Labor Day Weekend in Leavenworth

Hi. Guess what. I started a new job. I'm a Customer Solutions Specialist in the Consumer Department at ChemPoint in Bellevue, WA. Then I went climbing in Leavenworth with Alex and Aaron. We met up with Lara and Lee (our two new friends) on Saturday morning. So who is ready for another epic tale of "Life of Megan A.K.A. The Girl Who Disappears From Society Every Weekend"?

A peak peaking out from the clouds!

So Saturday morning we go to The Real Thing (V4) and warm up on the V0 a few times to get the blood flowing. Alex and I are working it and I'm trying to remember my previous beta and things that do not work. Everything is going fine and dandy and I'm working on the crux. Well, I'm about a foot off the ground when my foot blows off the hold, I fall mostly on the crashpads but not all the way and end up getting a rock into my spine. Boo. Then we went to the Shield boulder to work on a highball V3. Aaron sent that and The Shield (V7). I had my friend, Lara, take a photo of me "projecting" The Shield. I must say, I was pretty psyched I could get myself established on a V7 and move off of the holds. Then we worked Feel the Pinch (V4+) but I never got to feel the pinch. Eventually we worked our way over to Lovage (V3 / V4 for shorter people). I was soooo close to a send but couldn't quite reach the jug to make the send happen. On the plus side, Alex sent Lovage! After lunch, we met up with Lara and Lee again and hiked to Givler's Dome. We flew up Givler's Crack (5.7+) and then went to Bo Derek (5.10a). Aaron and Alex both led the route and I top-roped it. It was my favorite 5.10 crack climb I have ever done!!

Lovage must be sent!

Sunday, oh Sunday. It rained all night long and then some in the morning. We woke up, decided we didn't want to cook breakfast in the rain, and went into Leavenworth for some pancakes (which were delicious). Lee and Lara had to go back home (they were dogsitting) so Aaron, Alex and I went back to the granite. We went to Mad Meadows for the men to work on some boulders. I decided I needed to rest my back if I was to attempt any sort of climbing that day. Aaron worked Hanta Man (V7) and worked out some of the tougher moves. Alex made a few attempts at No Pain No Grain (V5). Then we went over to The Hole (V6) and Aaron sent that quickly. We went back to the truck to lunch and decided where we wanted to trad climb. Some random guy from Bulgaria joined our crew. Aaron and Alex warmed up on a 5.8, I lead Blunt Instrument (5.6), and Alex gave it his all on Surf City (5.10a). He placed both blue aliens and some other really small but bomber gear but decided against going for the lead after taking some falls on gear. Aaron finished the route (placing more small pieces) before Alex and I ran up it on TR. Back down to the truck we went.

The Shield (V7)

Monday morning was a good time for Megan. We went up to The Pocket (V4 PG13) with a potentially bad landing. Anyways, I worked up the bottom moves fairly quickly and then started working on the big move to a decent crimp/pocket. After doing that a few times with Alex - Aaron sent it, my back wasn't feeling so good anymore so we went to trad it up one last time before heading home. Aaron led Meat Grinder (5.10a) again and looked much more smooth on the crux this time than the last. Then it was Alex's turn. Aaron was his photographer and took 158 photos of Alex on the climb. After a great lead, a tricky crux, and a few power grunts, Alex made it to the top! We sorted gear really quick and then shoved our faces with Subway. Yum.

This past Thursday, Aaron, Alex, some other Amazon people, and I went to see the movie 'Meru' by Jimmy Chin. It was the best well-done climbing movie ever. It was about Jimmy Chin, Conrad Anker, and Renan Ozturk conquering the Shark's Fin on Mount Meru (being the first ever)!! It made me realize that I probably don't ever want to do big walls at 20,000 feet. I can't imagine what it must feel like to be atop one of the Himalayan peaks (I'd love to but am terrified to). This was an insanely well done movie about those guys celebrating one of climbing's biggest accomplishments. GO WATCH IT!! Here is the trailer: 

