In hindsight I probably should have skipped climbing all together last night. Quite sore from training the night before and felt a bit of a fever coming on; but alas! I was too keen on ticking off the v4 cave problem! The night started well. I had a descent warm up and worked out the sequence through the crux and to the top of the problem. It was just a matter of linking it all together.
After a brief rest, I sat down on the yellow mat and prepared for my attempt. From the first move I could tell I was by no means “fresh”. However in the words of Ronnie Coleman “Ain’t nothin to it but to do it”! I made my way through the crux and up over the lip. I was sure a top was on the cards! You can imagine the horror when I slipped off the last hold – just as I was reaching up up to match! Admittedly I had messed up the final sequence, but I felt I should have completed the climb; espeically with one hand already on the final hold!
With an ever increasing forearm pump and plummeting energy levels, my subsequent attempts were all in vain. I should have retired from the project, long before I did; which lead to the inevitable. On [what turned out to be] my final attempt, I tweaked my left wrist 😦 Upon reflection, the injury was easily avoidable. I was clearly banging my head against the wall but my desire to complete the project blinded me from rationale. This goes to show there is a fine line between determination and stubbornness! The challenging part is knowing where to draw the line.
I heard Peter (one of the regular climbers) saying he had to “..finish off this v.hard problem before I can try something else. I’ve been working on it for months”! He topped the problem soon after 🙂 That really put things into perspective for me. I wish I heard that before I twisted my wrist!
Although I sustained a [minor] injury and failed to complete the project,I learnt more from last night than I did any “successful” session I’ve had. Most important thing is that “Patience is a virtue” and is fundamental to the success of any pursuit!
Project 5.12a 