While I didn't make much progress on any of my "projects," I still had a great time warming up on some of the more moderate lines.
I started, as I often do, on the Mad Butcher Traverse in the roadside area. A gentle right to left traverse on slopers, ending on slightly rising crimps, I think this is one of the best problems in the forest for teaching newcomers to read the rock. It can be pumpy until you get the hang of it, but with the right footwork it's almost effortless. The Mad Butcher Block also has about seven short vertical problems, most of which I also did yesterday after the traverse. Hangover Helper, pictured below, is another favorite that can be done as either a strange mantle or as a fun deadpoint.
Heading uphill to the Tendon Repair Kit boulder, I ran a few laps on Lightning Crack, a comfortable hand crack that I wish were about ten times longer!
Moving on to Upper Rock City, I got shut down by a slightly wet Tomb Raider Roof before moving a few feet left to the much easier Tomb Raider. Moving up the left corner of the boulder, it goes from great pockets to perfect slopers, then a couple holds leading up to a huge horn. While I'm usually all for the static approach to climbing, in this case I have to admit I prefer to just jump right for the horn, if only for the sound and the resulting swing. It's the little things I guess.
I finished up on the nearby Ship's Prow boulder, mostly playing on the Ship's Traverse, a long juggy traverse across the lower lip of a triangular roof. After a couple runs on the variation, which exits straight up through large pockets after turning the corner, I made a few attempts at the full traverse before deciding it was time to get on the road again.
Three weeks of summer break left!
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