gokellyrun: Squeezing the Lemmon- Jailhouse Rock

It's not running related but it's... um. cross-training! Yeah, that's the ticket....

unwinding

We spent our second day of S&P's visit trying to find some climbing spots on Mt. Lemmon.

S&P also helped us de-virginize the rope we received from SC friend's as a moving gift well over a year ago. We'd have taken it out ourselves, but we're not certified to lead climb and have none of the necessary gear.

Mt. Lemmon is Tucson's big mountain and it has well over 1400 climbing routes on it. Because it's warm at the bottom in the winter, and cool on the mountain during the summer, it's really a climber's paradise. We used a combo of the 12-year old guide Squeezing the Lemmon (be sure to get the mile marker updates online!), and Mountain Project in order to find routes.

We tried mid mountain first. Windy Point? Aptly name, too windy and cold. Ridgeline? Would have been great if we could find it.

Jailhouse Rock? Check!

The day was warm in the sun, but chilly with winds averaging 20 mph and gusts up to 40mph (brr). I simply could not get or stay warm. However, the short hike out to Jailhouse rock and the climbing itself was fantastic.

I stuck to my consistent pattern of freaking out and only getting 1/2way on a 5.7, and then going on to climb 5.9s with ease. I confuse myself, but at least I"m consistent.

Me, about to get stuck on the easiest route of the day.

S&P kicked ass, took names, and looked good - all while building anchors that could support 8,000 lbs (yes, you read that right).

But the real highlight of the day was watching L do his very first lead climbing outside. If you look at the above photos, you can see the rope is holding us from above. (you can see the rope red through the blue anchor above my head). This is called top-roping and is very secure b/c you are held throughout the climb.

In lead climbing, the rope hangs off the bottom of your belt and every couple of meters you clip it into a carabiner, creating a mini-top rope situation. But, once you move above the clip, if you fall, you fall back down below the most recently clipped clip. Basically it's scary, but it's how you get the rope to the top and allows you to climb in many more places.