After 4 days of rehearsing the moves, Laura managed to link the climb. I could tell she was satisfied with the send when all she talked about was the process she went through and how good it felt to overcome something that felt impossible at first, but later went down. I was very proud that she completed this line. A few days later she made an acsent of the famous Les Doight Verts in good form. 

All of this time we have been staying in this “rustic house” which in my opinion looks like a stone castle. There is no heating inside although we do have electricity. The place is heated by metal ovens which require an abundance of wood, paper, and matches. It is high on the hillside of this town called Claro, with no one around except rocks and trees. Living here has been fun and a nice experience as well. There is no radio or TV, just the company of friends and many bottles of wine and beer. 

Before this trip was over I had my sights set on one more climb, The Dagger. I have never been insprired to try this because of how confusing and complicated the climbing is. Basically take a refrigerator and make it horizontal and the only way to climb is with intense slaps and heel hooks. There are 17 moves of upside down climbing with a crux at the end. This bloc was first done by Toni Lamprecht, with a method of climbing feet first. Dave found a way to climb it head first but it is much more compliated. I went up by myself and had no clue at where to begin. It felt as if I were in the middle of a math test, forgot to study the night before, and had no idea how to find the answers. I played around with the top but got nowhere and then decided to try the beginning, but failed too.

After 30 minutes of trying, I was about to give up. Sometimes all it takes is studying the bloc from a distance to see all of the possibilities. I found this sequence for the top which worked perfectly, then moved to the beginning and figured these moves out. All that was left was the transition. It took 4 hours of figuring out the moves and now I was ready to begin trying send burns. I came back the next day and fell a few times on the bottom section, then had a burn where I got to the second to last move. At this point I knew the bloc was possible. I rested then fell 3 more times at the last hard move and even had an attempt where my left hand was on the finishing jug. I decided to give it rest and come back for another day. The next day conditions were not perfect but my psych was high. I warmed up and on my 3rd try, sent The Dagger. It felt so good to complete something that was so involved and physical. Not only did I have to figure out the sequence but also link the moves together. The feeling was that of doing a first acsent. I was very pleased to climb this boulder. 

The trip has come to an end. I will be back out in a few more days. Next on the list is confessions, a bloc put up by Dave Graham in Cresiano and From Dirt Grows the Flowers. Hopefully both of these will go before the weather gets too warm.