I sent Blue Eye Samurai. I got home from work last night but hadn’t planned to boulder. But conditions were perfect, so I asked Jay to go. We took two pads and our shoes and chalk bags.
She tried Better Call Saul, and I should have gotten on it again, but instead I threw the pads down under that prow. No day but today.
Two pads gave me confidence, and it got a boost when Jay moved the pads for me as I moved out the prow. I sent it first try. I didn’t cut feet.
It’s funny; the crux of the route was the 5.3 exit slab move above a twelve foot 5.9 overhanging prow. It’s not hard; it’s just high.
It was the perfect mix of steep and slab, hands and feet, comfort and tension. Yeah. Perfect.
I couldn’t stop thinking about that line. I looked at that five or six years ago and saw the possibility. I didn’t really think I’d ever do it. And here I am. Author of a classic.
It’s the perfect bouldering story: Long lost problem. Rediscovered. Delayed return. Pondered. Doubt. Then I cleaned it. Then I cleaned it some more. Put hands on it. I might just do it. Threw a pad down. Swung such cool moves. Enough to know it would go. Squatter in my blotter. Not in dread but in drive. All came together. Spotter Jay. Temps were fine. My energy was high. Stoke followed.
Hands to stone, feet placed, and I flowed upward. Controlled reaches. Confident pulls. Gunksian position. Finally onto the shelf. I did it!
I am the wizard of slab. Upward I dance. Pause at the 5.3 crux twenty feet off the ground. Grab the ridge and heave over. Blue Eye Samurai.
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| I dabbled in creating images in Copilot until I realized how detrimental creating AI imagery is. These are relics... |


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