Thinking Globally, Climbing Locally

As we make our way through the dwindling winter days and short lived warm spring days that are spread far and wide we as climbers look for any window for climbing we possibly can find. Although sometimes this search can lead us indoors we can still come across some great opportunities for something good. Last week we (Kaylene, Dan, and I) went up to good ol' Rexburg to see what we could find. We decided to hit up the bouldering gym inside Sticks and Stones, an outdoor equipment retail store, and all of a sudden an instantaneous feeling of deja' vu struck me right between the eyes. All the routes set were from the previous year's bouldering competition, one I would never forget.

See last year I was just moving back from California, just barely started climbing back up only a few months before the move, and when I got back I had heard of this Comp. and decided I would attend. I arrived there alone with no spotter/partner, an old pair of oversized shoes, and no chalk bag of my own but I was very enthusiastic about how the competition would play out. Near the end of the heat me and another person were fighting for the top out on one last route before time went out. With only one minute left I stepped up to the route, all the moves burnt into my mind, and began to send it. Moving through the first couple moves with little strain I finally got to the last crux to the top out, everyone watching with anticipation, my mind racing from thought to thought I dynamically reached to the final hold trying to squeeze with all my might but fell to the ground unsuccessful and disappointed. I sat on the deck and watched my newly found nemesis send the problem and top out successfully... crushed. All that day while we waited for the other heats to finish and the awards ceremony to begin I kept replaying that last move over and over in my mind and kept thinking to myself, "if I only could've gotten that last hold.." and "maybe I can still take 1st without that route". Finally after waiting all day they revealed the winners list. In my devision at the top of the list there it was, my nemesis who finished that last problem in first place... Myself, forth. By merely missing that last hold it cost me first place position and bumped the other guy up, if the story went the other way and I had finished that route first would have been mine. Although, when they were giving away the prizes at the end because it was raffle style they ended up pulling out my name first! I received first place prize for fourth place!

So back to the present, we were climbing in Rexburg on all the old routes and when I stepped up to that route that had best me one year earlier I climbed it with no fall and in one go (could say it was a flash). It was a lot easier for me this go around than a year ago. We climbed there for the rest of day, Kaylene stepped up to some intense routes and Dan sent a couple. At the end of our session when we were about to leave a fellow climber mentioned to us that Sticks and Stones was having another boulder comp March 20th and all of our eyes widened like little kids starring at a giant jar of jelly beans. This is it, a chance of redemption and a whole new experience for Kaylene and Dan, March 20th here we come! We will post our results after the comp. and we hope you can make it up there to either climb or support the climbers! And remember:

"It is in the compelling zest of high adventure and of victory, and in creative action, that man finds his supreme joys"

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery