I’ve been trying to make more local trips to the Gunks lately as the weather has really improved in the NE. Especially because I knew I would be starting full time employment again, I tried to make the most of my time and just get outdoors (#optoutside) as much as possible before it became a more limited luxury again. The first such trip was for bouldering, where I put some work into a few new projects, and the second was my first trad lead, first rapel, and first multipitch experience (woo!).
After sending Andrew’s Problem (v4) and my bouldering success at Rumney, I felt like it was time to push myself a little harder and try some of the classic v5s at the Gunks. I went with MJ (and my trusty pup Scooter) on a pretty empty weekday, and we decided to try The Fin (v5) first which both of us had previously attempted a few months ago. The problem revolves around using heelhooks and compression to traverse along the side of a large fin-looking structure (hence the name). The holds are pretty slopey but there are sharp incuts on the surface to dig your skin into when slapping along the edge. I made decent progress, but was not able to suss out how to top it out/finish the problem, as the fin juts out over some exposed rock; a bad fall or swing out could send you tumbling over the cliff a little, or at least that’s what I was worried about. Interestingly enough, my biggest takeaway from this climb came from how my body felt afterwards: I had never felt my hips ache so badly from heel hooking before. Generally, I consider myself pretty flexible, especially in the hips, and feel that I have a good understanding of how to engage my hips/heel when using heel hooks. However, some of the best heel locations on the rock for The Fin are located at a height slighty above your hands, which themselves are located at your head height. I was just barely managing to eke out some compression from my heels, and had constant trouble with them slipping out of my shoe/off the rock. After thinking about my hip aches and how I had been using my heel on this problem, I realized I had barely been engaging my heel while projecting and had merely relied on the rubber on my shoe to keep me on. If I had been better about doing the heel hooks properly, my knees would have been bent and I would have been able to drive more force down from my hip flexors into my heel…something to think about for next time.
Next, we walked along the carriage road to Black Boulder (v5), something I had passed many times but had never jumped on. The problem is rather short and low to the ground, and for me it really comes down to a 2/3 move sequence leading into the top out. Here, my hip flexibility really came handy as it let me skip an intermediate slap with my right hand and allowed me to just go for the “good” sloper right from the start. But I got here relatively quickly, and was never able to finish the left hand move to the lip successfully. Dyanamic movements have always been hard for me, and there was no cheating this one. I made a lot of different attempts, but decided to come back when it was a little colder (and maybe a little stronger) to hopefully stick the move.
Towards the end of the day, we moved to Meaning of Life (v5) which turned out to be a boulder that was completely suited to my style. The only downside was that it was located in a pit of large, jagged rocks, so the landing was always something to worry about. But compared to the other two sloper climbs, the slightly overhung crimps are the most natural type of style for me, as I have spent a lot of time on moonboard- type problems. My first go was actually pretty close, but each subsequent go became harder as my energy waned towards the end of the day. Overall, I’m looking forward to coming back to finish off these three quality boulders.
A few weeks after this, I got the chance to try trad climbing for the first time with Matt Ritter. We scheduled a last minute trip to the Gunks after seeing a small break in a week of rain, and were lucky enough to find some dry climbs. Matt took me up a two pitch 5.6 climb called Wrist, and later in the day I led my first trad pitch called Baby (5.6). I had always wanted to try trad, and am confident that it’s something I see myself getting invested in when I’m older, but never had a chance to go with someone experienced. After doing these pitches with Matt, I honestly don’t think I’ve learned so much non-climbing related knowledge in one day, as we covered anchors, switching leads, rapelling, and placing trad gear. I definitely don’t feel confident enough to lead anything remotely close to hard yet on gear, but the experience of placing the gear was really unique. One of the things I love about climbing is how creative and free you are to express your body and movement on the rock; whatever beta you choose to use is your own choice, and probably suited to your own personal preference/style. Whereas some people like dynamic movement, others might prefer a more controlled static style. Adding the gear placement into the mix was like extending that freedom to protection as well. All of a sudden, I was making choices that affected my own saftey, and I was relying on persoinal knowledge and judgement when placing cams and nuts. On the easier 5.fun sections, I could choose to run it out for 20 feet if I really felt confident and bold, and in fact Matt did so on some sections of Wrist. Now I only have to start the long and expensive process of putting together my first rack…
In a few more weeks, I’ll be heading back to Las Vegas to climb in Red Rock again, 6 months after my first sport climbing trip outdoors. I’m hoping to hop on some of the boulders I failed to send, and maybe try some harder sport climbs. Hoping the weather holds up!
Richard Zheng 