Outdoor Climbs - Progress at Turtle Rock

I've been climbing for close to two years, and more often than not I find myself frustrated because I don't feel that I've improved much since the first year. This mostly happens when I'm climbing indoors. The routes are constantly changing at my gym, so I rarely get the chance to go back and climb routes I've sent before in past to track my progress. Outdoors though, that's a different story. It's always there, and easily the easiest way for me to see how much (or how little) I've improved.

I've gone to Turtle Rock 4 times so far this year.

The first time, I went with a few of my close climbing buddies and a few of the staff from my climbing gym. I remember being out of breath walking from the car to the rock (a short uphill walk). I remember I attempted the V4 traverse and not being to find any footing because I was wearing my way oversized Evolv Elektra's. I remember my fingers burned from holding on to the sharp rock. I didn't feel confident in my moves and opted to get off the walls than to take falls trying.

Less than a month later, I went back to Turtle Rock. The rock was still just as sharp as I remembered it to be. But, I was making progress (on the easier variation, using bigger holds higher on the rock that are technically off for the V4), with my ill-fitting shoes. I still didn't trust my feet all that much, but I was going out of my comfort zone to try and make the moves I needed to make.

It was half a year later when I got the chance to come back. In between these trips I climbed at many different gyms, went to other outdoor crags, and worked on improving my footwork as well as my grip strength and stamina. I also started running/hiking more often (I hardly ran before).

Coming back was so exciting! I had finally broken in my new Scarpa Vapors (they might be half a size too small, but they were on sale) and was ready get back on the rock. That  walk up was a breeze, even with all the extra added weight from bringing my Dslr, food, water, and tripod. The rock, surprisingly, wasn't all that sharp but instead felt perfectly grippy. With my Vapors, I was able to trust my feet on the smaller foot chips and focused more on body positioning and foot placement rather than death-gripping to keep myself on the wall.

All of a sudden, I felt so much more in control, and much stronger. I was making it farther on the traverse, I was pulling harder, using heel hooks (which I would've hardly ever done outdoors in the past), committed to all the moves I made, and all on the harder version of the route. I decided to not use any of the nice big holds on the easier variation of the route and figure out a beta that worked for me. It took me two trips to the rock to get that move down at the crux, but I eventually got past it.

It felt exhilarating.

Unfortunately, I have not finished the traverse from beginning to end all in one go, despite my improvements. But I am finally piecing together the sequence, and getting farther than I ever have before, so this only makes me more excited to go back.

The beautiful sunset we got to see later on was an added bonus. Without a doubt, this place is quite picturesque:

We even brought some headlamps and lights to get some night climbing in:

At the end of the day, it's the combination of good company, good vibes, fun climbs, and the beautiful outdoors that makes my outdoor climbing adventures a day well spent. I'm really grateful for every climbing trip I get to go on.

I'm excited to go back again and finally send this route.