Separated by 5,114 km, but united by climbing, on 10 October 2020, Nick and Daniel each sent their hardest routes to date. Nick's ascent of Globetrotters (5.13b) at Horne Lake, BCFollowing our incredible 2016 road trip, my climbing life suffered a serious impediment: grad school. In 2017, I began a 2-year stint where climbing played second fiddle to academia. From April to August 2018, I took my longest ever break from climbing. It was my first fieldwork season and I had to establish the bedrock of my MSc thesis. For 132 straight days, I toiled through laboratory and field experiments. I emerged in the fall with a phantasmagoria of data but appalling climbing fitness. I then attempted to resume my customary climbing routine, but grad school continued to exact its toll; my gym sessions were sporadic and perfunctory, my actions were aimless, and my vision was gauzy. Clarity returned after defending my thesis in September 2019. I really wanted to get strong. To progress in climbing, I always knew I would need to live close to a crag stacked with hard routes so that I could devote myself to a long-term project. Horne Lake on Vancouver Island fits the bill perfectly. Serendipitously, that October, I was introduced to Marcel A., a local climber with rare motivation who needed a partner. Marcel and I climbed together several days that autumn. Witnessing his determination while projecting some of the area's hardest lines impelled me to surpass my own expectations and quickly send a few 5.12s. In the Spring, Marcel and I resumed our partnership and frequented Horne Lake to besiege our respective projects. I tackled my first 5.13a: Jesus Save the Pushers, a brilliant line of cavernous huecos and bulging tufas. In one month of weekend efforts, I took it down. Sending Pushers was a welcome confirmation that I could, in fact, climb 5.13a (as I had long presumed but never tested). While I had gotten a bit stronger, the send came mostly through beta refinement and increased mileage on Horne Lake's incredibly steep terrain. I wanted to push myself further.
Because the crux of the route is at the very end, the trick is to arrive at the upper ledge with plenty of gas left in the tank. So, I continued to whittle away at the moves leading up to the ledge for another 2 or 3 sessions. I could then make it to the ledge feeling pretty good, but was still getting shut down early in the crux. Around this point in the process, I also moved from Victoria to Nanaimo, shortening my drive to Horne Lake from 2h 30min to 45 min. This move afforded me the opportunity for weeknight climbing sessions. Throughout September, I partnered with Mike N., a Campbell River local who has been climbing regularly at Horne Lake for over 6 years, to climb one extra evening per week. During our no-faff 3-hour sessions, we climbed laps on well-rehearsed routes to build endurance. These sessions were crucial to developing the fitness I needed to send Globetrotters. After a session in late September with two solid attempts, I was frustrated that the crux boulder problem still felt very difficult in the early moves; several redpointees told me they found the most difficult moves at the end. Reasoning I must have missed something, I tried the lower moves again and experienced a eureka: there was a crucial thumb catch on one of the underclings that greatly improved its tenability. Finally I was ready to send. I had all the beta mapped out on paper (see above) and in my head. On the penultimate Friday night, I lay in bed and mentally climbed the route thrice. Everything came together on 10 October. It was the epitome of "Sendtober" conditions; a steady breeze of crisp autumn air cooled the rock and the climbers just enough for magic to unfold. I felt strong on my first attempt but fell early in the crux due to a misplaced foot, a product of over-excitement. After purging the nervous jitters, my second attempt was exacting and I pulled onto the final crimp rail with just enough energy and determination to karate-chop the hand jam and send! I let loose a howl of victory while Marcel lowered me to the ground, beaming. Most of the moves going through the crux. Photo credits: Anthony Aarden After pulling off my sweaty knee pads and tight shoes, my first instinct was to text Daniel to share my accomplishment. He had been interested in my process of working the route and proffered sage coaching tips. In a delightful surprise, Daniel replied: DUDE The final cherry on top: I returned to Horne Lake two days later and sent the route again, this time feeling even more secure moving to the hand jam. My heartfelt gratitude to the friends who belayed and shared their enthusiasm with me while I worked on the route. These include (but are probably not limited to): Marcel, Mike, Anthony, Carmina, and Adolfo. Daniel's ascent of Ledge Dweller (5.12b/c) at Flatrock, NLI (Daniel) am a performance climbing coach and in December 2019 I made one of the biggest mistakes possible in climbing training: I sprained my ring finger flexor unit while training too hard on the hangboard. Avoiding injury at all costs during training is Eric Horst's number 1 rule! There is no point training if it hurts you and sets your climbing back. I can't express how stupid and embarrassed I felt. After a couple weeks off, I started climbing again on jugs and religiously doing daily