Going Red

What is crack-a-lackin folks? My deepest, most sincere apologies for not keeping y'all up in my climbing adventures. My research project slammed me in the face recently and therefore more pressing matters had to be taken care of. In case you were wondering - which I know y'all were - climbing is was more fun than research. Shocking, I know.

Here's the short story of my research project. I had 150 pounds of corn. I autoclaved aforementioned corn twice. I inoculated this autoclaved corn with Aspergillus flavus. Then this corn was put in an incubator. I tested kernels for fungal growth & aflatoxin production. Infected corn was massed out and placed in bags. Bags of corn kernels made a journey to Rocky Mount, NC and were then poured on the plots. I also had to grow Fusarium strains. After some funky looking cultures, I managed to get beautiful spore producing cultures. Then I removed the spores from cultures. Transported to Rocky Mount and sprayed on plots. Field research is wicked cool. You can call me "Miss Farmer In Training / Wanna-be Dr. Heiniger Someday."

Phew! Glad we got that boring stuff out of the way. Now onto the joys of life: climbing and nature. Two weeks ago I met David, Lohan, and Joyce at The Red. I had never met Joyce or Lohan before but they were both really chill and fun to climb with. Unfortunately I could only stay two full days due to research but I still got two full days of climbing nonetheless!

The first day we went to the Chocolate Factory. I got on Glass Elevator (10d), Oompa (10a), Augustus Gloop (5), Squirrel Worker (maybe that's the name: 11??) and Chocolate River (9). Joyce took some photos that make me look pretty darn awesome. We were on slab routes right next to each other and it looks like I was just dancing up the wall. Which it kind of felt like - trusting this tiny little miniature toe placement and stretch your arms to the max and praise the gods and goddesses when that crimp is exactly what you need. Anyways, it was a lot of fun. Oh no! How could I forget to mention this? David, Joyce and Lohan got on Pure Imagination   MOM, DAD, KIDDO, AND OTHER FAMILY MEMBERS: PLEASE VIEW THE PHOTO BELOW AND UNDERSTAND THAT A 14.C IS JUST A WALK IN THE PARK. Oh, and since you don't know what the heck a 5.14c is, I will give a brief description. Imagine looking at a very beautiful cliff that looks very smooth (aka - blank/no holds). Now imagine climbing that and jamming your finger (yes, one finger) into a painful little crack, your other hand on a small side-pull crimp-ish like hold, and your toes aren't really on anything of substance. Oh, and the next hold you're going for is a "jug" in comparison. Hah - like that helped anything.   So, back to my story. Those three played around on the bottom section of Pure Imagination for awhile. I took photos that make them look like the professionals they really are :)  Just enjoy the pictures.

Lohan. I love how they both did a killer drop knee in the same spot

David.

The second day we went to Johnny's Wall, Tectonic Wall, and Bruise Brothers Wall. I managed to get on 10 climbs :)  It started off with warming up on Tall Cool One (5.9) which I would say is a 5.26 when there are terrifying deadly looking spiders on that climb. I have never overgripped or removed my hand so quickly from a hold before. Either way, I made it up to the top without any spider friends hitching a ride. Then I on-sighted Plate Tectonics (10a). Next was Thanks Holly (8) followed by 59" Drill Bitch (10a), Bethel (10a), and Spinner (10a). Those three were pretty sweet! I would climb those again for sure. After we finished up there we head to Bruise Brothers. I found two new projects as well. Critters on the Wall (10d - PROJECT), Rat Stew (10a), Workin' for the Weekend (10c - PROJECT), and last but not least: Return of the Manimal (10d).

This is just to show how overhung Pure Imagination really is.

Golden Ticket

Sad story. Return of the Manimal beat me up :(  I was doing just fine cleaning the route. I easily could have clipped the first 5 bolts (next time). I made some really cool big moves and was feeling good about life. Then I grabbed a side-pull undercling. Searing pain shot through my arm, I felt a weird vibration going on in the forearm and my left hand when completely numb. It was the most terrifying thing that has happened to me during climbing. I much rather take whipper after whipper than go through that again. I pulled the roof, made it to the anchors, and rappelled down to clean the draws. The numbness slowly went away during the night and I could feel again by morning. I've been babying it for a few days so it should be all good if I'm gentle on myself.

Everyone, this is Timmy. He hung out with us at the Chocolate Factory.

So yup. That's the story of my trip to the Red. I think I want to go back...or just live there. Rent would be a heck of a lot cheaper, wouldn't have roommates to deal with, could climb anytime I want to, explore the gorge on my rest days, be surrounded by nature, convince Aaron to come climb with me, and did I mention the cheaper rent? I need to stop, I'm convincing myself this is a great idea. Don't think I haven't toyed with the idea already because I have. Oh bugger, it's my bedtime. I got a nice early day of work and then finish moving into my new place. Why does it have to be 100 degrees when I move? This is stupid.

If only...