...Told you it would be easy.
Um, actually no you didn't. You told me I could lead it, and your comments helped a lot. But I don't remember anything about "easy."
And it wasn't easy. This is what I wrote to J.C. about the climb:
"I pulled off a perfect lead. Scared shitless until I got into it and then I just kept going. Absolutely brutal. I'm so sore and stiff that I'm going to bed now after dosing on Ibuprofen."
Here's what I wrote to Kelly Rich (who did the route's first ascent):
"I led it clean on Tuesday."
"Bad rock, guano, pro that varies from iffy to pretty darn good. Super exposed cruxes, one after another. Maybe not a route that is worth a "star," but what a brilliant effort, seeing and conceiving of such a natural line. The route may not be "quality" (whatever the hell that means), but, if I were you, I'd be really damn proud of it."
I would absolutely recommend this route to any climber who is determined to do every route under 5.10 at Pinnacles.
Two days later I'm realizing that this was an all-out, total effort for me mentally and physically. Everything I had. I still hurt all over like someone pounded me with a baseball bat. I still recall my (instant) thought process halfway through the last crux: "Shit - this is getting hard. Shit - I'm so pumped. Shit - I don't want to have to come back here." I pulled that off with nothing left.
I also still recall the fun of watching Gavin follow it. He is so damn smooth and so totally calm. Impressive as always. And then, with one move to go to "easy" a hold broke and he was robbed.
Thank you again both Gavin and Alacia for your encouragement and your patience.
