We got another alpine start (haha! NOT) because it was still cold and windy outside the tent. We told ourselves it was getting better and that *tomorrow* it would finally be the normal 80 degrees. Ah, hope!
We decided to drive down to Building Blocks, an east/west facing wall because it appeared to be the warmest place in the city. We walked to the east face and were happy and surprised to see we had it all to ourselves. It might be because the easiest climbs there were .11a climbs. How hard could they be though? Greg Lowe first climbed some of these routes in the 1960s. We should be able to warm up on these - no problem.
Gack.
These two elevens turned out to be the hardest 11s I've ever seen or touched! The first, Latter Day Saints, had an intestine-exploding bottom crux section followed by some most excellent face climbing. It was a really fun climb, though it is hard to believe it was really an eleven.
As we were finishing this climb, people from the west side of the wall started coming around. Dave did the next 11a, a climb called Rain Gutter. This climb was so hard, I was exhausted just from watching him climb it! Another Greg Lowe 1960s FA. Greg Lowe is obviously a climbing beast! Dave got to the top of this "warm up" working harder than I've ever had to see him work before. I couldn't even leave the ground! No joke. I felt a little more positive about my climbing ability after seeing better climbers than me unable to leave the ground as well. This thing was HARD.
We walked around to the west face and did a fun 10a called Lego. Then we did a climb called Scraps (11a). It had a difficult and awkward bottom section followed by a fun bunch of climbing.
By the time we finished this route, everyone else had vacated the wall. It was so quiet and peacful! We finished up on a fun sport climb called Acid Rain (10a) before heading back to our arctic camp site.
This day ended up being one of seeing friends. First we ran into Eric Zcishie (spell?) in town. Dave hadn't seen him in years. They caught up. Back at the campsite, we learned our new neighbors were friends from Boulder. From them, we learned a large contingent of Boulderites were up the hill. Some came down to visit and we later walked up the hill to see the rest. Great times!
The night ended again with us diving into our tent and cratering fully dressed. I wonder how many days before our clothes would start growing into our skin. Ew!
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