Big Rain, Big Whips

Well, I'm in Kentucky. The drive took the required two days with little extra fanfare, save for the shuffle board table my grandfather recently installed in the basement. When you combine that with pool table, foosball table, bar, and bomb shelter, there's a recipe for some real living. To tell the truth, stopping in the middle of Missouri was pretty much the high light of the drive. I guess the only real competition was the dinner at Big Boy's. Neil and I met up just outside of Louisville, and we had about an hour to chat before we met the other two road trip companions for some seriously good, seriously greasy cheeseburgers sporting tartar sauce as the secret ingredient. If I've had it 1,000 times on fish sticks, Mr. Big Boy, your sauce ain't so secret.

Since we've been here, I've been fighting battles on several fronts. Personally, stuff at home has been tough, to say the least, but that's all I'm going to say. With that cloud hanging over the trip, I've had real life thunderclouds to contend with, as well. They've delivered a remarkable amount of rain, essentially unleashing a heavy downpour every day for the past three weeks. We've only been here for a few days, but the soggy shoes, muddy pants and drippy tent have made things tough at times. Even though the Red is reknowned for its super steep walls, a lot of the climbs have had wet sections, leaving the choices for projects fairly limited. When the holds aren't dripping with water running from the top of the cliff, the holds are certainly feeling like a sixth grader went a little nuts with the Elmer's glue on the wall. Slippery and grimy....that's for sure.

I've started working on a route that launches upwards, and when I lower off from the last carabiners, I'm a good 50 feet from the belayer. I'm sure I could calculate the angle somehow....as the climb goes for 95 feet from ground to chains. I suppose that would be the hypotenuse. And while we're doing a little math, there's the part about the run out at the top. I've only taken the big fall once, but there's a nice distance between the last bolt and the chains, and going for a 50 foot fall is pretty exhilirating. Don't worry mom, it's safe.

This project, named Tuna Town, sports some gigantic holds. That's good for two reasons. First, there's the part of the angle. And second, my finger has been giving me some serious trouble. Grabbing small holds is painful, so thankfully the smallest grips are still pretty big. I had to take an unintended rest day today to try to give it a little time to heal (as well as giving my mind a little bit of time to chew on the tough spot I'm in with Kate). We'll see how everything feels after a breather.