Brototype 1.0

Late afternoons and early evenings at the lake are ALWAYS so nice. I've yet to have a bad one up there. Turns out that they're even better on the East Bluff.

Katie and I went up around 4 or so last night and had a nice little session at one of the talus fields underneath Monolith. We had a few things in mind but mainly it was the Australia Slab and Brototype 1.0. During a random session at Sex and Chocolate this past summer, my injured self wandered off and figured out where the boulders were.

I'd walked for maybe 15-20 minutes through really big, unstable talus before finding them and I wondered how far off the trail I was. As I started walking up I spotted the trail a mere 20 feet above Brototype. Super easy access guys.

We started out on the slabs and I did both aretes. I think I had too many expectations and was hoping they'd be like Super Slab. Unfortunately neither was very good and the face itself, while being one of the most amazing and beautiful walls in the park, is covered in an odd patina that's kinda chossy. It's definitely not as solid as much of the other rock in the area so it dampered my enthusiasm a bit.

The Slab

We moved up to Brototype shortly after that. Without going into all the details, Katie quickly found yet another problem at the lake that's at full extension for her. A bit funny and yet very sad.

Katie, in her element....extended

I was able to piece together the moves fairly fast and did the problem after a half hour or so of off and on attempts.

Brototype 1.0

The problem itself is really cool. The movement is great and the landing isn't terrible. That said, it's kinda dabby and the left start jug destroys your palm pretty badly. It's definitely worth spending some time on if you're up there. Also, if you're looking for a project in the 5 or 6 range, this is a great option.

Does it look like I'm dabbing????? I did...

I'm impressed those guys did it in the middle of summer as I'm sure the slopers felt like complete shit. I had great conditions last night and used slightly different beta I think.

This area has a bit of potential left in it too. I spent 10 minutes crawling around the caves around there and the walls have some features on them. I even found a pretty cool little problem that climbs out of a pit. Very psyched to head back up that way tomorrow.


On a more personal note, yesterday marked something kinda special for me.

1 - I didn't think about my shoulder once while I was climbing. Not a single time. This is the first time that's happened since I got injured. Go team!

2 - It was also the first time in a very long time that I've felt "good". I felt light, snappy, quick. It's something I haven't really felt since I did Moj. I'd forgotten how nice it feels.

3 - Katie has also caught the absurd "take a picture of yourself" bug. Awesome. Also, thank you Katie for taking a bunch of pictures. Here's your reward.