Finding my V7

I found my first v7. The one that will be my first. My goal tonight was to warm up and begin moving through as many as I could to see which ones got my attention.

Typically I end up with the hardest but coolest looking route I can find. And I climb until I’m frustrated. Climb some more… and struggle all the way through. I wanted to try to find a 7 that focused on my strengths. Which is pretty much overhand and power.

What I also really wanted was something that got me excited. That the line the setters presented really got me jonesing to come in and tackle. Some of the employees helped point a couple out and after playing around on a few I knew which it had to be. Which one will keep me up tonight thinking about. I already have new ideas for how to tackle a part of the problem I’m not even at yet.

I do really have a hard time gauging difficulty. Maybe I’ve had it easy until now, but I kept saying “which is an easy v7?” not that I want to cheat myself out of a strong victory but that I wanted to slowly notch up my difficulty. Steve (one of the employees at the Circuit Bouldering Gym) probably said it five times last night, “They’re V7’s. They’re all hard.”

It’s something I really need drilled into my head. The burly/thuggy routes are going to hurt. The crimpy/techy ones are going to test me mentally. Willi step up to the plate or back down?

Lets just say I’m in pain. I’m no stranger to it. I just have to inform my brain that this is expected. I knew this was coming. And just in attempting, I see how far I’ve come. There’s a few 7’s I can project and probably take down with some concentrated effort. I can do this. And I feel good.

As I was sitting, icing my right hand… I had an idea. The biggest complaint about my V6 video was people couldn’t tell how difficult the holds were. I’ve seen enough climbing videos to understand how to fis this… multiangle/multicamera shoot. I’ve got the equipment. There’s no reason why I couldn’t shoot my first send of a 7 in some interesting way. Maybe I can get Steve’s help with getting into the gym and shooting it?

Wait: 168 lbs (8 lbs from goal).

with the rare exception of working too much... i've cut out caffeine again. and fast food is out as well.