Jan. 17, 2009 - Sand Rock, AL
Delayed but also inspired by the Boatrock bouldering competition on January 10, the club had their January climbing trip on January 17 to Sand Rock, Alabama. The weatherman said it would be partly sunny and get up to 40 degrees. But it stayed cloudy, windy, and never got above 32 degrees! A number of souls braved the bitter cold... at least for a little while.
Chuck, Cathi, Jim, Adam and Lionel started the day off on Knob Wall(5.6). Denmark, Gary, and Jessica arrived a little bit later and climbed some easier top rope routes on Jaws block. Chuck led My Dog Has Fleas(5.8) -- with a bit of a break in the middle to thaw his completely numb hands. The only two of us with any common sense left early and enjoyed a Centre gas station BBQ sandwich on the way home. Meanwhile, Gary led Chimney Approach(5.4) on the Holiday Block and set up a top rope. Now that he was warmed up and on a roll, Gary continued the charge, leading the 5.8 crack to the right of the Standard Route on the Pinnacle -- in his sneakers.
Everyone took turns top-roping various climbs, including the Standard Route and its 5.9 direct start. Then it started to snow. Gary and Jessica decided they'd had enough and headed out. The final few headed over to the corridor between Jaws Block and West Side Rock to find some shelter from the wind, and maybe a climb. Chuck and Lionel made the icy scramble to the top of Jaws Block, and after some finagling managed to build a solid anchor above some promising rock in the corridor. After everyone had a turn climbing, we finally decided to call it a day and fled to the car in what was now a faint, freezing drizzle.
Despite the miserable weather, quite a bit of climbing fun was had. We'll take good company over good weather any day!