Crimps and Chaos at NWB

For a place that's usually my winter hangout, I somehow managed to skip five of the best months at Northwest Branch before getting back there yesterday for some much needed rock therapy.  Not that I did a whole lot aside from hanging out, but just being out next to the river with friends was apparently exactly what I needed.

Meeting up with Charlie, Mark, Harris (yes, he climbed without a harness), John, and Dana, we started off on Crimptastic at my request, though a couple test pulls were all it took to convince me that my finger wasn't ready for it yet.  I moved over to The Business, hoping to make quick work of it after figuring out a really easy sequence for me last year, and with the benefit of the last couple months of strength training for that first move.  No idea what that sequence was, but with Charlie wanting to get on Chaos Roof, I didn't really feel like wasting time trying to figure it out again.

Mark on Crimptastic

Crossing back over the river, I made a quick stop at Crimps to see how the first move felt on my finger, then joined the others at Chaos Roof.  Charlie worked it for a while along with Mark and Harris, and they almost made it look doable enough to get me off my butt.  Almost.

Charlie on Chaos Roof 

Mark on Chaos Roof

Harris on Chaos Roof

After a few really close attempts, Charlie managed to stick the dyno with one of the most exciting swings I've ever seen.  Here's the video, complete with my Gratuitous Cameraman Scream.

On the way out I stopped at Crimps just so I could actually climb something, and I was at least happy that the first move felt so static even with a recovering finger.  Crazy how I used to look at it and wonder if I'd ever be strong enough to do it.  Also a good reminder to myself to remember the progress I've made, which is easy to forget when surrounding myself with so many strong people.  Funny, Chaos Roof always looked near impossible to me until yesterday.  Maybe I should do something about that.