SkiSickness

Way back when, in my mind, the purpose of this virtual deposit of ordered ones and zeros was to document some hardcore cutting-edge shit I was doing. But also to preserve the great times I was having with good friends in the process. Now it's largely the latter and delusions of the former, not so much.

I have plans to get a "bad ass" camera but it's not possible to lay my hands on one in New Mexico, so I'm waiting for my next trip to Washington. My six-year-old digital point-and-shoot camera finally bit the dust recently. So I bought a new "throw away" camera on Friday. My mom was visiting and she was with me when I bought it. It seems like she found it scandalous when I referred to a $300 purchase as "throw away." But the idea is that I'm buying a lesser piece of machinery with full knowledge that I will destroy it by taking it with me on all kinds of adventures.

For the second time in as many weekends, Miranda and I were looking to climb a test piece in the Sandias. Last weekend when we got to the base of our intended six-pitch route that goes at 11-, 10+,11- ,12a , 9+, easy 5^th, there were two climbers on the 5.9+ R route next to it. Right away we saw the leader take a nasty whipper. Not long after that he trundled some big rocks down the wall. So we decided to mitigate the risk and did some less ambitious cragging.

Yesterday we met in Santa Fe and I was feeling funny. A virus had taken my lower intestines hostage, holding the contents at the triple point in a thermodynamic tour de force. I set a new personal record for trips to the potty and soiled one pair of underwear before we even left the trailhead. So we decided to have a look at a more low-key crag called Hole in the Wall.

The crag sports several high quality routes in the 11+ to 12+ range, but also a classic two-pitch 5.8 named Miss Piggy. We took a warmup lap on that.

Looking down the start of the first pitch, engaging moves on perfect rock.


Miranda starts up the second pitch for her first lead in the Sandias.


Miranda near the top of the second pitch. The zoom is much better on my new POS camera.


This is why it's called Hole in the Wall.


We both felt fatigue and left the harder routes for another day. So Miranda and I bailed on more amibitious plans for the third weekend in a row. Oh well. We've still managed to do some climbing and had a great time along the way. Thanks for all the fun, Miranda.

Triple point? I like that. It's especially nice even outside your body when you can't tell if its a solid, liquid, or a gas. Just a swatch of katrina-esque devastation you laid on the poor mom & pop general store in the middle butt-fuck nowhere. The woman emerges with her wheelchair-ridden husband as you notice the glint of a teardrop forming in her left eye as you speed off into the distance where splitter awaits.

Sorry you suffered so much with the out hole. Looks like good rock. Go Miranda for leading your first Sandias pitch!

Funny you bring this up Sky. I haven’t posted much here recently because it doesn’t feel like I’m cutting any edges lately and I haven’t wanted to dilute the pool. Reading your words made me remember what excited me most about this site when you first put it up. Yeah, it’s also a way of preserving great times with good friends. But it’s also a way to keep up on what we’re all up to and to express ourselves and what we get out of what we do in ways that don’t fit other forums. It’s that latter idea behind my "Preacher John TR”. Feel free to move that to Episodes, to delete it, or to cut it as you like. I put it in the TR forum because, for me, I get stoked when play time in the mountains adds to my professional and personal life away from them. After all, the purpose of writing a TR isn’t to write the words but to live them. I dug your site when you created it. I still dig it.

And Naomi, I must have glanced over your out hole comment the first time around because no one heard me laughing