Sawmill: A Bit Too Late in the Season

I guess it's Nic's fault that we all optimistically headed up north to Sawmill this last weekend. It was freezing when we left the cities, I don't know what made us think it would be any warmer up there...Jim, Nic, Scott and I crammed into Jim's Subie Impreza, and with only room for two pads and ourselves, headed north.

After the hike in we were all quite warm. After a half hour, we were all quite cold. Jim and I warmed up on Luke Warm Persistence...I came close to doing the stand start, but never did. It wasn't very long after putting on your shoes that you'd lose all sensitivity in your feet. Not long after that your fingers start to fumble just trying to FEEL anything!

Jim asked me how cold I thought it was. I was like, "Oh, I don't know...35?" He laughed..."Really? I feels a lot colder than that!" Well, it was. We're not sure, but it was definitely below freezing. There was a 1/4 dusting of snow on the top of everything, so top outs probably weren't an option today.



Scott cuddled up under his southwestern blanket between tries on Payback, which he would have sent had the proper beta been spewed at him...here's a video of Scott pretty much sending Payback. Listen for Jim at the end...



Jim and Nic were working on Ametuer next to me on Sticky Icky. I landed the first hold a couple of times, but refused to keep going due to the distinct pain in my feet. After taking your shoes off and on again several times, you're feet just stay frozen. It was so cold out the rubber on our shoes had lost its friction! But the friction on the rock...oh...it was sooo amazing! Like velcro! Very, very cold velcro.

Jim watched Nic try to pull in the lock-off on Ametuer several times, getting more and more squirrely with each attempt. Finally he was like, "Aren't you psyched? I'm so psyched watching!" Right after that, he jumped on, and just missing my head, pumped Ametuer out to the lip; snow preventing the top-out. That was really cool...here's that video...



Then Jim started working the sit start project that flows into that. He came very close to connecting the two halves, but in the end, no go. Here's the video of the first half of the Amateur sit start project.



We ended up staying out in the freezing woods for 4 hours! By the end we were all silly with freezing appendages, jumping around, doing jazz hands, anything to get the blood flowing. And yes, Nic burnt a hole in his sock...



After watching Scotts last attempts on Payback, Jim and Nic jumped on a stupid, dinky,little crack to the left of the tall, (not so tall looking now that I've been to the cabin boulder) highball, Absolution. They were climbing in their tennis shoes, slipping off the biggest foot hold ever, Jim spotting with his "prison shiv" urging Nic to climb. "You'd better not fall!.....Cuz I'll shiv ya!" Jim's the next best thing to a Soviet coaching you. Jim did it first and called it "Blaze Orange", tributing the orange vests we were all wearing, and hoping, not to get shot on the last, trigger-happy day of hunting season. Not that this little line hasn't been climbed before, but I think that name will stick to it, no matter how lame and small it is...

On the way back we stopped at Betty's pies and ate until we hurt. Mmm, bumbleberry. I slept most of the way home. I slept most of the way up there also....I got off pretty easy. Thanks for driving, Jim!