I flashed the first two thirds of Strep before getting hung up on a sheer face with a diagonal crack only a little too small for a finger hold. The next hold was diagonally up and to the right only about two inches beyond my best reach. But in the gym, you aren't able to see vultures circling and clouds massing hundreds of feet below you amongst the tree-tops of the valley floor. After two attempts at getting past this mental block, I was saved further embarrassment by the arrival of Violent Storm Number Two. We frantically pulled the ropes and headed out.
Misery loves company and hiking while soaking wet is a great way to get to know people.
I made fast friends with Jen, Kim, Jim, Christine, Daniell, Vanessa and several others on the hasty retreat from the rocks. And the insie wiensie climbers climbed up the route again By five, the rocks were judged to be dry enough. Jen and I are not particularly experienced climbers and Liz had never set foot on rock until that very day. But we all had showed sufficient spit and vinegar on Streptococcus that apparently we got the honor of a lead-climbing lesson. We all felt pretty cool at that.