Wednesday, 31-May-2023


I took a half-day from work today.

See, that’s the joy of working a white-collar job as an engineer – I have vacation time, and I can use it for strange things. Like, say, helping my friend climb 36 routes in a day before her 37th birthday!

Yep, Bri’s turning 37.

I fully supported her goal of climbing one route per year on Earth – I left work around 2pm, and headed over to the gym. Bri and Lea had been climbing for an hour or two by then, and were optimistic about how long the climbing would take… I was a bit more cautiously optimistic, since I know how much fatigue can begin to wear on a climber, but I came prepared.

Snacks, protein shakes, drinks, and the promise of glorious tacos for dinner came with me.

Routes were climbed.

Hours ticked by, and numbers increased. Climbing slowed, but didn’t stop. We persisted, through energy and fatigue, we persisted.

22 routes were climbed by yours truly.
– 3x 5.9 routes, 3 on Lead
– 16x 5.10 routes, 8 on Lead
– 3x 5.11 routes, 2 on Lead


By the end, we were absolutely spent.

But you know what that means? It meant we got extra dinner. Just… so much dinner. Tacos, nachos, quesadilla, chips, and water. So much water.

110% worth it.