I Got Served

Shawn on 'Flatline'

On Sunday I received a thorough beat down at able hands (so to speak) of the Yosemite boulders.

The weather was not supposed to provide ideal sending conditions so I decided to forgo a session on 'Yabo' in favor of spending more time actually climbing with my friends. First on the list was Paul's new problem 'Plurality'. I haven't been spanked like this since I paid for it in Denmark (don't worry I've only been to Italy). Time after time I would try beta preferred by the less flexible fools in our posse and the first ascentionist. Finally, I listened to the suggestion of Mr. Newman and tried some previously untested beta. It worked first go. Humble pie tastes soooo good.

Next, several of the more foolish of our group decided to tape up and try the roof crack 'Ceder Crack'. Three attempts and a lot of skin loss later I was out of breath, had road rash on my back and forearms, and lay crumpled in the dirt not on top of the boulder. Tail firmly tucked between my legs at this point.

Finally, we headed up to Candyland so people could have a crack at the perfect corner problem 'Once Upon A Time'. I've done this many times before so my confidence wasn't boosted much when I did the problem without much effort. After everyone had had their turn I decided to try 'Happily Ever After', a tall arete just to the right of the corner. I've tried this problem on a number of occations but never had any success doing the jump move to the pocket. Apparently the boulders decided to take pity on me and I stuck the move second try, and without my feet cutting!

So, any lessons learned? Maybe, hopefully, probably not. I'm a stubborn bastard afterall.