Today is Saturday. Although that means it will be busier than usual at the climbing gym, that also means that there might be someone there who will belay me on my project, “Chasing Dragons”. I have all the moves to send that green 5.8 route. I just have to figure out how to conserve enough energy to get beyond the crux! I can, and always have, gotten through the crux. The crux is not the problem. The problem is my grip strength without a rest and the transition back onto a slightly overhanging face where the next desperately-needed rest holds are coming out of the crux. I need to do something different with my feet; I also need to climb faster through the crux sequence and no give up for anything in the world once I have a grip on that last fin that I have to match on to get out of the crux and up to the rest holds. I am going to take my iPad Pro and my iPencil with me today and mark up a photo of the route with my beta, visualizing every movement, hand hold, and foothold. Visualization will help a lot with this project. I truly believe that. There is, of course, the element of action, too. You can only stare a wall down so long before you have to just trust your instincts and get on it. To send–or to ascend, more properly–is an active verb form in climbing. Looking the route up and down does not count on the scorecard. Oh, if it did! It does not, though. Climb, we must!
I have to get a good amount of climbing in before Tuesday because my mom and I are going to the mountains of Wyoming where their house is to do some much-needed maintenance and repair. I want to take my climbing gear along just in case I have an opportunity to climb. I probably will not have the time, however it would be tragic to have the time and have left my gear in Montana!
I am taking my tincture of benzoin compound with me, as well as climber’s tape for sure. You can patch a lot of wounds with those two things and it is much better than having nothing at all when you are trying to both disinfect and protect a skin breach from infection. A cautionary note here: If you are going to use tincture of benzoin compound, then please be aware that it stains. It stains everything it comes into contact with. Just be warned. Other than that, it is great stuff! Make sure you let it dry and apply several coats to the wound in order to seal it up good. Make sure it is tincture of benzoin compound, too. Just plain tincture of benzoin is a different thing. Tincture of benzoin compound has Storax–a blend of plant species from Indonesia in the genus Styrax containing a sticky, medicinal resin–in it that offers the protection sought in using tincture of benzoin compound. In practice, it is easiest to buy the tincture of benzoin compound either at Walmart or online, because actual drug stores tend to only have the tincture of benzoin, and not the compound version, in the wound care sections of the stores. Tincture of benzoin will work in a real bind to disinfect, but does not stick. It does not have the Storax in it, and therefore will not stick and form that protective coating for the skin. Once you get the tincture of benzoin compound on, good luck getting it off, by the way! It forms a fairly durable coating and only after many washings will it begin to come off. It has to wear off, more or less. Great stuff that preserves skin if you climb a lot and if you need to disinfect and seal up a wound!
CLIMBING 4 THE REST OF US 