Pockets, Pinches, Crimpers, Slopes

If you are like me sitting in a pool of your own sweat, wondering if hell is more or less humid?? you probably count yourselves the lucky regional members of the east coast.  It is certainly not climbing weather in these parts.  Last weekend offered a taste of cooler temps and low humidity, the dichotomy of today.  Why is it so hard to leave the east??  Just go west...  To start, when the weather is good around here its great and if you enjoy exploring, finding new routes, adventure and are passionate about climbing the east coast has a lot to offer.  Its not as obvious as Colorado, Wyoming, California or Utah which are stacked with rock.  Any non-climber or non-anything can tell you that!  In fact when I propose the concept that I rock climb, most people immediately think of mountaineering or those places I just mentioned.  Rookies.  The east coast is subtle, quiet, haunting, less forgiving,  most of all its home.  Even when I am traveling or when life takes me to another part of the world, it will always be home.  So it was great to be back in familiar territory on new boulders this past weekend.  I got to see some new stuff that I haven't tried before and I was reminded of the stark contrast in my personality at the same time.  It's interesting how much you can love something so simple and curse the one-dimensionality of the same thing all at once.  I go up, I come down, I go up, I come down, on and on.  As insightful as this sport can be, I have the ever present realization that its a really silly sport..  as most sports are.  And alas I come full circle back to just really enjoying what it is I am doing...  and I suppose that is what life is all about.  If you can look at yourself in the mirror on a daily basis and enjoy what you are doing then its worth it.  So concludes the lesson for today, I learned yet again that I really love rock climbing, pushing myself to new places and in new directions. FIN