I’ve been climbing since college, but mostly single pitch sport climbing. I’ve done a few multi-pitch climbs with my man-friend, since those are his favorite types of climbs. We’ve done some 2, 4, and 6 pitch climbs, but nothing over that. We didn’t get to climb Brewer’s Buttress Monday, then I got a stomach bug on Tuesday. Wednesday was our last day to climb (as we were going to have his two sons with us for the remainder of the trip). I still felt like ass, but we decided to climb Ha Ling anyway. Ha Ling Peak is an 11 pitch climb that’s fairly easy. It’s rated 5.4 – 5.6 (if you know the Yosemite Decimal climbing System) so it was nice to know I could handle that level since we’d be climbing for a long period of time.
My stomach bug was still hanging around, but I really wanted to do the climb, especially since it was the last chance we could go. The hike up and the first couple pitches were less than enjoyable. Stopping and sitting several times, to keep from puking, was far from my ideal morning… but at least the view was ok.
Me… not as happy climbing as I usually am:
After doing the first 4 pitches very quickly, and wearing myself out, I wanted to go back down. The thought of doing 7 more pitches feeling like ass was not appealing to me and all I wanted to do was lie down. The thought of quitting though felt much worse… so we kept going, but with the attempt to sit and rest for about 5 minutes after each pitch.
The great thing about this climb was that all the belay stations were on huge ledges so I could sit and rest. We were stuck behind a couple other teams of people, so it was actually perfect. With a view like this, and some pretty awesome company, breaks don’t suck:
I started feeling better around pitch 8 so my man-friend decided to capture the moment (me happy):
His fingers in the shot cracked me up. Those GoPros can be tricky…
Making my way up…
and up…
and to the top!
I’m really glad I finished!
We had an awesome day together, the weather was perfect, and it felt sooo nice to nap afterwards.
Yeeeeeah, bitches!
And this is just another photo from the Castle Mountain trip two days before. It was on the GoPro with these photos, so I had to throw it in here. Love seats made out of stacked rocks on the mountain ridge are my jam:
So long, Canada and man-friend! Until next time… xoxo
Just looking at these pictures gives me anxiety. You’re such a badass!
I wish I had the guts to do something like this. You’re amazing!
Mina, that’s the first time I’ve ever climbing something that long… and I’ve been climbing for nearly 10 years. It took a while to “want” to do it. : )