The trip to Joe's was amazing. I couldn't have really asked for more success. The weather was a bit on the cold side but I managed to climb most of the problems I wanted to climb. It was so great to do all of these classics - the rock in Joe's is very unique and creates near perfect problems.
Two days ago was my last full day. After warming up, I did a fun highball called Baraka V9 on my first try. Then I hung out and watched my girlfriend Sandy climb a cool V6 she had tried previously. Next it was Noah's time to send and he came super close to doing Beyond Life. He fell going for the lip. He's still got another week of climbing there so I'm sure he'll do it.
Baraka V9At the end of the day I went to try a problem I had seen at the new 8-mile area. It didn't look like it had been done, but you never can be sure. It's near the top of the hill just right of a striking arete that had just been climbed or chalked up on rappel at least. The problem starts in two crimpy pockets and moves up to two worse holds. Then you have you make a big move to a decent edge. From there you climb a 4 star V0 to the high top out. It was super cold when I was trying it and I had to run up and down the hill to stay warm. I did the problem after a few attempts from the start. I'm thinking it's probably V11. I haven't decided on a name yet but two possibilities are Freestyle and White Rabbit following the 8-mile theme. You all should suggest some names and then maybe I'll set up a voting gadget. If anyone knows if this problem has already been done, definitely let me know. Here's a photo of me sticking the crux move.
Yesterday I climbed a bit but didn't feel great and stopped early to get going on the drive. Here's some video of my flash of Beyond Life a few days ago. I have a few more videos that I'll try to upload in the next few days.
Beyond Life from Matt Wilder on Vimeo.
