Jasmine: Climbing

Today is Tuesday. It’s 1:20. I haven’t touched a climbing wall since Sunday around 5:00. Twitch. Not an uber twitch, but a small twitch followed by several more small twitches all whispering “climb something.” It’s the same voice that whispers things like “shhh you don’t need to go to class.” And “Buy the kitty.” So obviously it’s not always wrong. Nothing and no one is ever wrong all the time.

I started climbing when I was in high school, but I’ve never managed to climb consistently until a few weeks ago. My first true climbing partner was Margaret, we climbed till our ride gave out on us. Then the next year her mom got a car and Margaret got a license so we climbed some more, then she moved to Texas, then to France. I climbed only one or two times every four to six months for the next couple of years. Over this winter break I bought myself a month membership and Eli became my climbing partner. His car Rachel died at the end of the month. We enlisted Weston to drive us. Weston stopped going to the Gym and started going to Hueco tanks for the next five weeks. I think I’m cursed and eventually everyone who ever climbed with me will leave the country after their cars break down.

During the last week that Weston was climbing at Hueco he invited me along. It was bouldering… I’ve never really bouldered except to get on top of a rock and go “look I’m on top of a rock…” climb down carefully. Hueco was awesome, and beautiful and the climbers were muscled, shirtless, gleaming in the sunlight, salty sweat dripping down their chests begging me to lick… but I didn’t! Wanted to… sigh. I tried climbing. I ripped open my hands trying to climb. But in the end the only climb I finished was the descent into bloodline and climbing back out. I couldn’t finish any bouldering climbs. Very sad but I’m fixing that now.

Instead of relying on one potentially destroyable car there are now two, both of which look and sound as if they will die any day but as of now they still run. instead of one climbing partner I’ve collected a mish mash of them. Weston did leave the country but he’s back for now. Two others are going to be gone this summer, maybe three. But I’ll manage. I climb and I leave my apartment many times during the week. A definite improvement on my formerly hermit activities.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpYMrxARCBQ

I watched a guy climb this climb while I was at Hueco. Apparently sometime last year a piece fell off and it went from a V14 to a V11. It’s still cool though.