Return to Mountain Time

I drove back to Colorado after spending the Thanksgiving holiday at the family farm in central Missouri. Drinking Miller Lite and stuffing myself with turkey and, appropriately, stuffing, was a fine way to draw an end to the time in Kentucky. I'd spent a month climbing my ass off, concerned almost exclusively with the weather (perfect), climbs (sublime), food (plentiful, simple, flavorful) and sleep (as many hours as I wanted). Over the holiday, I had the chance to turn my attention to family and a gradual reintegration to the responsibilities of home.

Hanging out inside with my large extended family was fun, but the expansive farm allowed me plenty of time to reflect on what had just passed as I hiked around the woods. The month at The Highlander was, in all honesty, one of the best times of my life. I like to think of myself as fair and balanced, much like Fox News, though without the right-wing demagoguery and implied racist vitriol. As such, it's hard for me to think I'm being entirely fair, totally balanced, when I say that the whole month was basically picture perfect. If I have to nitpick, I suppose I could be bummed that I never was able to send Table of Colors. Sure, it would have been cool to do a 13a on the trip, and I put enough burns into that climb to have reasonably been expecting such an outcome. Getting grumpy about it feels too petulant and ridiculous, though. Besides, I've got one hell of a reason to get back.

If you're wondering, I wrote down the beta move by move and hold by hold. Hopefully I won't have too much remembering to do when I get back on it. Here's a couple of pics that demonstrate how I like to visualize myself climbing it, and what I actually looked like each and every time I was at the crux on point.

My climbing trip really broke down into two distinct sections. I spent the first two and a half weeks trying to do as many awesome 5.12's as possible, the intent being that I'd do them in three goes or less. I managed to climb plenty of really classic routes of the grade. In addition to the ones mentioned in "Best Day Yet," I did Twinkie, Belly of the Beast, Abiyoyo, Far From God, and Mercy the Huff.

The last week or so, I largely turned my attention to Table, and even though I never managed to do it without falling, it was still fun to juxtapose the "carpet bombing, send as much as possible" strategy with the "Roman siege mode" I have to implement when trying something that's really hard for me.

I had insanely good weather, and couldn't have expected temps to occasionally be too hot. The rains never really came, and I was climbing in shorts as much as pants. My friends who came to The Highlander were phenomenal - smart and interesting people who are hugely passionate about climbing but have interests outside of the sport. We'd have a great time climbing during the day, and have plenty of thought provoking conversations once we were back at the cabin. And The Highlander will remain THE standard for plush living. After a day of trying as hard as possible and wrecking myself on the rocks, the act of coming home to a kitchen, plumbing, a bed, and beers in the fridge made the cabin the perfect place to spend evenings. The internet kept me connected to work, and able to post for all you Voyeurs.

Just look how psyched the team was...
Hey Dan, could you look any creepier? Solid gold.

Thinking about the cabin a little more, I am pretty amazed at the contrast to the article I just read in the New York Times. The Highlander was located in the heart of Wolfe County, and was the home to a whole crew of Subaru driving out-of-towners, dining on organic produce and hoping for Sarah Palin to get the GOP nomination in a few years, thereby ensuring another term for our man Obama.

Wolfe County, on the other hand, is largely home to poor men and women on food stamps, hoping Sarah Palin gets the nod because she carries their hopes of a White House ruled by a rifle toting Christian mother. I just found it kind of interesting.

Anyway, it's back to work for me. I've got the Berkeley application due this week, as well as a pile of work to tidy up after my month away. Even so, I went to the gym yesterday to climb and catch up with some of the people who didn't make it out to The Red. Even though I seriously miss the climbing out in Kentucky, it's good to be home.