One of my favorite short pieces of contemporary climbing writing (a specific category, I know) is a piece Topher Donahue wrote for Alpinist about the route Jules Verne, a solid 5.11 testpiece in Eldorado Canyon. Reflecting on the conditions the morning of his first time on the route years ago he writes:
The air was cool, the rock was crisp. Conditions were not ideal for excuses.
.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately depending on your perspective, conditions in the Front Range right now are fairly ideal for excuses. Yesterday evening saw a quick, wet snow dusting. The day before we managed a few pitches in Eldo during the afternoon, and departed under fleeting snowflakes. This afternoon is shaping up to be better; perhaps some quick sport pitches in Clear Creek Canyon or Boulder Canyon.
It’s all good though, I came out to Golden for a relaxing Spring Break. The first trip I’ve had in a long while with NO agenda. If I get to climb: great. If I spend a week reading in coffee shops: lovely. Whatever comes my way I will be pleased. Its good just to be ‘home’ where my soul feels at ease. I’ve been going pretty high speed for a while with training, climbing, and traveling, and was starting to feel burnt out. The joints are creaky, muscles tight, and head game pulled in a thousand different directions.
Time for some much needed rest. Rest doesn’t need to be sedentary, rather I’m just going to take what comes my way for a little bit. Free myself of hard-etched goals (physically, at least) and enjoy the beautiful movement and freedom of climbing and exercise. Hopefully I come back from this respite ready to get after it with a vengeance!
Uhoh, is that a goal…?










