Once upon a time, like all of us, I was a beginner. I had to be belayed across ledges and talked through cleaning an anchor. I didn’t know a right-facing corner from a left-facing corner or an Alien from a Camalot. I climbed what I was pointed at and took unexpected falls and couldn’t remember, at the end of the day, the names of the routes I’d climbed.

As an intermediate climber, I knew just enough to be dangerous. They say this is when you’re most likely to get hurt and I sure tried. I could manage myself, but I still relied on my partners to manage the team. I wouldn’t take out a beginner of my own, figuring I was only barely keeping myself alive.

People got me through these phases–important, cherished, generous, appreciated people. Geoff, Steven, and Todd taught me more than can be catalogued. My brain is teeming with advice, warnings, best practices, worst case scenarios, examples, samples, and trivia. I didn’t even realize how much I know (how much I owe) until I heard myself spewing it back out in what must have been a rather tedious flow of information to Irene and Matt on Sunday.

The kicker was Modern Times. Yes, I know all the gear and all the moves and where the secret rest is, but more than that. I know where to belay so I can hear my second. I can manage a party of three. I know that two 60 meter ropes will probably (but not certainly) get you down in one rap. But especially, after all the years of worrying first about whether I could follow MT cleanly and later about whether my partner could, it turns out I can deal with it when one can’t.

Bonnie’s Roof, 5.8 (P1 & 2: Dawn)
Sleepwalk, 5.7 (Irene)
Modern Times, 5.8 (P1: Irene; P2: Dawn)