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.

Advice I'm Glad I Took (and wish I would have taken more of)

Regular readers know that I'm a middle-aged husband of one and father of two. My wife and boys are the most important things to me in the world. Because they're important I have real job that provides a steady income, but only gives me three-weeks of vacation (I'm lucky at that!) per year. Honestly, I would love to spend that time almost entirely on climbing trips, but alas, I get about twelve weekdays per year to go on climbing trips - not a lot. I was just flipping through the forums over on Mountain Project. I noticed one for Ride Offered- Boulder to the Valley Leaving 9/6, and when I saw it, I felt a nostalgic little tug at my heart.

I was lucky enough to live in "The Valley" for two falls when I was a still a college kid. All-told, my ticklist from that time is rather unimpressive. Though I did have a blast, make and cement lifelong friendships and learned more about myself by sleeping in the dirt than I could have ever imagined. The climbing was amazing, and I truly became a much better climber during my time there, but the climbing exists almost as a footnote when viewed from a dozen-plus years later. After I returned from my second excursion, my full-time adult career started - climbing, and adventuring in general, took a necessary sideline.

So, onto that advice. If you're young, and you can, do it now. "It" might be climbing in the Valley, backpacking across Europe, paddling the Inside Passage...you name it. Do it on the cheap, but do it now. Adulthood has a way of popping up quickly and once it does; it is usually here to stay.

If you wait for the perfect time; you will never go. Don't ask yourself "Why now?" but instead ask yourself "Why not now?" and "If not now; when?"

Go and cast yourself into a great adventure - its lesson and memories will soothe your future.