WAGG Day 21 - Goes 59-62

May 7, 2016

It's been almost six months since I last gave Whiskey a try. A lot of things have kept me from it in that time, but it was good to be back. I have been training a lot for an upcoming mountaineering trip and NOT focussing on rock climbing strength. So, I was pleasantly surprised on my first go when I fell only a move below my best go to-date. Subsequent goes were less impressive, and my lack of training shined through. My big takeaways from the day are:

1. Whiskey a Go-Go is still amazing
2. I haven't lost as much strength as I thought, but I have lost some endurance
3. I am psyched to spend the summer and fall solely focussed on hard rock climbing and even bouldering (yes I said it).

The Socratic Method

Back in early April, I stumbled upon this:

It's tucked away in the hinterlands of Sauk County, and the access situation is complicated, so I'm not into posting it here for all the world to see. However, if you're reading, get in contact with me and I'll share its location and how to get good access. I called it The Socratic Method (WI2) - there's a hint to its location in the name if you care.

A Pitch or a Problem per Day - Psyched!

From my Mountain Project Profile

Sure it's loosely defined, but I'm pretty psyched that I'm over 365 for the year. Since I only tick "sends" the actual number is much higher. Leading Congrats with Matthew was the lucky number 365 for the year, and there are still 9 days left!

WAGG Day 20 - Goes 55-58

Well, this week was certainly better than last week. Aside from having a big day on the route (4 goes) I figured out some micro-beta that will help me further down the line.

On the first go, I was feeling pretty strong, but as I was reaching to the crux the rope obstructed the first side pull - the TR is starting to hold me back I think.

On later gos, I learned how important a finger's width is on the soapdish. Sometimes the move off the Gaston feels solid, and sometimes it feels questionable. The key is to move the hand one finger to the right(?) from what feels natural.

Such a good route!

WAGG Day 19 - Goes 52-54

In preparation for writing this entry, I took a look at the last two WAGG reports. I've been stagnating lately. This stagnation is the result of obvious reasons (excuses) which makes it somewhat tolerable and justified, but still frustrating and disheartening. Most of October I was either sick, or busy, or both. This meant only one night of action on Whiskey early in the month, and not much training to make up for the lack of physical presence. I spent the first day of November at Necedah, and took three goes on Whiskey. I think all of those goes were either two or three hang efforts on TR - not exactly progress, but hopefully the kick in the ass that I needed to spur me to better effort. I'll be back next Sunday and hopefully will see some improvement.