Gravity

Watching Karen climb is a lesson all its own. She's standing at the foot of the rock looking up as if she is waiting for something. Patience and Wisdom are her strongest weapons in her arsenal and she is holding nothing back on this one. She chalks up and gives the route one last long look and then she moves. When she moves, she moves like a cat. Agile and graceful with a style all her own. She is comfortable here. Definitely in her element. I man the crash pad and prepare myself for whatever may happen, if she falls, I will catch her. I am focused but I know she wont need me...she was built for this. Every move calculated, every hold is solid and well thought out. Karen moves with an economy of effort and makes this look all too easy. The time she has invested out here has definitely paid off.....the last time I climbed with her (almost six years ago) she was very good. Now, she is an artist. The professional I always knew she would be. If anyone ever tells you that you climb like a girl......take it as a compliment, because it is. As a man, we tend to challenge the rock.....demanding the rock submit. We get too aggressive and rely all too much on our physical strength to overcome obstacles. Karen does not subscribe to this lamented logic. She has the eyes of a woman, sharp, rational, intelligent. There is no stress in her movement, no toxic jock syndrome. She looks at the route and says, "Show Me the way."

A good day climbing is amazing. Climbing is like meditation. When you are up there, on the rock, there is no room for any thoughts other than the climb. It is one of those activities that requires supreme attention and it has a calming effect. Whatever stress or worries you have on the ground do not follow you up here. They are fettered by gravity. Up there, you are so focused on the immediate and so very important actions that require absolute attention...that nothing else exists. That, is a very liberating feeling. One of the many reasons we climb.

There is a real meditative element to this place. I close my eyes and listen to the sounds of other climbers laughing and talking. I hear the beautiful sound of carabiners and other climbing equipment clanking like wind chimes. Birds chirping. The wind whispering through the trees. And Bailey whimpering while Brady climbs. Bailey is a Chocolate Lab that is, without question, a great dog. She watches Brady climb and never takes her eyes off him until he is back firmly on the ground. Mans best friend indeed. She is one of those blessed dogs that has a character that is just a little more accelerated than most dogs. And she clearly doesn't understand what all this climbing is about. She is Beautiful.

There's something about climbing that I just can not explain. It's something that I Love and have Loved for as long as I can remember. Every time I get on the rock I am reminded just how much I Love it. I have lived on the beach too long and, with the exception of a few trips to Arizona, I have not climbed all that much in the past few years. For me, it just comes naturally. And in no time, I feel like I am with an old friend. Muscle memory takes over and I feel right at home. The warm rock under my fingers, the feeling of leaving gravity behind, the high of the climb, it is all so overwhelmingly familiar. I just can not get enough of it.