On this particular week Lukas' caretaker was on vacation and we
wanted to take advantage of our precious few vacation days. I was tired of the oppressive heat, hiking,
and yellow jackets plaguing us at Crowder’s. After an encouraging post from a fellow
climbing mama mentioning beautiful climbing, short approaches, and watering holes, I decided Obed was the place to go. Thursday afternoon we packed up and headed
to Tennessee in the pouring down rain.
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| Nothing like a nap in the rain |
It continued to rain Friday but we ventured out and hoped for the best under
the roofs at Lilly Bluff. The peaceful,
quiet, rainy day was a bit boring for the boys, but thankfully there were a few
frogs to keep them company.
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| Thank you TINY frogs for being our pets at Lilly Bluffs! |
We starting the day warming up on Rocking Chair. It was a fun warm up and Noah made it to the top!
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| Noah cleaning draws on Rocking Chair 5.9 |
I'd gotten pretty excited reading about a route called Heresy (5.11c) with a beautiful face followed by a massive roof. Not only was it harder than anything I’d led outside before, but I'd never done anything like it. I probably shouldn't start climbing trips with the hardest routes, but common sense usually loses to my own excitement and enthusiasm. One of these days I'll learn my lesson... With the rain there weren't a lot of other choices, so I had a good excuse to go ahead and try it. It begins with a bouldery start, followed by a beautiful
face climb containing the crux, and ends with some big, juggy, heady roof action. The face contains the harder moves while the
roof is more straightforward.
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| Heresy 5.11c |
I was surprised
to breeze right through the boulder start and found myself heading into the crux. The feet are almost nonexistent and the
handholds are small, oddly angled, and tricky.
I hung at this point but I worked through it pretty easily and then continued setting the
face draws. After resting in the chimney
before the roof, I worked my way out and up. Those first few movements onto the roof are exhilarating (and it's very easy to look down!), but I focused on finding the best holds and working my
feet. My feet were clenching the roof so hard that my calves
cramped up - not usually the muscles that I have trouble with when
climbing! Since there was no chance of
an onsight, I took a break about midway through the roof. Once back on, I made my way out to the last hold before the
anchor chain, but it seemed miles away. Once I
swung my feet out left though, I was able to wedge my foot in and clip the anchor chain! The Heresy roof might not be
technically hard, but it’s hard work and it’s BIG!!!! I felt SO whipped afterwards but so
happy.
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| Jason on Heresy roof |
We decided to try to get one more
route in for the day, so we perused the guidebook looking for something easier that was also dry. Although I had been warned that there was an erroneous picture of Tarantella in
the guide, I didn’t know which of the two pictures was wrong. After some time consuming shenanigans with a big stick,
I found myself climbing a dirty dead end (also known as Electric Sky 12a). The real Tarantella was soaking wet so we were back to square one. With waning energy we decided
Whippersnapper (5.11a) next door, though not as easy as I would have liked, would have
to do.
The route was LONG with several mini-roofs. Any other time I’m sure I
would have enjoyed it immensely, but I wasn’t too happy with all the rests I
was taking to get enough energy to plow through each roof. I definitely hope to get on it again.
On Saturday we woke up to gorgeous skies and
perfect temperatures. We finally got to
meet fellow climbing mama Noell, her husband Craig, their daughter Riley, and their friend
Jess. We started out on Ticks are for Kids (5.10a) and Paraphernalia (5.10b/c). It was a nice change to finally snag some onsights. Next I tried a route the locals call Beach Ball and the guidebook calls Poison Ivy (5.11a). I cruised through the bouldery start until a missed foot at the crux
(glaringly obvious on second go) tripped me up. Still, I was happy to tick the redpoint on the second go. Throughout the day, I enjoyed watching Noell and Jess on Egyptian (5.11d), Craig on La Familia (5.12b/c), and a fellow female climber working Body Hammer (5.12b) - it was definitely hammering!
To end the day, I decided to try Osiris (5.11c). It's very beta intensive and probably the most technically
difficult climb I've done to date. I tried to climb it as cleanly as possible and follow my goal to "FALL TRYING!"
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| Osiris (5.11c) |
It was
my last route of the day
so I wasn't fully charged, but there were several committing
moves that I
went for and stuck! One moment that will always stand out in my mind
is going aggressively and dynamically for an out of reach hold, slapping my freshly chalked
hand on the hold, and watching the chalk dust rise as my hand latched on securely. I got another big bloody flapper, but it felt so good to get that move and
finish the route that I could care less. It's another fantastic route on the list for my next visit to Obed.
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| Osiris Pre- and Post-Slap |
Sunday was another beautiful day. Since we had to drive home after climbing, we headed to Lilly Bluffs again for the short approach, familiarity, and of course another attempt at Heresy. and thought, "This is it! I can redpoint this thing!" Unfortunately I missed a an easy jug and fell. I think this is the most heartbroken I'd ever felt on a route because I had wasted precious strength, energy, and time making stupid mistakes.
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| Heading into Heresy crux |
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| Comparing battle wounds |
Every time I think about clipping the
chain, I think, "I should have just clipped as soon as I got my foot
left!" But, if I fell clipping without trying to get more secure, I'd
probably beat myself up for that. After touching the ground, I learned about the rope issue, and got a great suggestion to
skip the second permadraw to save some energy next time I try to redpoint.
We didn't get home until after 10 pm, but I'm thankful that I got the chance to climb Heresy cleanly other than clipping the chain. Heresy is MINE for the ticking next time in Obed!
This trip was a turning point in many ways. I led everything and top roped nothing. I led harder and with more confidence outside. We learned how to stick clip up instead of bailing on a difficult section. We learned new safety tips and how to better lead belay with a GriGri. It was the first time we'd climbed with just the 4 of us and it was successful. We still might not get in tons of routes each trip, but it's a sweet feeling knowing we have the freedom to get out there and climb on a whim!
