These three photos represent my best efforts at recreating my thumb spika splint with climber’s tape so that I could actually and legitimately climb last night, which I did successfully! My scaphoid is definitely healed and my medial colateral ligament is in the process of healing. Nothing was painful, but I was also careful. Very careful. I used an open-handed grip with my left hand for three separate traverses – two V0’s and one V0-, which I thought was quite good, not having climbed for four months.
I had talked to the Doc earlier yesterday and was looking at the world ina very negative light – dangerously negative. “I think you should go climb.” Those were my doctor’s words. “Go climb.” He knows I wouldn’t be foolish or reckless about it and that I desperately need to climb in order to feed the rat. My rat’s been dying an agonizing death of starvation for four months and is down to skin and bones…what do you expect? We’re down to survival instincts now!
The Doc warned that it would be both better and worse than I thought it would be when I climbed yesterday. It was so great, though, that the fact that I could only do three short, simple traverses was grossly overshadowed by the fact that I actually climbed them – all four limbs on holds – without falling, slipping, dabbing, or dropping. It was so fantastic! The time that it took to replicate my splint in climbing tape form took significantly longer than my actual climbing did, but it was worth it, and now that I know how to do it, it won’t take nearly as long!
So, I plan on getting an alpine start this morning and climbing to my heart’s content (or the limit of my weakened climbing state, whichever comes first) before beginning what would otherwise be an extremely stressful day! I see a great day ahead! Grit and Fire…and Tape!
CLIMBING 4 THE REST OF US 