Apparently, Bishop was one of the hardest bouldering spots in the world. That made me feel better as to why I found most everything nearly impossible to traverse. Today we planned an early start to go to the Buttermilks. I grabbed a notebook at the hostel and wrote down a list of things that made my heart sing—climbing now being at the top.
Then, I left with Bunmi and Jaran to join the rest of the group in the mountains. We met them at a boulder close to the parking lot and I watched them climb. Obsession was on the horizon. I was very observant, paying close attention to their methods and what movements they chose. Humbled yet again when I couldn’t make it more than a couple of feet, but I kept trying despite my fingers turning raw.
I saw a couple of random guys in the distance working on climbing a rock face that looked satisfying, so I walked over to join them.
“You’re more than welcome to give it a go,” they said.
The rock had what appeared as puzzle piece plates that made it easy to grab onto. My group saw that I ascended it and cheered me on from a distance. Although the rock faces I attempted were probably a piece of cake in comparison to what they were used to, I appreciated how much they supported me.
I went to climb another boulder that barely had any white chalk on it, probably because it was considered way too easy for most climbers that came to the Buttermilks. I wanted to learn different techniques and hand placements so Bunmi helped give harder lines for me to work on. I practiced gently lifting myself up onto the boulder rather than pulling myself up or jumping. I ascended the boulder over and over again until I felt confident with the height and maneuvering through different types of grabs. My favorite, I discovered, was the long rock cracks.
God, I just felt so grateful that these people basically adopted me to climb with them and teach me. What a generous gift it was to share skills/knowledge, offering patience to someone who was just learning. Today I learned a few new things. First, climbers call the boulders ‘problems.’ I think they viewed it as a ‘problem’ so that they could figure out how to solve the route. Second, I learned that climbing directly in the sun required more use of chalk because you were more likely to sweat, hence why late fall/early winter is a common time to climb. Third, climbers also referred to themselves as dirtbags, just as did thru-hikers. Fourth, I learned that when your forearms are tight it’s called ‘pump.’ It happens when you overuse your muscles or when you’re starting out climbing and building strength. It helped to shake them out in the middle of a climb which brought energy back into them.
We stayed in the Buttermilks till dark, it quickly dropped down in temperature the moment the sun disappeared behind the mountains. The group made a little fort using their crash pads to help block the wind. They brought the heater inside and ate some grapes.
Then, we walked over to Iron Man. The most I did was touch it. I couldn’t believe people were even capable of traversing such a route. I look at these boulders and think there’s no way this would be possible to accomplish until I see someone who does it and then it proves to me that anything is possible with perseverance and practice.
