Daniel on "Thieves" (5.13a)
Photo courtesy of
Shannon MacKenzie & Amanda Woods
Hello all,
Been busy adjusting to my new job, but we have had time to get outside and climb -- namely at Rifle. We just got back from three days of climbing where Daniel and Amanda (and I) had some success worth noting. Daniel, after just turning 13 years-old, is now "officially" a 5.13 climber. On Saturday, he redpointed "Cantina Boy" (5.13b) -- his first 5.13 outdoors! Then, just before we left to go home on Sunday, Daniel got an urge to try "Chud" (5.13a), and he sent it in one try. However, it goes down as a redpoint because he had been on it once back in June.
Daniel had a number of successes the trip before this one too, including a 5.12d redpoint of "Hand Me the Canteen Boy", a 5.12c flash of "Handy Boy", a 5.12b flash of "Right El Sapper", and a 5.12a on-sight of "Head Full of Lead". He worked on two 5.13a routes, "The Beast" and "Thieves", that were just mental, and he should get those first try next trip. His next big goal is "Dumpster Barbeque" (5.13c). All of this, on the heels of winning USCCA Nationals, and getting a gear sponsorship from LaSportiva, has really motivated him to climb hard.
Amanda is now on the Junior Climbing Team and is really doing well, leading 5.11 in the gym. She completed her first sport route in July on toprope in Clear Creek Canyon called "Merthmobile" (5.10b), so I bought her "Wayne's World" for her accomplishment. ;-) Out at Rifle, she is finally tall enough to work through some of the 5.10s, and now has a couple of projects there. It was a big accomplishment for her to toprope three routes, "PMS" (5.10c), an unnamed route next to "PMS" (5.10b), "Hot Potato" (5.9), and actually work her way to the top of them. She wants to redpoint "Hot Potato" the next time we go. (The 5.8s and 5.9s at Rifle feel like 5.10 to me!)
I gave up on my 5.11d project of two years, "Choss Family Robinson", after getting a new high-point on it this time. However, I now have a new project that suits my style of climbing called "Astro Glide" (5.12c). Daniel sent it in two tries on Sunday, and it looks to me like a steep, hard boulder problem, followed by a relatively easy hike up 5.10 holds. It's right next to "Dumpster Barbeque", so it will be convenient for both of us to work on our projects there. I had my best flash on Friday of "Tijuana Crack Whore" (5.10c) that would have been a true on-sight (even placing the draws) except for some valuable "beta" that Daniel shouted out to me at the crux moves. ;-)
Hope everyone is doing well!
Best regards,
Steve
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