... clip anchors.
It went just like I wanted it to- perfectly. Every movement, rest sequence, foot placement and clip was executed in the very same way that I had been dreaming about. It was as though I had just rehearsed the route in my head, move for move, but this time the emotion of victory was real. This achievement represents an important breakthrough for me and I hope that it's just a stepping stone to whatever may come next.. A whisper of a goal from years ago, became realistic, and then was accomplished. I could not be more stoked!!
the season here is brutal.. everyday the sun crept lower in the sky
Kryptonite contains a very long stretch of consistently powerful climbing. It's similar in nature to Rifle's 'Living in Fear', but far more bouldery and much longer. A number of the sequences required special attention being in that I'm short, although thankfully I did find a very favorable method through the exiting crux that I imagine the taller climber could not use. I do not feel as though it suits my strengths, although I've grown as a climber so much over the past couple years that I'm not totally sure what my strengths are any more. It's one of the better climbs I've done, and it's certainly the hardest.

I'd like to extend a sincere thanks to my Dad, the best climbing partner I've ever had, for the many times (not just recently) that he's skipped a meeting, cut out early and busted his ass to give me a belay and support me. I'd also like to thank my good friends ( / employers) at the Boulder Rock Club for putting up with my frantic work schedule rearrangement over the past ten days while I tried to maximize my days at the Fortress.
I'm considerably more psyched than I appear here
I hope that I can share my excitement about this breakthrough with my community, and most importantly- inspire YOU! to crush whatever may lay in your path!!!!!