Last week a giant crew of Booners and Knoxvillians made their way to Rocktown to herald in the new year. For me, it was a vacation! For Drexel, it was just another day in the life. (Sigh.)
Words cannot describe the pure childlike glee of watching people casually crush their long-time projects like it ain’t no thang. Trey (seen below) walked Sherman Photo Roof V7 the way you can brush your teeth with your eyes closed. It takes a lot of confidence and tenacity to come back to a climb that caused so much heartbreak the previous year (he repeatedly fell off the last move to a jug after doing the crux moves). By now, he could probably do all the moves in his sleep. I think many people would just throw in the towel and say “No way, I’m never touching this rock again!” But not Mr. Ronald Worley the Third. No, not him. This is a shining example of what a positive attitude can do.
Another example would be the tall, indescribable Mr. Ryan. He drove all the way to Rocktown, shivered himself to sleep in his tiny car (scientists are still puzzled how an 8 foot man sleeps inside a 6 foot car), and hiked around in the miserable mistiness. I had assumed everyone who dealt with the elements did so because they were determined to climb. It wasn’t until I had already left that I realized Ryan hadn’t climbed at all! Dealing with a shoulder injury and potentially needing surgery, he came out just because he was so incredibly psyched to hike around outside and cheer on his friends. He never once mentioned his shoulder. He never complained or seemed disgruntled with his lot in life. So HIGH FIVE Ryan. I know plenty of people, including myself, who have let an injury completely crumple their world. They become angry and embittered, slaughtering gallons of ice cream and muttering curses to the rock gods. Or worse, they try to climb through an injury, realize it hurts or is getting worse (no duh), and throw a temper tantrum. So next time you’re griping about your sore fingers, just think, “What Would Ryan Do?” (WWRD).
Another remarkable feat of tenacity was Carson’s return to Big Bad Right V8. Last year he took a bad fall and severely sprained his ankle on this very climb. Today, without even breaking a sweat, he cruised through the powerful moves and did a little dance at the top. Ian, not to be outdone, stole Carson’s beta and sent, riding high on his previous sends of Brown Hole V8 and Triple Threat V9, and then later got way too excited on Price is Right V8. For those of you who haven’t met Ian, first of all, I’m sorry. But he’s one of those annoying guys who can hop off the couch after not climbing for months, casually crush your project, and then tell a really good joke about it that makes you laugh in spite of yourself. Fun fact: he is also really good at dancing with his head pressed against the roof of a car.
My day at Rocktown was a success, despite not sending any new boulders. I was able to stick a difficult move on Sherman Photo that I had never gotten close on previously, and I tickled the top of The Tao V8. Spending a day climbing outside was an excellent motivation to keep training during the week and trying harder to be a weekend warrior. (Definition: a “weekend warrior” is a person with a big-kid job during the week who only gets to go climbing outside on the weekends.)
One of my favorite parts of this trip was taking a group of first-timers to Rocktown and showing them all the fun classics. Macee did her first outdoor v3 on the heart-pumping Mario. Hurray! It’s exciting to watch people overcome challenges regardless of the grade. If you can only congratulate someone on climbing a v12+, you might need to brush up on your invisible ethics of climbing.
After a hard day of climbing, we were all looking forward to stuffing our faces with Mexican food. Everyone knows one of the best perks of Rocktown is eating at Los Guerrero’s afterwards. Alas, it was closed! What were we to do?!?!? In a small town like Lafayette, there’s really not much else except McDonalds. In this small town, I’m sure the sight of six cars driving around an empty parking lot looked pretty suspicious. Luckily we own things called smartphones, which led us to small, off-the-beaten-path chinese buffet down the street. It wasn’t amazing, but it was food, and they had seating for all 12 of us. Right alongside bottomless greasy lo mein and peanut chicken, they also had an entire array of stereotypical American fried foods. With all-you-can-eat ranch dressing. Mmmboy.
When we couldn’t fit any more fried donuts and ice cream in our bellies, we lined up at the register to pay. They must have miscounted our party number, because when the last person was lined up they demanded payment for two. Flustered and unsure of themselves, the person said, “Oh, there’s someone still in the bathroom” and quickly beelined for the door. And as the last car squealed out from the parking lot, a little Chinese lady ran after them, screaming and waving her hands in the air.
Happy 2015.
Speaking of, this is Carson in a morning chalk haze.
Cross-Country Crimpers 