a first. 5.10-

i accept. given perspective, personal climbing milestones are insignificant. with hurricanes, a war in iraq, it's sometimes easy to get caught-up in our own small world of crags, 'beaners and good fitting shoes. i do, however, think that we should harness the powers of climbing for good. i bet you there would be fewer fights and wars, perhaps, if folks learned to channel their stresses and anger into shifting higher. just a thought. i digress.

two cool things happened today. i did my first "serious" bouldering problem, and i made it up a 5.10-. when i arrived today, the auto-belay device was being used by a few climbers so i decided to give bouldering a shot. i found a V0 and made it up easily. i then found a V1 and after four tries figured out how to get to the last grip. the problem solving element of bouldering is great fun. i'd definitely like to do more.

i offered to help someone belay today. after some chit chat, i revealed that i'd yet to try a 5.10 indoors, and that my 5.10 attempts were unsuccessful. we navigated up about three 5.9s and then she said, "i think you should try a 5.10". convinced, i made my way up a 5.10-. hurrah! my first clean 5.10! we then tried another 5.10 i couldnt negotiate. boo. it was still a great day. another bridge crossed.

i'll be hitting the outdoors with erik on saturday in keystone. i'm so looking forward to more outdoor rock.