Today was an epic day. I woke up pretty early to go... trad climbing! It was AWESOME! Trad climbing stands for traditional climbing- which means you climb multiple pitches using cams or pitons placed in the wall to anchor you onto the rock face. I've never been trad climbing, as it is slightly scary, and very dangerous. Naturally, I went with people who know what they're doing; two co-workers. Here's some of the views from where we went:
View from the bottom of the first route.
View from the top of the first route, after three pitches.
Picture of the main wall at Lovers Leap. Starts at 5.7.
Brian led 5 of the 6 pitches we climbed, and Nicola led the last pitch of the first route. The first route we did was about a 5.4-5.5 Super simple, but we kept it light since it was my first time trad climbing. The second route was a 5.7, and slightly harder. Each route was three pitches, and came to a total of about 600 ft. Basically, the most exhilarating experience I've ever had. I can't believe I've never climbed like that before. I'm hooked- and can't wait until I can go outdoors next time. Sitting on a ledge 100 ft off solid ground, and way more from level ground makes your body pump the best kind of adrenaline there is. Although a very short trip, it was probably the best send-off to college from any of my friends/ co-workers.
I owe Brian a ton more than cookies for being the best guide for my first trad climb. He likes Macadamia white chocolate chip, but it's very difficult to get vegan white chocolate chips- so I made him Macadamia nut cookies with semi-sweet chocolate.
Ingredients:
-1/3 cup maple syrup
-1/4 cup applesauce
-1 tsp vanilla extract
-1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp baking soda
-1/3 cup macadamia nuts
-1/3 cup chocolate chips
Method:
-preheat oven to 350 F
-Cover a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside
-mix the maple syrup, applesauce, and vanilla extract in a big bowl
-add the flour, baking powder, and baking soda, and mix together
-stir in nuts and chocolate chips
-drop onto cookie sheet and bake for 9 minutes.
Happy climbing.. I leave in 10 days, so I might not have very many more posts!
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