Yesterday I came to a realization that the past 3 years have all followed the same pattern as far as my climbing is concerned. Each of the 3 years began with a roughly 6 month break from climbing due to various injuries. Back in 2007 I was struggling with tendinitis in my elbow, 2008 began with consecutive surgeries on both of my hands and this year I struggled with a finger injury and a torn ligament in my knee. Fortunately, the past two years both ended on high notes and I was able to pack 12 months of climbing into the remaining 6.
The last 6 months of this year are on the same track, and the weather in Wisconsin has been a big factor. Outside of one sweltering week in June the temps have been in the low 80s or upper 70s and humidity has been relatively low. For climbing outside in the summer one couldn’t really ask for more.
Taking advantage of another day in the mid-70s, Mrs Narc and I headed up to Devil’s Lake once again yesterday to log some trad climbing mileage in preparation for our upcoming trip to Tuolumne. While we didn’t get as many routes in as we had hoped, one important milestone was achieved: Mrs. Narc’s first trad lead! Here are a few pictures of her on one of my favorite easy leads at the Lake, Full Stop (5.6ish):
Full Stop is probably not an ideal first lead as there isn’t a lot of gear, but Mrs. Narc really cruised it. Not pictured is her running it out 20 ft. to the belay near the top. Nice!
Here are a few more pictures from the day:
Stagnant potholes
A staggering amount of talus
