some scattered thoughts
Finally starting to feel better today, looks like the worst of my cold has passed, which is good as I have work and bouldering league tomorrow. I have even managed to skip the whole coughing horribly state that Nicole has been plagued by for the past few days. Weekend has been pretty tame other than that, not much going on really. The halloween party on Friday night was a great time, got to see some people that I don't get to see often enough these days, and other than the cold draining my energy it was a good time. Oh, and since my costume idea fell apart, Mike dressed me up as a Mountie! Tim and Lex were over last night and we played Tak, a new PS2 game, which was pretty good, and was overall a nice relaxing night. Of course, the inclusion of chocolate cake and tea helped as well....
/climbing (This is your warning Lisa, the following will pertain to thoughts on climbing, read at your own peril! ;) )
For those curious, the above is due to Lisa's belief that I post too much about climbing, and while I can't really argue, it is unlikely to change! With my recent exposure into the realm of leading, as well as a discussion going on on the CNS (Climb Nova Scotia) web-based discussion board, I have been putting a lot of thought into leading both sport and trad and what direction I see my climbing going in the next few years. While the prospect of trad still in many ways terrifies me, I am coming to see it's appeal, and perhaps the beginning of a desire to try it. Rest assured not anytime soon, and not without a long apprenticeship in the trade seconding an experienced leader, but even still this is a marked change from my views of even a few weeks ago. I am still primarily interested in bouldering and leading sport climbs in the foreseeable future, but I have a feeling that at least at some point I will take up one of the three or four offers I have to second a trad leader and see what it is all about.
This all leads into my final thought on climbing for the weekend, mainly the craziness that is big-wall or multi-pitch climbing. I was browsing through the climbing section of the library when I came across a book called Rock Jocks, Wall Rats and Hang Dogs: Rock Climbing on the Edge of Reality by John Long. Long is a world famous climber and this book details his early career, mainly his time spent in Yosemite in the 70's, which at the time was the center of climbing in the world. The accounts of what it was like to be there during the turning of an age and be involved in the climbing of such gigantic walls (4000 some odd feet) was amazing. The thought of hanging off of anything 300 feet up and belaying someone scares me silly, much less the idea of spending 12 days getting to the top, sleeping or trying to, and this is without even considering the brutality of the climbing itself. All in all the book was an eye-opener as it gave an insiders view of what this sort of climbing is all about, and in many ways what all types of climbing should be about. The perspective on the mind-set and the purity that should go along with climbing was truly enlightening, and in no small part I would say is responsible for the change in my views on trad that I expressed above. I must say that while I did no actual climbing this weekend, it has been quite the weekend for my growth as a climber.
/climbing (This is your warning Lisa, the following will pertain to thoughts on climbing, read at your own peril! ;) )
For those curious, the above is due to Lisa's belief that I post too much about climbing, and while I can't really argue, it is unlikely to change! With my recent exposure into the realm of leading, as well as a discussion going on on the CNS (Climb Nova Scotia) web-based discussion board, I have been putting a lot of thought into leading both sport and trad and what direction I see my climbing going in the next few years. While the prospect of trad still in many ways terrifies me, I am coming to see it's appeal, and perhaps the beginning of a desire to try it. Rest assured not anytime soon, and not without a long apprenticeship in the trade seconding an experienced leader, but even still this is a marked change from my views of even a few weeks ago. I am still primarily interested in bouldering and leading sport climbs in the foreseeable future, but I have a feeling that at least at some point I will take up one of the three or four offers I have to second a trad leader and see what it is all about.
This all leads into my final thought on climbing for the weekend, mainly the craziness that is big-wall or multi-pitch climbing. I was browsing through the climbing section of the library when I came across a book called Rock Jocks, Wall Rats and Hang Dogs: Rock Climbing on the Edge of Reality by John Long. Long is a world famous climber and this book details his early career, mainly his time spent in Yosemite in the 70's, which at the time was the center of climbing in the world. The accounts of what it was like to be there during the turning of an age and be involved in the climbing of such gigantic walls (4000 some odd feet) was amazing. The thought of hanging off of anything 300 feet up and belaying someone scares me silly, much less the idea of spending 12 days getting to the top, sleeping or trying to, and this is without even considering the brutality of the climbing itself. All in all the book was an eye-opener as it gave an insiders view of what this sort of climbing is all about, and in many ways what all types of climbing should be about. The perspective on the mind-set and the purity that should go along with climbing was truly enlightening, and in no small part I would say is responsible for the change in my views on trad that I expressed above. I must say that while I did no actual climbing this weekend, it has been quite the weekend for my growth as a climber.