I broke up the drive by stopping over in Louisville on Friday night to hang out with my friends M and L. Unfortunately, the drive took much longer than expected, due a bad accident that turned I-71 South into a parking lot for a couple of hours. After a tasty breakfast, I headed out to Chattanooga for a night at The Crash Pad before heading to HP40 on Sunday morning. After another highway parking lot due to accident, I finally arrived at my destination. I am taking these delays as a reminder to drive safely. (Not that I am reckless normally.)
Sunday was a gorgeous day to boulder, with sunny skies and temps in the 40's and the place was hopping. I met up with M, who had sent a shout out online that he'd be in town for a few days and was looking for people to climb with. We warmed up on a couple of V0's I had done previously on the Cadillac Thrills boulder. I was glad I could still get up them, as it's been months since I've bouldered outdoors. (I am pretty sure Trexi was the first climb I ever did at HP40.) We moved over to the nearby V1 problem JB Slab. It probably would have been easier if I had been a bit taller, but I eventually reached the hold I needed, got my foot in the crack and then topped out. Once my heart rate returned to normal, I tackled the hop over a couple of rocks downclimb. (Thanks, M, for talking me through it.) We headed over to Eight Ball (V2) which I had attempted last time I was at HP40, but didn't finish. Same story this time, but I was glad to get as far as I had before. Next up was the Millipede area, sending Chicks (V0) and working Dope (V2), a nice short compression/sloper problem. Once the crowd left the Millipede boulder, we tried the classic Bumboy (V3). M had been working it, but this was my first time. I was pleased with my effort, but it's definitely a project for me. After lunch, we went over to the Ten Pins boulders to hit some V0's to end the day. I was definitely feeling the effects of not bouldering outdoors for months and then trying a number of problems at my project level, so there was no sendage to end the day, but lots of tip scrubbing attempts on variations of Silky (V0). M had been climbing at HP40 since Wednesday and was devoid of skim on most of his fingertips, so he decided to start his twelve hour drive back home. I fired up the camp stove to boil water for coffee while the sun was setting.
A couple of nice college students, W and C, set up camp in the site next to mine and invited me over to enjoy their camp fire. Another camper came over with "boudin fresh from New Orleans" and rolls toasted over the came fire, sharing the delicious sandwiches. Good conversation made the time pass quickly and the heat of the fire meant we all went to bed warm. The temp dropped below freezing, but I stayed warm enough in my tent.
Coffee, oatmeal and a morning fire helped warm us as we waiting for the temps to increase enough to start climbing. Toast made over the camp fire made the wait tasty. 9:15 ended up being a little early, but it wasn't unbearable. W, C and I headed over to the Ten Pins boulders for some warm ups, undeterred by the frozen waterfall in the downclimb. (Fortunately, it didn't get in the way.) Breaktime went down pretty quickly for all of us. The last few moves on Silky proved to be more challenging, as it transitions from nice pockets to slopers. All the work I put in the day before paid off as I sent it on my first go on Sunday. Next up was a hike over to the Out of Box Area to try a couple of V2's, Sure Thing and Orchid. C led the way, getting up Break Time pretty quickly, with W following. I got about halfway up, but got a case of the Elvis leg and hopped off. I took a rest while the guys worked Orchid, then gave it another go before lunch. This time, I got the high right foot I needed (don't ask my how, all of a sudden it was just there) and topped it out. The guys said my send was "burly;" I was pretty pleased by that. I gave Orchid a couple of tries, but that send will have to wait for another day.
Break Time
After lunch, another small camp fire and packing up our campsite, we headed over to the Spirit area to get a few more climbs in before the temps dropped and/or the sun set. I got up Television (V1) then did some more work on The Stranger (V2) but am still stuck at the same place as before. We called it a day as the temps and sun continued to drop. I grabbed a Buffalo Rock ginger ale for some post-climb refreshment before driving to Atlanta to spend a few days with my brother and his family, leaving HP40 with sore muscles, raw fingertips and great memories.
The Climbs
Dec 30
Trexi V0
Unnamed V0- on Cadillac Thrills boulders
JB Slab V1
Eight Ball V2 proj
Chicks V0
Dope V2 proj
Bumboy V3 proj
Silky V0 proj
Dec 31
Breaktime V0-
Silky V0
Sure Thing V2
Orchid V2 proj
Television V1
The Stranger V2 proj
