Part 2 of the Challis Christmas commenced in sunny Tucson, Arizona. We were all packed and ready to go on Christmas Day. The next morning, we were packed and in the car by 4:30AM to head to the airport. It was a sub-zero temperature morning, and we definitely could have used more sleep, but we were excited to get to our warm destination. As soon as we got to the airport, however, it all went downhill.
The Christmas season (for us) started in early November. It began with the lights and decor. We decided to gradually add lights EVERYWHERE we could (both inside and out) and put up our tree / ornaments. We did this because we figured that if we waited until around Thanksgiving, when normal people start to put up lights, it would be too cold or we would not be motivated to do it. Plus we wanted to enjoy them for more than a few short weeks so we hit the ground running. We did have to wait a few weeks before we could turn on the outside lights because we have a super lame HOA (aka Horrible, Over-paid, A-holes) but there was no hesitation with any inside lights or the tree…we had that bad boy blazing since November 5th and didn’t look back!
We are roughly 6 months into this “challenge” and if I am being honest with myself, it will be at least another 6 months of continued hard work to reach my goal of climbing a 5.13a route. One reason for the long-term timeline is that it is now December, so climbing on actual rocks will probably not happen until May 2014. Another (more pressing) reason is that I truly had no clue how hard this goal would be and how long it would take to prepare my body for. My original thought was around 4-6 months; but regardless of the crappy fall weather and flooding in Colorado this year, I wasn’t ready.
Several weeks ago Jill and I made plans with the once famed drummer of “The Firebird 4000 Project” from the Denver, CO; no other then the boy-genius Matt Montemore, aka “Matty Mo!!!”…”Matt Attack!!”..a man of many names. These plans happened to follow several very cold days at home waiting for Xcel to come turn our natural gas back on. Let me just say, thank god we have a neighbor who repairs furnaces for a living or we would still be waiting (nice customer service Xcel) for the heat to turn on; even as I type we would be pushing 53 hours without heat…but I digress. So, what were these fabulous plans with the famous Matty Mo?
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A few weeks back, Jilly (shamelessly I might add) started playing a video game that is essentially all about pirates, pirating, general pirate stuff… We realized very quickly that to enhance the game, we needed some RUM. I mean DUH. Its pirating my friends…PIRATING…SHOULD BE SPELLED PIRATE-RUM-ING. I mean really, who has ever NOT associated pirates and rum.
Being semi-avid rum drinkers, we know that we prefer white rum to any other. We have also found that worthy rum MUST have a cork (not a screw top). A ‘very nice’ bottle of rum only runs about $30.00 vs a crappy bottle that costs $15.00. So we decided we had to act…and came back a few days later with a fine bottle of organic white rum branded “Crusoe”.
So we are 4 months into training for our various climbing goals and one HUGE thing I have learned is how hard 5.13a really is. When climbing this hard, you do not simply move from one hand/foot-hold to the next, because the holds for your hands and feet are simply much too small and/or located in odd positions…too far away or too close. Climbing this hard can be described as painful; the holds are so small (or non-existent), very sharp, and you need to hold/press/grab with your hands and your feet in awkward, dynamic contortionist-type positions, trying to keep your balance and upward momentum at the same time. One thing I (Jake) have been very good at over the years is adjusting my training for what my body needs. Sounds simple enough but there is a lot of trial and error and when something “feels right”, you just have to listen to your body and follow what it tells you.
Thank you Sandy! You should check out our new blog www....August 22, 2014 - 2:39 pm by Jacob Challis
Love reading about your adventures. From: Sandy (friends...August 22, 2014 - 2:39 pm by Sandy TerrellLets do a big family trip next year (end'ish of summer ...October 2, 2014 - 2:33 pm by Jacob Challis
Looks amazing!!! We would love to visit with you!!!October 2, 2014 - 2:33 pm by Julieand so easy to make! we've made a couple batches just this...August 15, 2014 - 7:37 pm by Jacob Challis
