Wait, what?

This last week I was in Joe's Valley, climbing on fantastic boulders with great friends. Sobe's were drunk, shit was talked, whales were shallow, and less-than-spectacular food was consumed. 

It's kind of ridiculous to think that I spent five days climbing on two boulder problems, but I seem to operate best when my focus is narrowed down to a few specific goals. In this case, those goals were Trent's Mom and The Ghost King. One of these goals was accomplished, and one was not, with Trent's Mom being the one that got away. I climbed on Trent's Mom four days last week and three days on a previous trip this year, and each day went about the same: hike to the boulder in the morning, warm up on the juggy moves, climb to the crux move from the start ten or so times, fail to lock down on the right hand and fall. My first day on the problem this trip I managed to latch the hold, but my hand exploded off as I was setting up to make the next move. The problem feels mechanically easy, but I've acquired such a mental block that execution remains elusive. I blame myself. Jamie suggested many times that I get pushed into the top so that I could figure out the finish and gain confidence, but I stubbornly (and prematurely) declared it "in the satch" and ignored his advice. Seriously, get a slight power spot through as many moves as possible before getting serious about trying from the start. And always, always, always do the topout first. I did Ghost King in a few tries after getting pushed into the top crux and doing the topout, and the confidence gained from doing so proved to be the key to success. But Trent's Mom, man, I've let that thing take over, and it's a complete mental battle to get psyched up for each attempt. Which isn't to say I'm not psyched. Indeed, psych couldn't be higher to finish this excellent boulder. I'm just sayin' that there is a strategy that works for sending projects, and ignoring that strategy usually doesn't pay off so well. Learn from my mistakes, children. Learn well.

Anyway, there will be future trips to Joe's, and many more chances to fall off the top of Trent's Mom. In the mean time, I hope to put some effort into lingering local projects before the alpine season opens up. The Trifecta awaits...