Jackson Falls - June 14, 2009

Climbers - Yusuf, Calvin
Weather - sh!te-ish

The weather was supposed to be good. Better than the previous weekend. High of um, 86 or so, leaving us with good climbing weather in the morning. So we arrived, high anticipation, noting it was a bit humid. Then we noticed it was seeping. We headed over to Spleef Peak to do some warmups, found it too wet, then headed over to the Gallery. That too, was damp, but doable, so I climbed Earthbound .10a, and promptly greased off at the first sloper section. Greased off a few more times, before sending the rest of it. Great start. Yusuf climbed, using some creative beta and skipped the slopers. Smart.

While Yusuf was climbing, we heard some thunder in the distance. Now Yusuf is what I would describe as a, "deliberate and measured" climber. Takes his time, analyzes his moves and uses an unhurried method. Normally works great, except it started pouring in the middle of his climb. Usually, this prompts a climber to climb faster. Not Yusuf. Finished just the way he started, never no mind any rain. :)

We then sat a bit dejectedly, waiting for the rain to stop. It didn't look good, and we started eating food and planning an exit strategy. We packed up and were headed to the rope ladder, when the sun started peeking out... ?? Determined to make a day of it, Yusuf and I found Puff .11a, 3 routes to the right of the Falls. In the book it's 2 routes to the right, but the first route must be newly bolted. Puff was miraculously dry, and Yusuf had fun putting the draws up. Somewhat thin climbing, to a nice cruxy sequence, along with the requisite Jackson slabby/slopey topout. I fell there figuring out the beta and sent next go. Yusuf then opted for Hydra .12c, immediately to the left, which we'd heard was a, "one move wonder" climb, the implication being it wasn't worth the effort. It's short; 3 bolts, maybe 40 ft tall, but it looks full value for all 40 feet. You do some work getting up there. The pockets were seeping, so Yusuf struggled to link the moves and we decided to come back in the Fall when temps were better and it was a bit drier. I, rather wisely for once, decided against that climb.

We then found Spleef Peak to be dry, so we hopped on The Garden Route .10a, which was very fun slab, and Blue Spark 5.8, also fun slab. They both felt equally hard to me, which is weird, but not surprising given my poor understanding of slab technique. Yusuf once remarked that my slab climbing consisted of some "ghetto climbing." Ugly, but it works.

By this time the humidity had rolled back in... if you've been there or are from the area, you know exactly how this feels. 3pm and we bailed. We were both a bit drained from the heat, but I still never regret getting outdoors, no matter the weather.