Last Saturday, I climbed outside in Washington for the first time. Tom and I went with friends of his sister's out to Little Si so they could show us the ropes. (Hurr hurr.)
We took a lovely hike up to Little Si after eating the world's best ham and cheese croissants at George's in North Bend. The hike was full of beautiful views and lots of spring growth. At one point, I thought that I should be more nervous, but it was just too relaxing to get myself worked up.
When we arrived at the mountain, our friend suggested that we climb the rocks that were sheltered from the rain that unexpectedly arrived early in the day. He lead our first route.
Devil's Advocate (5.9)
This climb is a mostly vertical route that follows a wonderful crack and finishes on a little ledge around an arete. The start was kind of difficult for me, and I could attribute that to many factors. As a new climber, I struggled to find good spots for my hands, but more so my feet. The beginning felt more slippery and smooth, but I got into a good rhythm higher up. My hands were cold to the point that they throbbed and ached, but once they more or less went numb, it was a lot easier. The last couple of moves to the finish were also a bit challenging for me. My solution involved me hugging around the arete to where I couldn't see, and it was a bit of a reach for me. However, I finished the route and felt like a super bad ass.
Reptiles and Amphetamines (5.9)
This climb is just awesome. Before we went up, a fellow climber described it as a "gym route" with really solid liebacks. I definitely have to agree, because the route was full of fantastic moves. I'm not sure I could describe it any better, but I will say that I had a blast on it. It was a lot smoother for me than Devil's Advocate, but I was also getting a better sense of what to look for and what the rock felt like.
After those two routes, we hiked back down and called it a day. It was short, but I learned quite a bit. Tom had quite the experience cleaning anchor for the first time, and I really need to "ovary up" (as Dan Savage would say) and do it myself. I just want to practice in the gym a few more times... and watch some YouTube videos... and uhh, give Tom more opportunity to practice... >.<
