Replacing Anger with Fear on the Yosemite Falls Wall

Whenever I found an off route belay – on one of the many nearby by Eric Kohl routes - while cleaning, I would swing over to it and anchor in. This way, I would have the security of bolts, and wouldn't have to hang on Nico's miniscule anchors (especially, when he called out that he didn’t have the right cams). Nico’s muscles were cramping, and jugging with a pack through the overhangs had me frantically fighting to gain an inch up the rope with the Jumars. We briefly discussed calling Sanam on the cell phone to have her hike to the top and lower a line to us. We reached the last of the hard climbing two pitches from the top. Once again I hung from less than perfect cams as he climbed with sparse pro into 5.12 and 5.13 terrain, again taking big falls onto small TCU's, yanking me up at anchor. Finally he reached a ledge, quickly dispensed with the last 5.10, and we were out of there. I quickly ran to the Valley floor - one of my jobs was managing the Yosemite Theatre – I didn't want to be late for the show and have the actors curse me and also have an audience of 80 impatient people or so be waiting outside the doors.