The CragBaby

Ok…. so crag baby (the dog) is having a hard time figuring out the litter box. For some reason she only does #2 in it and then pees on my carpet. I’m starting to get a little pissed off.

I participated in my second bouldering comp today at the Front. I had always been intimidated by the idea of the comp, but in actuality it is a ton of fun because it pushes me to my limit due to the point that I am completely focused on climbing for three hours. Not only does it break down my mental barriers of how much I can really climb, but it breaks down the block of how hard I can climb.

This comp was once again fun, but the problems were quite a bit stouter than the time before plus they scored it differently and somehow I had missed that in the instructions which definitely resulted in me climbing differently (basically I should have put more attempts in on certain problems as they were subtracting less points per fall).

Overall it was a good time and I am already sore. =)

One of my favorite crags is Millcreek. It is a sport climbers haven with absolutely beautiful rock, over 2500 climbs, no guide book and absolutely no climbing traffic. But what I really like is the fact that I can barely climb there. The whole canyon is chock full of sport routes that range in the 5.12 and above range. I haven’t even red-pointed a 5.12 yet; hell, I haven’t even gotten an 11d yet. But something about the challenge of it being out of my realm, this beautiful rock just taunting me, makes me love it even more.

I had an Irish friend, who I will reference to as H.I.P.#1, come visit me a couple weeks back. I wanted to show him as many Utah ‘highlights’ as I could, so felt that Millcreek was a definite necessity. So we headed to Moab along with my friend the grayhghost (GG). Not only was it cold, the newspapers said it was a record low! Did this deter us… hell no. The GG and I love Millcreek, even when we have to wade through shin deep snow to get to the crag.

We got there fairly late in the game and only had time for the boys to do one route, but it was great just being there. The best part was, I think H.I.P. #1 is now a fellow lover of Millcreek.

Crag Baby is actually the new name for my dog (long story). Her name has always been CB, but was the initials for the words Coffee Bean. My dog is a chihuahua that has frequented many climbing spots and I didn’t really think the name Coffee Bean was that cute. So, I just got up and switched her name. She is still CB, but the words Crag Baby fits her lots better.

This blog is not going to be about my dog, actually more about mine (or I guess also her) adventures in climbing. I just thought the title Crag Baby might be a fun one.