Nemisis Climbs

Everyone has at least one Nemisis Climb. Jaeger would probably call every climb a Nemissis Climb, even climbs he has flashed as warmups. Whatever the case may be, here are a few of mine:

The Nickness
As mentioned in the previous post, The Nickness shuts me down. Specifically, the first move, which I never have done. The move involves hanging as much weight as possible off the left arm while pushing off a little chip with the left foot. The right foot just smears under the roof for balance and all that is necessary to execute the move is to reach with the right hand for the sloper/pinch and control a small swing. For someone of my height there is almost no pulling involved; the right hand hold is well within arms reach. But I can't get myself to hang off the left long enough for my right hand to swoop out to the hold. Much falling, much anger, much frustration. By now failure on the move is entirely mental, as I pretty much expect to fall as soon as I pull on to the climb.

Beyond Life
I've tried this climb many times over the last few years, and have never been able to latch the critical right hand sidepull. Heel hooks are not really my thing, see, and heel hooks that require total body engagement are especially not my thing. When I get set up to reach up to the sidepull my body sticks out from the wall and I lose a good deal of reach. To do this move I know I need to get as much weight as possible over my right heel, and to do that I need to pull my hips into the wall. Instead, I worry that my ACL is going to explode and end up lunging clumsily toward the sidepull with no tension or precision. Jaeger is good at this move. Hayden is really good at this move. I am not.

Veritas
 The Bear-toss. This one I've actually done all the moves on, though the crux move, yeah, only did that move once. And it wasn't from the start. And I fell immediately after. Anyway, this seems to be a climb that is either incredibly easy for you (such as Adam Strong doing laps with a cigarette dangling from his lips) or exceptionally difficult. Yes, that statement can be applied to nearly every climb, but with Veritas it is more distinct. I haven't decided yet if it's best to keep my right foot low and twist in to make the reach to the undercling or if I should just drop my right foot and shoulder up to the undercling nice and square with the wall. So far both methods have left me in a heap on the pads with my spine feeling like it's been corckscrewed 90 degrees the wrong way.

Failure on climbs is never fun, and the excitement of working projects usually wears off when progress stops. When this happens it is easy to get frustrated and write off the climb in question, which, for me, usually results in a downward spiral of anger that usually leads to impatience which always leads to more failure. It is very important for me to stay positive about a climb, even when said climb is a prime source of aggravation and discontent. In the case of the three aforementioned climbs, I try to focus on how spectacular they are. All three have high quality rock and unique movement, and at the end of the day the desire to stand on top of them overpowers any lingering taste of defeat. I do feel sorry though, for Justin, because I can't think of any redeeming qualities of Mongolian Cosmonaut.

Goals: Lifetime Ticklist Edition

Regardless of their devotion to climbing, everyone, I'm sure, has a ticklist of some sort. Inevitably, climbs make their way on to that list that are a) way too hard, b) way too far away, or c) way too blond. But therein lies the point of the ticklist: passing time thinking about amazing boulders (or routes, I guess). The classes I am currently enrolled in require a good deal of time sitting in the back thinking about problems I'd like to try, and today I came up with this, my North American All-Time Ticklist:

Slashface, 8B, Hueco Tanks.

Black Lung, 8B, Joe's Valley.

Nothing But Sunshine, 8B, RMNP.

Circadian Rhythm, 8B, Poudre Canyon.

No More Greener Grasses, 8A+, Mt. Evans.

The Shield, 8A+, Little Rock City.

Eclipse, 8A+, Little Cottonwood Canyon.

Wet Dream, 8A+, Red Rocks.

Right-Hand Mini Problem Sit, 8A+, CATS.

Something From Nothing, 8A, Great Barrington.

God Module, 8A, Horse Pens 40. Notice: video contains invalid ascent. Put them feet on the wall before the first move, son!

Haroun and the Sea of Stories, 8A, Bishop.

Drive On, 7C+, Yosemite.

Golden Harvest, 7C+, Rocktown.

Obviously, most of these climbs are far beyond my limit. Furthermore, it can be a heavy financial burden to take the necessary time off from work and school to travel to all of these areas, not to mention dealing with the swollen price of gasoline and data plans (for updating 8a from the iPhone, of course). I know that I’ll never see some of these climbs, and I’ll send fewer, but what matters is that making these ridiculous lists and thinking about these amazing climbs keeps me motivated, keeps the psyche level high. Why else spend so much time hunkered down under the steep wall at CATS, groping greasy pinches and fingering heinous crimps while spandexed children hurl themselves screaming down the runway and into the air with all manner of flips and spins and crash breathless onto the foam mats inches from the finish jug of Epic? That, and it also helps pass the time while the Professor explains multiplying fractions or details the many rules of run-on sentences. So win-win, really.