Tomorrow I turn 26 and my health insurance runs out. Clearly a celebration is in order so yesterday I hiked out to Black Velvet Canyon to rope rehearse and eventually solo the 5.9+ top out of Abaddon V12.
As I swung my oversized pad over my soon to be uninsured back and shoulders I couldn't help but feel the annual surge of an existential crisis. My pack felt doubly weighted and each step seemed to rattle my head like a trashcan full of 8 balls. Angst aside, there was a cool and steady breeze sighing between those big gate-like walls, and there is nothing like a cool and steady breeze to push aside an existential crisis.
If I do one boulder this year it has to be this one, I thought. I would be happy with just this one. But for today I'll be happy to overcome the fear of hurling into that pit.
After a lot of time and more than a few broken holds I summoned the courage to get off the rope and just climb the damn thing. I felt surprised when the fear didn't come knocking. So surprised that it almost threw me. I ended up doing the top again easily, as if it were Potato Chips.
I thought a lot about the complete change in attitude toward the boulder after rehearsing it. It could be that I am just rehearsing aspects of my life right now, and when the time is right I won't even need a cool and steady breeze.
Pardon the bullshit, here's a video.
Not Abaddon from BLOCHEAD on Vimeo.
As the weakest person to climb on this boulder I promise that this top out beta is the best around.
-BLOCHEAD
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