Fall into Winter:Swimming, Climbing, Skiing

Swim team has been a blast! I dove(haha)  into the season pretty apprehensive and not sure what to expect. I was venturing into new waters(okay that one was a good). It turns out I’m about as fast as I was when I was eight. More importantly, that doesn’t really matter. It’s like everyone just shows up for a kick-butt workout and then parties afterwards. If you cared about your time then you join club. The most fun nights of my life have been with swim team. And it’s not a gender discriminating sport, bonus. Mostly I love the kids who do it. With football, the sport was exhilarating but the kids were snots. With swimming you reach the feeling of pure exhaustion. The feeling of the last ten meters where you feel lactic acid building up pumping through your veins, and your about to black out. Then the race is over, you cool down, and you feel fine. Holy Crap! And then getting together afterwards and having dance parties, dressing in footie pajamas, or the bus rides home. WoW!

I am obsessed with rock climbing. There is something about it that is simply magnificent. It is probably the scariest thing I’ve ever done, specifically lead climbing, but something about it keeps calling me back. It’s probably because it’s an adrenaline junkies best friend! I also enjoy the challenge it presents and I like knowing what I can do to improve and that there are so many techniques that up your game that much more. I like the adversity of climbing and that you can never get bored. I like being inspired by techniques that random people share with me. I like the atmosphere the stereotypical climber has about them. Climbers in general are easy-going, chill (one of my favorite adjectives), and basically there to have a good time. I was at a climbing gym and this random guy just gave me pointers here and there just because he was cool. He continued on to show me this really cool bouldering route he set that requires you to swing upside down using only your feet.

My most recent experience with climbing was over Thanksgiving Break. It was a perfect climbing day and the guy who showed me the cool bouldering route had also recently showed me some crack climbing techniques. Kaleb, Jordan, Neal and I went up AF canyon to our usual face on the north side of the road. We started with an easy route and Neal learned the grandeur of climbing shoes. Next I was feeling ambitious and wanted to do a crack climb. We went over to a wall with multiple 5.10 pitches, an area that we were pretty unfamiliar with. Last time we were on this wall I saw a man drop 15 to 20 feet on the same crack route we were about to climb. Kaleb started leading and avoided using the crack as much as possible. Once he felt out of options, I took his place and started leading. It took me 20 minutes just to get another clip in. I got 5 in, 2 of which required me to use the crack. Getting my fifth clip in required me to solely use one hand on a crack technique I was barely starting to experiment and become comfortable with. There were multiple instances where I was positive I was going to drop. Knowing you’re going to drop is ten times worse than a sudden fall. Somehow I held, the next clip was the chains. There was a boulder that stood in my way that I tried to maneuver around for 30 minutes with no luck. The sun now down, I was at a difficult predicament. I then worked for 45 minutes trying to figure a way to get down, which eventually resulted in me leaving equipment on the mountain. As I repelled to the ground, we all embraced each other for a good 10 seconds, happy to feel the guarantee of each other’s safety.  We trekked half a mile to the car and once illuminated, I found my hands to be torn from my new love, crack climbing. That night I put my head on my pillow and fantasized crack climbing with unimaginable skill and tenacity. I thirst for my next opportunity to better the mountain.

 
Skiers have the same easy-going attitude as climbers. This attribute only makes skiing more enticing. I wish I could hibernate the summer so that I wouldn’t have to miss a skiing day. Either that or go to the southern hemisphere for the summer. Time slows down as you are cutting through thigh deep powder in a white out with only the ability to see in a 10 foot radius. You are literally in your own world, carving your character on your canvas, the mountain. I cannot say how happy the recent snowfall has made me. I picked up Harrison for early morning seminary as the roads were being blanketed with snow. Once we made eye contact we both starting high pitched screams and bursts of excitement, our arms flailing, as if a girl who had recently won a 10,000 shopping spree or backstage passes with one direction. Going to my friend’s house a block down the street took me ten minutes because I had to take some drifting detours. Snow is simply amazing.