Gretna mini-spring

With a forecast in the mid-50s too hard to pass up, Charlie and Michael and I got an early start yesterday for a fun day at Gretna.  While they warmed up, I dropped a rope to clean the slab left of Scarlet Lady that I'd been working, and was happy to find several small edges buried under the bits of moss at the top.

Charlie working the slab

Michael finished it in about three tries, and Charlie got it pretty quickly after.  I, on the other hand, chickened out at the top and crossed into the lip on my left for an early exit.  Next time.

After dropping my rope back at the car, I joined them at the 45 area where they were working on Exhibit A.  I decided to save my energy, but Michael and Charlie walked away with back to back sends.

After a bit of exploring, we dropped pads at Shamoo, which the guys worked for a while without much luck.  I decided to start working Heaven, and was surprised how possible it felt even with the starting footholds continually seeping water.  Looking forward to trying it when I don't have to spend more time drying the rock than climbing it.

                                                                                                            Photo: Michael Kelliher

                                                                                                            Photo: Michael Kelliher

We went down to the Highball boulder for a bit, where Charlie came pretty close on The Squeak, and then hit Adjuster on our way back to the car.  Michael got it, and I walked away empty handed again, even after getting a few extra tries with the discovery that iPhones are brighter than our headlamps.  Wish I had topped that thing out the first time I was up there!

Looks like rain today, but my skin could use a rest anyway.  Still a week left of vacation though, so I'm sure I'll be getting out for more fun soon.