Gossip Column

Photo by Maijaliisa Burkert

We all knew that this could not last.  The January where rock climbers are beside themselves with joy, but all outdoor sport enthusiasts are able to continue their sport well into January.  Well… maybe not the skiers/snowboarders.  Sorry guys…

It was JANUARY and some of my friends have been climbing in Yosemite and Tuolumne.  For years, I can remember not  being able to go to Tuolumne until after May because the roads were still closed.  How crazy is that?

Without winter, we would be screwed… big time.  But, I was just, finally, able to start climbing again.  I knew that it wouldn’t last all winter, but I was really enjoying it while it did.

A couple of nights ago, I was sitting in bed, looking over my Yosemite SuperTopo.  Kind of preparing myself up for another season of climbing in the Valley, when I decided to make a plan.  Amazingly, I have done more climbing in Red Rock, NV than in Yosemite.  And I live 3 hours from the Valley vs. 13+ hours from Red Rock.  The desert always calls my name….

Truth be told, I don’t really like climbing in Yosemite.  There… I said it!  I know that is basically blaspheme for any climber to say, especially one who is fortunate to live close to the park but…. I’ve just never been a fan.  I prefer the desert, and Red Rock is still my #1 place.  It’s something about the granite that just terrifies me.  It is completely unnerving and I climb at  a WAY  lower grade there than anywhere else.  Yes, I am aware that Yosemite style climbing is different, and rated as such, but still…. I just can’t seem to find the grace there, that I can find in the desert.

I blame it on the fact that my first outdoor climbing experience was on granite.  It terrified me from the moment I put my hand on the rock, and I don’t think I have ever gotten over that.  My hope is that during next season, I can finally get over this fear, by climbing all of the single pitch routes in the Valley, all below 5.9.  Yea… I’m even talking about the 5.0 routes that I could free solo.  I figure that if I am going to ever get over my Yosemite fear, I have to give myself a good base.  There for, the challenge for next season is to climb as many (if not all) of the single pitch “easy” routes.

And then?  Move onto the “easy” multi-pitch climbs…..

I can’t believe I am even saying that, but it is true.  I have only successfully done ONE multi-pitch…. ever!  Man, this post is turning into a confessional of all my climbing secrets.  But it is true, I have the honest to goodness curse of a sport climber.  I like physically challenging, “short”, sport routes.  Mulit-pitch climbs are hard for me.  Usually not physically, because I don’t have the experience to do anything that is too difficult, but mentally… I just hate them.  I don’t like sitting in my harness for 3+ hours and my mind starts to wander and I start to get nervous/scared.  At that point, the climbing isn’t fun for me.  I just want to get down.

On non-climbing related news, I submitted my finished graduate application for my MS in Geology!  I am really excited/nervous about this because I really (really) want to get in.  I think I would be really good at this, and it is obvious that my world already revolves around rocks.  I’d love to do something with my degree that could protect and help all of the areas that I have come to call home for short amounts of time.

Now that I know I will not be going outside to climb this weekend, I have to decide on what I will be cooking.  I need to make some more of my Aztec Chocolate Cookies because they are great, and I am craving them; but I also want to make something different.  Maybe a soup or I’ll work on my Curry recipe…. if you have and suggestions, let me know 

Lauren Azevedo-Henderson is a climber and foodie with a degree in Art History. Lauren has been cooking all her life and has been seriously climbing for just over 2 years. While living in her ex-boyfriend’s van (only for long weekends or a week at a time) she started cooking what you would call “gourmet” food on a camp stone in the van. She now spends most of her time in Red Rock, NV and started writing her food/climbing blog “The Climbing Chef” just last year.

Tags: Desert, Granite, Lauren Azevedo-Henderson, Red Rock, The Climbing Chef, Yosemite

This entry was posted on Friday, February 17th, 2012 at 11:07 am and is filed under Chicks Experience, Training and Nutrition. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.