Tri-met rope-a-dope or A day spent crossing town.

I planned to start my day with a gym bouldering session then a short hangboard workout.  Then I remembered that the gym costs money and it was going to be nice outside.  That, and I’ll have plenty of time to climb in the gym and work on my bouldering all winter when all the real rock is wet.

With no car and no bike my only option was to head to Rocky Butte.  Not the best, but there is stuff I can work on there and real rock is always better than plastic.  The night before I packed my bag with the required hardware for a solo top-rope session.

The tools needed for climbing and commuting

The lady’s alarm went off 6, I got up made coffee and a smoothie for both of us, though she had no interest in my smoothie mash up of strawberries, banana, choc. protein powder and peanut butter, which left more for me.  I got out the door around 7:45 and caught the 56 going downtown.  After a quick transfer to the Max and short ride I took the 72 to the corner of NE Fremont and NE 82 (hooker capitol of Stumptown).  A walk up hill past the loony high school brought me to the top of the Silver Bullet Bluff at Rocky Butte.

I dropped my rig over the line that I got wrecked on earlier in the week.  Once settled I took six laps with a five minute break in between laps.  The line isn’t long, but I need some work getting more comfortable at the grade.  On Tuesday, Chris said that he thought it was totally protectable with gear.  I hadn’t given that much thought, but by my fourth lap I was starting to feel good about trying to lead it.  Rocky Butte isn’t the place you’d normally you’d project, but I’m short on resources and since one of my goals is to trad climb .10a  I may as well give it a shot.

The line follows a broken crack to roof.  You go right at the past the roof to a hand jam, this is the business end which finishes with a couple big moves to big holds.  From there its a matter of getting your feet up to reach the last finger lock.  Its easy ground to the chains from there.  Getting some of the gear in will be tricky.  But I’m stoked on it, It will be good for my head to lead this route.  It needs a bit of cleaning, but I’m sure that by the end of the weekend it’ll be ready to eat some gear.  I managed to get one lap in on a sport route before I figured it was time to start back home.

My plan was to walk back down the hill and catch the 33 bus in its waning days, to downtown then catch the 56 back to SW Nicol and Scholls Ferry  A call to the trimet tracker told me I had a twenty minute wait.  I’m too impatient for that so a walk to the transit station it was.  It was hot so I tried to move quickly past the Convenience stores, Cat houses and Adult video shops.

I always wonder what people are thinking to themselves as I cross town with a full backpack and 60 meter rope strapped to the top of it?  On my way back however I knew what they where thinking.  “That dude needs to change his clothes and take a fucking shower.”  I was covered in dirt from my unplanned climb out and I stunk to high hell.

After reversing my morning I deposited back at my destination around 3:15.  I dropped my bag on the floor, stepped over a cat and went straight to the shower.  I need to get a new bike.  This trip would have gone much faster and I wouldn’t be such a slave to public transit.  Plus with a bike and the new MAX line I can get out to Carver without too much hassle.  Or I could just sack up and ride the whole way.  I’ve had the bike plan ever since reading Hermann Buhl’s “Nanga Parbat”.   Then last week I read this little blurb courtesy of The Mountain world blog.  Though not that long of a ride, its still a pretty cool idea.  Its got me doing some planning.  I just need a bike that’s up to the task.

One of the exciting things for me was how little gear he carried with him.  For sure Maxime Turgeon is a bad ass, but damn.  I can’t even begin to figure out what he did with that much hardware and that rope?