http://www.merufilm.com/ 

This weekend we went to Squamish. Unfortunately my back was still hurting so I didn't really climb all that much. But Saturday morning, I climbed the first pitch of Sunset Strip with Alex and Aaron. I rapped down real quick so they could make their way up the next 11 pitches of 5.10d climbing. I hiked and summited all three peaks of The Chief and then spent the rest of the afternoon reading my book. We met up with our friends Blair and Camden in the evening and hung out with them. Sunday morning, we went bouldering with them and our friend Caitlin. We warmed up on some V0's and a tall V2 which was really fun (but scary at one point). Then I attempted this really hard V4 and was sticking some of the moves. We went to a very hard V3, then looked at Dream Catcher (5.14d), and then went to some V9 boulder problem that Blair, Caitlin, and Aaron worked on. Then we found out it was 2:30 (that explains the headache and stomach ache) so we went into Squamish, got some food and drove towards America. Badaboom badabam, we were home!! Stay tuned for the next episode of "Megan Goes Climbing"

Scary 10.a

Desert Windstorm Climbing

Hi. So last weekend we thought we beat the rain and go to Vantage, WA for some desert trad climbing. Sounds great in theory. Alex, Aaron and I were in for some other kind of weather. WIND.

Friday, we met up at REI, grabbed some last minute supplies, and zipped on out of the city for some trad climbing at Vantage. We got there too late to climb but too early to go to bed so we built a fire and had a few beers. Saturday morning came and we packed our bags full with cams, nuts, hexes, slings, biners, shoes, helmets, harnesses, and chalk bags and went to the Sunshine Wall. We got a few raindrops on us during the hike to the wall. The weather was super good for the first climb - Crossing the Threshold (5.8). Aaron and Alex lead it and I did a mock lead - I decided about 3/4 of the way through that I would be too chicken to actually lead it. Then the weather turned. And by turned I mean, a windstorm/dust-storm started. Aaron put up Pony Keg (5.9) and I was following and cleaning (most importantly, getting high 5's from Alex when he was leading Air Guitar) when the wind started picking up. It wasn't bad at first. Then when Xing and John were climbing Pony Keg, the wind was so strong it would whip your chalk bag around. Okay, so you lose some chalk big deal. Then when I was on Air Guitar (5.10a) that Aaron lead - Alex was leading Pony Keg - the was so strong it started pushing you around a bit. I lost essentially all of my chalk and Alex did too. We kept on climbing and sent our lines. Then we all quick ran up Whipsaw (5.9). I would like to add that while I was running up the line, the wind got so strong that it could push me around pretty good. Like enough to make leading be more scary than usual. 

Vantage is kind of pretty in that strange desert sort of way.

 After a quick lunch break, we went over to Sinsemilla (5.10c). Aaron lead the climb and then it was my turn to take down the beast. Remember in one of my posts how excited I was about this climb? Well, this time I showed Sinsemilla who was boss <-- ME. This route is the perfect size for me to stem. I got bomber finger and hand jams, a few foot jams when I couldn't stem, and even got a compression boulder problem in the middle! I got to the first crux and used my glutes like there was no tomorrow to stem like a pro as I reached for the most beautiful hand jam I have ever done. The second crux was a compression boulder problem for me. I couldn't quite make the reach around the bulge into the crack for jams so instead I used every fiber in my shoulders and back and hug the bulge and pull a few moves to get into jam city again. And then I cruised on up to the top. I was super psyched that I didn't take or fall on the climb. I know that for most people, it isn't that big of a deal to them to take down a 5.10c trad route. But for me - someone who has been tradding it up and learned to crack climb on the fly for about roughly 6 months - that is huge! I went from an "I'm scared on a 5.7 crack" to "Let's get on a bunch of 5.10 cracks today" in 6 months. Yes, I'm advertising myself on the off chance that I may gain another climbing partner.

Pillars to climb climb climb

We had an afternoon beer, I made au gratin potatoes, and met the men at The Feathers. I decided that wine and potatoes was going to be more fun than climbing. They climbed a few routes and then we hung out and made actual dinner (Xing and John came with a feast). Sunday, I was the belay servant and belayed them on Sex Party (5.10a) and Theresa's Lingerie (5.9). We grabbed some Subway and were on our way back to Seattle. Although I didn't climb very much, I had a lot of fun getting out of the city (as usual). See y'all later!

Alex on Sinsemilla (5.10c)