After a successful trip to Cheakamous a couple weeks back, the desire to get back out there is strong. The light is still with us until late, so we are off to Area 44 with the youngster in the back seat. This promises to be exciting, as the rock on Preview is higher than anything she has climbed before.
Not everybody is properly prepared, I have my flip flops for the hike in, and the young lady neglected to bring water. Sigh. Brave souls that we are we make it down to the crag without incident and are quickly setting up to take down a solid 5.6.
An easy lead, it's HOT once up onto the rock that has been exposed to the sun for the whole 30+ degree day, but certainly not unpleasant. It's a great day for climbing, and there's not a single soul here right now. Simply marvelous.
The kid is up next and she's handling everything quite nicely. There are a couple of smoother spots on this climb, and she has to work through it, but she makes it up after working really, really hard. The kid is sweating like an animal. Good job getting up all the way. Lowering off is hard for her at the best of times, and this is a pretty awkward climb. Added to the height, she does an admirable job on the downward journey.
The Heather takes a turn to practice her magic, and then I run the climb one more go and move the anchor over. Time is getting short so I set up a top rope anchor so the kid can get another hit in before we lose the sun.
This one's a 5.7 or 5.8, the kid takes the 5.7 option, and makes it feel her wrath. She moves very well, not lacking confidence, most of the time. She makes very impressive moves, and uses her dad's long, long reach effectively to reach the spots she needs. I'm really proud of the determination that she shows when moving up a tough climb. I hope that attitude finds it's way to her real life.
A brief afternoon of fun is over, and we make our way back to the car in the failing daylight. I'm pretty lucky to have a pair of ready to roll climbing partners. This is truly a wonderful thing.
No comments:
Post a Comment