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November 03, 2002
Climbing to today
I just got back from two days of climbing in Yosemite Valley. It was my first time in the valley and I was lucky enough to be able to do a good number of Yosemite classics. It was a little chilly, which was probably why it was so devoid of climbers. I was sitting at the top of the second pitch of Bishop's Terrace, which I had just lead, and was reflecting on how I came to this point. A little over a year ago I took a backpacking trip to Yosemite with my wife and some friends. (Pictures here) At that point, I was pretty into climbing, but had never trad climbed. In fact, it had been 6 months since my climbing accident and I was still trying to get my sport climbing leader head back. As I walked around Yosemite for the first time, I was awed by my surroundings and dreamt of the day I would be climbing these famous cliffs. At that point it seemed like almost an unreal dream. I was only a moderate climber and had never trad climbed. I didn't even know anyone who did who could teach me, but I vowed to get there. In that year, I met Steve S. (Capt Steve), who became my climbing partner and one of my best friends. We collectively met Ivy who WAS a trad climber and agreed to teach us. After a number of trips to Joshua tree, Steve and I were feeling pretty confident and took a trip to Granite Mountain in Prescot, AZ (pictures here), where we did a number of multi-pitch routes, confident without our mentor. Fast forward to sitting hundreds of feet up on Bishops Terrace, looking over the beauty of Yosemite Valley. I couldn't help but feel very fortunate. It made me feel good about myself too, knowing I had set goals, worked hard, and with a little luck, achieved them. I have lots of new goals now, mostly climbing and mountaineering related, and I now have the confidence to know I will achieve them.Posted by wonko at November 3, 2002 07:42 PM
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