Encouraged by the promising forecast and Andrew wanting to get back into climbing after his surgery about a month ago, we made a quick trip to Smith on Sunday. The plan was to climb on the west side in the morning and move to the east following the sun. The river was running high so we ended up staying on the west side. We met my friends Shirley, Radek and Jason down there and as always had a fun time climbing bunch of cracks. I led Bad Finger (5.10b) it was sustained and exciting going over bulges. Definitely deserving its 4 star classic status. Andrew made quick work on Cruel Sister (5.10a). At this point we lost the sun. We moved up stream and wondered if I could lead Old and in the Way (5.10c). I had followed Radek's lead couple weeks ago cleanly but on lead the moves would be really committing. As always after having the pre-lead jitters, I barely pulled the first bouldery crux off the ground. After fiddling with my uninspiring gear for a while I committed to the next long move. A hefty grunt or scream got me up and over the crux, wow. On the way out we climbed Quasar (5.10a) and drove back home satisfied. Good day!
(Climbing Bad Finger (5.10b), picture by Radek C.)
