I went down to Seattle Bouldering Project this evening, after I’d put the kids to bed. It’s the first time I’ve been down to the main location since February, I think. Now, there’s strict limits on how many people can be in each area, the cafe is shut, the whole place felt spooky, like I’d arrived at a climbing ghost town three days after Halloween.
Going to the new wall in Fremont, where again, there’s not more than ten people in the cavernous hall, doesn’t feel so odd. I guess it’s because that place has always been that way, whereas when I go to the old location I remember it having more people, and always there being someone to encourage or commiserate with. Now, the emptiness is distracting.
I climbed mostly downstairs in the Pacific Northwest room. This is principally overhangs and a bit of slab work; I like overhangs, I always expect to slide down slabs and wreck both my ankles and lose skin from every extremity. So that was one with mixed feelings for me. And again, it was odd; there were problems that I could do quite easily, and others, graded lower, that I’d attempt and just fail at. Mind on other things, tired from the day, or just not the right evening to be out climbing.
I went upstairs, did a few more routes, saw my hands beginning to come apart and taped them to protect against any harm, but by then I think the fatigue was really telling. I managed a last green climb, and then left, getting as far as walking into the rain before realising I was still wearing my climbing shoes and had left my slip ons on a shelf. I guess that means my climbing shoes are too comfortable, eh?