Today was our last day in Rocklands before our five-day break in Kruger. With our VW Golf packed to the gills with gear Sean and I made the drive over the hill to the Champside. Today I was after vindication. In my sights; Kingdom in the Sky (7c). This problem is a favorite of Sean’s.
As I was looking for a place to set up the camera Sean said, “Every time I come here [to Rocklands] I do this problem. If there is any problem that suits me it’s this one.”
I was a bit skeptical of his chances today after watching him flounder on the opening moves of the warm up Schani Is Clipping Chains (6c). Again today he was climbing in that same uninterested way. I had begun to think it was going to be a long ride to Cape Town. After I had warmed up and picked my shot location Sean gave up on the 6c and decided to try something a bit harder.
After a proper French style shoe polishing Sean grabbed the start holds of Kingdom in the Sky and pulled on. Hold after hold Sean looked as if he was glued to the tiny divots and micro crimp edges. As he reached the right hand lie back I realized Sean had just sent first go with out so much as a proper warm up.
My send would go a bit less smoothly. Somewhere around my 15th attempt I felt like I was never going to send this damn thing. I was just not able to reel in that right hand lie back. Every time I would get to the same place and every time my left foot would pop. I found this particularly amusing because most people have problems with their right foot staying on.
It was time for a break. I had a power bar and some water and laid on the pads staring up at the clouds whipping by. WTF! I had the moves wired, I had the power, I had the betta. I just couldn’t unlock the damn sequence. Frustration had set in.
After zoning out and watching the clouds for a full five minutes I felt the cold creeping into my down jacket. Time to move.
The wind had picked up causing the temps to drop and threatening to bring in rain clouds. Time was getting short.
I felt shaky as I moved from hold to hold and was cursing my self for getting cold during my rest. When I grabbed the gaston crimp with my left hand I fumbled around for several seconds before finding the sweet spot I had gotten so easily before. Much to my surprise as I pulled my weight onto the hold my left foot held and I had the right hand layback solidly. Fighting to keep my core tight so as not to blow off the left foot I hiked my right foot up and bumped through to the jug at the lip.
Ten minutes later I would send the problem a second time having found the body position. Of course Sean would one up me by running laps on the problem ticking it off four times with zero falls.
The rain was holding off for now so we wandered around to the back of the boulder to give Where Do You Go From Here (7b+) a try. This low slung one move wonder is all about the big throw to a jug from the sit. After selecting his feet Sean sent in two attempts, snagging the jug solidly and finishing out the short jug haul.
Being tall Seems to be an advantage on this problem. If you can get a right drop knee and a distant left toe the right hand jug comes with out much effort (read: static). Had I opened the problem I would have given it no more than 6c. Hard to take the 7b+ for it but as we all know, grades are arbitrary.
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