Seneca Details

Ok, so the day started out really early. We were up by 6:30am, breakfast done by 7:30am and on our way to the trail by 8am. It took us about 40 minutes to get to the base of the climb, that was quite a hike. I've hiked Seneca before, but seriously, I'm so much fatter now that I had a really hard time. Anyways, we finally made it to the base of Old Ladys Route, 5.2. We get our gear ready and I believe Steve began leading around 9:30am. There were 3 of us climbing together, Steve lead, I followed and then Scott cleaned. I didn't want to be the last person, nor did I want to have to take out all the gear. So Scott followed on a second rope, and as I passed each piece of gear I would unclip the rope with me & Steve and would clip the rope with me & Scott. It worked out well, I got to practice my clipping :)

Ok, so I made it up the first pitch, no real problems. It was really ledgy and I felt pretty good. At the top there was a small area for me to hang out while Steve belayed Scott up the first pitch and collected the gear. Scott made it pretty quickly and then I began belaying Steve through the second pitch. This particular pitch is mostly a traverse to the right for about 75 feet. There are good ledges and everything, but the first 10 feet are super exposed. It was a little intimidating, but I was able to get through without too much trouble. When I reached the end of the 2nd pitch I took a rest, removed my shoes and enjoyed some shade. My feet were getting so hot from the sun, I thought they were on fire. Later that night I noticed that the nail polish on both my big toes had actually started to melt!!!

Second pitch down, Scott met us in the shade and now we are on to the 3rd pitch. This is a slight traverse to the right and then climb up through a bit of a chimney to reach the rappel area known as Traffic Jam. This third pitch was a little tougher, and by far the best of the three as far as the climbing aspect was concerned. I really enjoyed it! I reached the top and rested again while Steve belayed up Scott. I think by this time it is approximately 1:30pm. Did I mention that we did not bring food with us during the climb? Yeah, not smart.

Once we were all at the top of the third pitch we made our way across the "fourth pitch" which really is just the trail up to the summit, although I had to have steve put me on belay over this one V0 move that I was too afraid to do without a rope. Then we got to the base of the summit. Scott and I both looked at each other and said "hell no." There was no way I was climbing that without a rope, an achor and being on belay. So, Steve being the willing party, climbed up, placed a piece of gear for directional and then setup an anchor in order to belay myself and Scott. Finally, we made it!!! It was a beautiful day and I was so glad that I didn't give up. We spent a little time there, had a victory smoke with Scott and then made our way down to Traffic Jam for our final descent.

My experience with rappelling is minimal of course, and the highest rappel I've done was about 80 feet at Rattlesnake. I would be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. When it was my turn to get ready I started to freak out a bit. Steve had to calm me down and I was finally on my way down. I was about 1/3 of the way down before I relaxed and was able to get into a grove. Finally I reached the ground and let me tell you, I was relieved! I was so relieved that I forgot out hot my biner and belay device would be, and slightly burned my hand. No worries, as I was about to get some food, since it was now about 3pm!!

Once we all ate and relaxed a bit we decided we were pretty well run out and decided to make our way back to camp. Besides a little detour that resulted in us climbing back up a section of the path we finally made it back to the parking lot. What a relief to be back down there!

Sunday morning was a much slower start than the day before, however we had all decided to do routes that were much closer to the beginning of the stairmaster trail. Steve lead Ecstasy Junior, 5.4 and Scott seconded. I was going to climb, but just wasn't feeling it after hiking again, so I hung out with Hillary and watched the boys climb.

Once they finished I decided to head back to camp since I was still pretty exhausted and wasn't going to climb. So I hiked back while they other remained to climb another route. However, shortly after I reached camp it began to storm, so the others were back at camp soon enough.

That ended our climbing for the weekend. Even though we didn't do a lot of routes, we still had a good trip. And hey, I reached the summit of Seneca Rocks, I couldn't have asked for a better trip!

Seneca Rocks Summit

So are you ready for this!? "I actually made it! ", that's what I put in the book on the summit of Seneca Rocks when I signed my name and dated the entry to prove I had made it to the top. Unbelievable. I'm not sure that multi-pitch climbing is the thing for me yet, but I can say I've done it, and I'm quite proud of myself.

More details to come on my entire experience, stay tuned!

Sport Leader!?

Ha, so I did it! Can you believe it? I don't. But, I actually LEAD a sport route this past weekend in the Red. While it was super short, and super easy. I still did it. Yeppers, I lead a 5.4 Sport Route!! WooHoo! I can now consider myself a Sport Climber. Very exciting stuff. And, even though I only lead that one 5.4... I also cleaned a 5.6 and rapped down, top roped another 5.6, attempted a 5.7 lead and only made it to the first bolt, then I top roped that one, cleaned it and rapped down, I also did a mock lead on another 5.7 (C#/B-flat at Roadside) which is much taller than all the other routes we did on Saturday. All in all it was a good weekend and I'm really starting to enjoy outdoor climbing more and more.

Yyiiiippppppeeee! :)

Working extra has benefits

So, when things are busy at work I tend to work extra hours. For example, on Wed this week I worked a ridiculous 12.5 hours in one day. The pay off? It's Friday, 10am and I've already put in 38 hours this week. What does that mean you ask? Well, that means I'm outta here at Noon. Kick Ass! :)

Preparing for trips

It's totally fun to go on a weekend trip, but seriously, the preparation is such a pain. It takes an entire evening to get ready. Tonight Steve and I had to shopping for food, which by the way, takes forever because he wants one thing... and I always want something else. Then he's grumpy because we have to purchase two of everything. Example: he wants summer sausage with crackers and cheese. Well, I don't like summer sausage, but turkey sausage is tasty! So he complains that we have to buy two of everything. I then ask him, well if you are not willing to eat what I like, and I'm not willing to eat what you like, what do you propose we do?! Of course, he has no comment! Anyways, where was I... right, shopping. So we finished the shopping and then there is the gathering of the gear, packing the clothes, preparing the food for transport and then the double-checking. Every trip, we get everything packed and then we have to stand there and rattle off each thing that is packed and use our fingers to count the items to ensure we didn't forget anything. And when I say "we" I mean Steve.

Oh the joys of weekend climbing trips! :)

Welcome

Here is where I will complain about my life. I hope you enjoy it!

:D