We are in Moab, Utah now!
Wide angle lens makes me look so tall!
First off - some housekeeping. Is anybody reading this thing? Leave a comment or something, that would mean a lot to me. Or not - the main purpose of this blog is to preserve memories for me to look back on in the future, but I also like to think that others are reading it and smiling. Also, I looked at the blog from your link, not the edit link, and the format is atrocious - it needs a table of contents or something. Leave a comment if you have thoughts on a better interface. It looks like the hosting website (squarespace) doesn’t have a built-in table of contents feature (wtf, that seems incredibly useful) but there’s probably code lying around online to make a table of contents. Anyhoo, I hope to hear from you :)
Chimneys are beautiful, 5.11, 3-pitch
Jason saw a cool video on Youtube about a brand new route developed in Moab, so he DMed the creator and got the beta on exactly where in Moab the route lay. He replied, here we are in Moab, and pictured above is the route! Should you want to do the route, it’s on Mountain Project as Chimneys are Beautiful.
I am trying to improve my game at leading trad (for those non-rock climbers out there, “trad” climbing refers to putting removable pieces into cracks in the rock to protect your fall, instead of clipping into existing bolts. “Leading” refers to being the person who puts the rope up first on the wall). Therefore, I opted to lead the first pitch of Chimneys are Beautiful 5.8. I looked a little like a beached whale getting up and over the pillar, but hey, I didn’t fall, and it feels so satisfying to plug gear and watch my own progression.
After the first pitch, we plunged into the depths of the sandstone and began up Pitch 2. This was a WILD ADVENTURE - chimneys are insane. Pictured below is Jason demonstrating the width of the chimney. Not pictured, because my hands were occupied with belaying, is actual chimney climbing technique. It consists of one leg in front of you, and the other behind you, pressing into the wall as you use friction to work your way up, inch at a time. This technique was new to me and felt quite foreign. I was hoping I could use my childhood technique of stemming up hallways and doorways with my hands and feet, but alas - it didn’t quite work here (I tried).
Jason in the chimney pitch (pitch 2) of Chimneys are Beautiful
Finally, we made it back to the van. We never made it up the third pitch (5.11), the second pitch took us so long. Dinner was a frozen bag of trader joe’s “shiitake mushroom chicken” which was amazing. We bolstered it with Minute brown rice and frozen broccoli and had ourselves a delicious, healthy meal which balanced out our recent uptick in consumption of chocolate Frosty’s from Wendy’s.
After a good climb and a good dinner, we quickly fell asleep. It feels good to be in the desert again, I really love Moab. On a more personal note, I’m really impressed by Jason and mine’s teamwork and overall great time together. I feel like around now is maybe the point where we might be getting on each other’s nerves, especially since we are sharing such a tight space. This isn’t the case, which is a relief! We crack each other up, have our chores and tasks dialed (one person washes dishes, the other dries), and it’s really fun to spend so much time with him. :) Today’s wild romp up a chimney was no exception of our excellent teamwork, as we swapped leads multiple times to get the rope up.