Anubis FWA

The Comb showing the line of Anubis, on the day of the ascentQuite unexpectedly, I managed to complete my long term ambition to make the first winter ascent of my own summer E8, Anubis on Ben Nevis. The number of hours to finish the lead might just be countable on one hand, and completely exhausted me for the following three days. In other words, I completely went for it.



Starting up the initial overhang Photo: Christina BellIt seems to contradict reason, but it seems clear to from my experience that there are many different states of mind which seem to work well for bringing out the best (or should it be worst?) in climbers for hard leads. ‘confident and solid’ is most consistent, but suffers often from nerves and fear of failure. ‘Invincible’ can produce moments of sickening boldness/recklessness, but always makes for a short career in climbing. ‘Angry’ is only really good for pull-ups. Climbing is too delicate for it’s unchannelled release of energy. ‘F**k it, what have I got to lose?’ was where I was at on the crux of Anubis. Life is too short for caution when you are on the right route, at the right time. So I dispensed with caution.A small gear ripping fall on the initial wall leading to the main roof helped a lot to relax the body. I had been needing that for about two or three seasons. I started again. This time climbing like I wanted to get higher.



Crossing the crux roof Photo: Christina BellSeveral hours later, with nothing left in my arms, my feet slipped off again on the final headwall, well out from the last gear. I had the eyeball bulge of a leader with three seconds to find a solution or fall. A footless speed-downclimb of about 8 moves and kung foo kick back onto the footledge under the roof saved one more chance to get to the belay. Christina burst out laughing at the sight of it. I laughed as well, after a minute or two.Next time up was my last strength, so I got there. I pulled through my 70 metre ropes, tied them together and kept going up the comb in a 140 metre pitch, before untying and continuing up the ice grooves, and eventually standing in the quiet of the summit by myself for a few minutes.Grade in winter? No idea. I’ll have a think about it. I haven’t ever tried or done anything harder in winter. I guess there are worse chores than grading your hardest route. The route started as an idea to see if it was possible today to maintain the Victorian mountaineering tradition of opening a new climb in summer conditions, and progressing to an ascent in winter. Great that it’s still every bit as possible as it was a century ago.



The highpoint of my 2nd attempt, the other week Photo: Andy Turner



Anubis in summer E8 mode Photo: Cubby Images



Postscript: Just before I posted this up I read a timely post on Ian Parnell’s blog with a full list of all the routes of grade IX and above. I can’t say it really helped that much for making a wild and disclaimer-ridden stab at a grade for Anubis. But what did stand out was the consistency of routes which are often reasonably protected HVSs working out at IX in winter. There are of course some E2s and up to about E4s that have been done as winter mixed routes, generally where the cruxes involve cracks. Anubis, although dramatically harder at E8 does have a useful short crack at the crux, but then a section of E5 6a face climbing on small crimps. Bla bla… the long and short of it is I do think it’s a significant step up from any of the routes I’ve done. The crux is not much harder than Don’t Die, but then the rest is like stringing three of the IXs on Ian’s list together. So maybe it’s XII if my other two routes are really XI. Or if The Hurting and Don’t Die are really grade X then Anubis might make it into XI. I’ll keep thinking about it...

Iris reticulata 'Pauline'

This little beauty might not make it until Garden Bloggers Bloom Day on the 15th so I took its photo even though the light was already gone from that bed. What a surprise to see a new flower after last night's 20ºF! The prediction for tonight is 24ºF - then no more hard freezes for a while.

This is Iris reticulata 'Pauline', bulbs bought at the Natural Gardener in December. I used to grow several varieties of this iris in Illinois but haven't seen one in flower since 1999. Somehow it feels like a symbol of hope on this historic day.

The Advantages of Aging

"The great thing about getting older is that you don't lose all the other ages you've been." Madeleine L'Engle
It's true that we accumulate decades like charms on a bracelet and can remember where we were and what we were doing and how we felt. Hopefully all the experiences will make us wise. I want to be a wisewoman. Not just a woman who is wise but a Wisewoman. It sounds more romantic anyway!
I love reading L'Engle's non-fiction. If you've never read her, try her. She also writes sci-fi, but I'm not into that AT ALL.

Are we nearly there?

You can imagine the five year old Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon asking this as the pony and trap, or the stately Daimler, moves slowly down the long driveway towards home. Home was Glamis Castle, seat of the Lords of Glamis since 1372.
Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon later became the Queen Consort of King George VI, and after his death the much-loved Queen Mother.

12 New Year's resolutions for paddlers

If you've outgrown your drysuit, go ahead and resolve to lose some weight. Otherwise, try these on for size and choose the ones that fit.
In , I resolve to...
1. Work on skills that don't come easily to me.
2.Seek out a mentor who can challenge me in my long-term development as a paddler.
3. Join organizations that protect the environment.
4. Introduce kayaking to someone else.
5. Complete a risk assessment every time I go out on the water and file a float plan.
6. Learn to repair my boat and gear (or at least some of it).
7. Engage in a thoughtful debrief after each paddle to learn from my experiences.
8. Support my local paddlesport shop as much as possible.
9. Practice rescues in the conditions and seasons in which I paddle.
10. Learn to tie a new knot.
11. Learn a related body of knowledge (e.g.wilderness first aid, leave no trace, meteorology).
12. Paddle in unfamiliar waters (preferably outside my region).
We hope is a happy, healthy year that fulfills all your paddling desires.
Best,
Sharon + Alec

Recent Game Cam action

I swear they look more like cheap plastic toys than real animals, but they dig enough foxholes for a whole regiment of green army men.

Masked bandit who looks like she's been on a diet. (I dreamed I was about this thin last night, but when I woke up it wasn't true.) We had a lot more raccoons when we lived in the suburbs than we do here out in the country.

Looks like frost on the grass, doesn't it? But this is Alabama, not Minnesota. The camera hasn't moved, but the previous photo was before all the recent rain, and this one was just a few days ago. What a difference in the grass!

Why are you so skinny? You've eaten all but two of our chickens!
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Wayne has been showing some recent pics from his Cuddeback too. He's got a different version than we do.
I'm not sure what type Linda has, but there's been a lot of action at her house!
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I forgot to post a link to the Friday Ark on Friday. So go visit now if you haven't already.

Our boat

I wondered if I was seeing things.

It was several months after we bought the land. We were driving on one of the paths, when I thought I spied something a bit odd. "Stop! Back up!"
Yep, it really was a boat. In the middle of the woods.

World's biggest planter?
Many country people don't see the point in paying to take things to the county landfill, when they've got so much perfectly good land of their own on which to dump stuff. So we're continually finding surprises in the woods.