rehab. Progress was slow. I felt weak and I struggled with forgiving myself. On top of that, I even re-injured my finger in February 2020! I was pissed. Thankfully, it was only a partial setback and after a week off, I was back climbing jugs again. I was feeling a little stronger in March, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the country. Locked in my house, I buckled down with training and rehab. Finally, I was seeing progress and I was able to look forward to the outdoor season. My training was focused on preparing me for the July 2020 Choss Boys Alpine Trip (see this post, and this, for summaries). On top of a lot of trad climbing, one of my training goals was to project hard sport climbs (i.e. 5.12s). I tried a couple in the area and set my sights on Ledge Dweller. To be completely honest, it wasn't my favorite 5.12. I chose it mainly because it was convenient - my girlfriend Kat was projecting the route right next to it. With time, it grew on me and I came to appreciate the subtleties of the crux moves. Before Ledge Dweller, I had never spent more than two sessions projecting a sport climb. In 2017, 2018, and 2019 I had climbed numerous 5.11+ routes and one single 5.12a. The 5.12a route was mostly vertical technical climbing with one hard bouldery roof crux located in Flatrock. It is called Ataxia and it only took me two sessions. Ledge Dweller is a 70-foot mostly vertical route with thin handholds and two distinct cruxes. First Ascended in 2005 by Newfoundland climbers McDowell and Wall, the "thin" handholds haven't quite stood the test of time. During my series of 7 projecting sessions in 2020, a half a dozen pebbles or pieces of rock were knocked off (some more important than others). Originally graded at 5.12b, the climbers I've talked to all agree it feels like 5.12c. The route starts with 25 feet of 5.11 climbing that brings you to a undercling rest before the first crux. Crux #1 is a technical V3/4 boulder problem with big moves on very thin holds. The crux finishes with an OK left hand finger slot to clip the draw. The video below shows how my efficiency on the first crux progressed over time. The left-most video is my first lead attempt and the right-most video is my red point send attempt. After the first crux, you complete a couple pumpy 5.10 moves and arrive at a no-hands rest. You deserve it. Although you've already climbed 45 feet, this is mentally the halfway mark. I usually rested up to 5 minutes in this position. A technical V3 boulder problem starts with a traverse into a corner and finishes with a big deadpoint to an OK edge under a small roof. Shake out here a moment before you head into the second and most difficult crux of the route. Crux #2 is a short, burly V4 boulder problem that brings you over the lip of a roof with difficult foot-placements. It starts with a big move from small underclings to hug the arête. After placing a heel on a small hold, rearrange your body while in compression to set up for a mega, right-hand deadpoint to a small edge. A couple more 5.11 moves bring you to the top. On the morning of October 10th, Kat and I drove to Flatrock with the explicit goal of me giving Ledge Dweller a 110% effort. There was a wormhole between Nick and I that weekend. I felt the same "Sendtober" conditions as Nick 5,114 km away: a steady breeze of crisp autumn air that cooled the rock just enough for magic to unfold. The night before, I was feeling a cocktail of nervousness and excitement. I was hyper-focused on visualization and getting enough sleep. All morning during my warmup I was trying to calm myself down and I wasn't sure if it was working. I think something must have clicked in my brain because the moment before I started climbing, I looked up at the route and I felt it. I don't know if it was a feeling of nothingness or a feeling of intense focus. It was a fucking great feeling and it stayed with me for the entire 15 minutes of my red point send. The video below shows my beta for the second crux on the left (a previous attempt) as well as the audio of the moment when I sent the route that fateful day on the right. The last video below is a blooper reel of sorts. I full-heartedly admit that I struggle with failure. Logically, I understand that failing is a normal part of projecting and that I can only learn through failure. I just feel that deep down, my body hates it - maybe it's a fear of falling, maybe it's hard on my ego, maybe I am in the moment and I don't want to be pulled away, or maybe I am focused too hard on the goal of sending. It is more likely a mixture of all those things. The video shows three of the many moments of failure on some of my redpoint attempts of the route. Enjoy my passionate exclamations. Finally, I want to thank my girlfriend Kat Flynn and my brother in-law Travis Hnidan. They both not only belayed me numerous times on my project, they encouraged me every step of the way. Thanks guys.
2 Comments
Deborah Arnold
11/9/2020 04:51:31 am
Beautifully written! I felt your passion, anticipation, excitement, frustration, and determination and reveled in your victory! Well f$*#ing done! An epic achievement!
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Hubert Alacoque
1/26/2021 03:46:47 pm
Still scared to death, even watching, reading.... :-(
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