VMC 3rd attempt: Send! (12.09.2015)

A few introductionary words. After moving to Boston in january 2014, buying a trad-rack the following spring, discovering that New Hampshire is called "the granite state", and further discovering that granite is incredibly fun to climb, I quickly put aside bouldering to focus on learning the ropes with gear. I was lucky to run into some good New England climbers (Dan, Kevin and Phil) who showed me how it's done. I was quickly facinated by Cannon Cliff, the tallest and coolest of the New England Cliffs. Multi-pitch climbing up there was almost too fun. I felt like a real "fjellklatrar"!

Last fall I bought the training-manual "Training for the new alpinism" by the groundbreaking alpinist Steve House. There are thousands of manuals and methods out there, many of which work just fine, so I won't bother going into details about the lessons of the Prophet (House). Bottom line is that I like systems, goals, lists, projects etc., and this book appealed to that part of me. I immediately started organizing my training. But the Prophet said that I needed a goal for the season. At that time I had schratched myself up some 5.9's, but that was it. For multipitch I had done a 5.6/7. "Be ambisious!" the Prophet declared. "This program will make you better and stronger then ever before!". Ok, I thought. Let's do it. Let's do a serious route!

General goal: to climb 5.10+ on gear.
Specific goal: To climb VMC Direct Direct, the classic long 5.10 9 pitch route on the big-wall section of Cannon.

When I mentioned this to some of my climbing-friends early in the season I could see they thought hybris had struck me. To be honest I thought so too. But hybris can be fun. I know I'm a pretty worried and careful guy anyway, so I wouldn't do anything I wasn't ready for.

As season started I ticked off some more 5.9's. They now felt easier. In Yosemithe in may I got some more granite-training, but no big achievements (I got the flu). Early june I climbed Vultures (5.10d) in Cancamangus, New Hampshire, after a dozen or so tries. It was a struggle, but at least I had finally crossed the double-digit barrier! And I had really pushed hard on gear, which was a mental barriere crossed.

In july Phil suggested that we'd try VMC. Yes! But we were quickly shut down: the crux 2nd pitch was super-hard even for Phil, who climbs hard 5.12 sport. The burning heat didn't help. I managed to get through the technical stemming on p3 (5.10+) and this gave me confidence that I acctually could climb on this route! In the burning heat we rapped off after 3rd pitch.

2nd try was in august with Dan. This time it was me who got thrown off the wet crux at the 2nd pitch. ALMOST had it. But it was so hard! We climbed all the way to the start of the 6th pitch, and I had a very good feeling. But there we didnt find the way through the runout sections on p6. Again we got to try the shining new rappell bolts all the way to the ground.

But this weekend! It had been raining the day before, but we had to get on it! Fall was going fast and we were both busy. It had to be now!

1st pitch (5.7, me) is always a bit annoying. It is supposed to be easy, but always gives some resistance. Today it was wet.

2nd pitch (5.10+, Dan). The crux was soaked, including the crucial slab footholds, so Dan got thrown of after a brave attempt.

3rd pitch (5.10+, me). I took a fall after a stupid footwork-mistake, but the rest went well. Note to self: don't grab the rope while falling. It burns your hands.

4th pitch (5.9PG, Dan). Dan did the 4th nice and efficient. Delicate and exposed face-climbing.

5th (5.11, or 5.8 A0 for me). I stepped on a bolt to get through the 5.11-slab, then lower-angle climbing to next belay.

6th (5.10R, Dan). Dan looked over the lip over us and saw the way! But it was runout and bold. After some meditation he went for it. In no-time he was past the slab. From there he climbed bold face-climbing with poor protection to a shelf under the big overhang called "the cow's mouth".

7th (5.10+, me): The cow's mouth, a big overhang that is climbed through undercling-jugs. A boulder-problem, basically. I got good feet, and it went surprisingly well. Rocking over the edge I got the sun in my face, and looking at the low-angled slabs above I saw that we had made it. Perched on a granite flake with the talus field 200 metres under my behind life was good! i climbed the slabs for a while before I almost ran out of gear and had to fiddle around a long time to make a belay.

8th-9th (4-5th class, Dan). Dan took the lead up the easy slabs, and then disappeared in the vegitation above. The rope ended and he kept pulling. He had put in plenty of gear and the terrain was easy, so I took down the belay and started following. Through wet slabs, grass and bushes until finally we were above the cliff.

We had made it, we had climbed VMC! Although not free, but that was not so important. The important thing was that I had climbed a big and serious route and gotten through it. The goal was to get up, and that in itself was a pretty big leap in my skills.

So the Prophet was right - may the force be with him. Now, of course, with all this updraught in my body, the mind moves hastily to the next season. That will be back in Norway, and Norway doesn't lack inviting and exiting projects. Time will show.