I came back after a rest day with fresh tips and an optimistic attitude. It was quite a bit warmer than the previous day I had tried it, but I thought I had enough time to do it before it got too hot. On my fourth try of the day, I fought all the way through the lower crux and got all the way to the very last move before my right hand busted off the crimp and fell. It was definitely a heartbreak, but it made the send — which came on my next try — all that much better. It was good, because the temps were nearing their high point and I was completely out of energy. 

The next day I was resting, but hiked up to the Bardini boulders anyway with Chris, Lisa Rands, Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer and others to carry a pad up there, spot, and just hang out in a beautiful place. Lisa did really well on the magnificent highball This Side of Paradise, but understandably backed off the last big, committing move because of numb digits and a slightly insecure feeling. Chris also did really well on my project, the magnificent highball on the other side of the boulder that Kevin did the first ascent of not two weeks ago, and figured out a really good looking sequence for the crux. The next day we were back up there and after trying my old sequence one last time, I tried the sequence Chris and Wills figured out. After getting a high point trying it the new way, I new it would go. On my very next try I stuck the crux move for the very first time, climbed the remaining 20 feet, and, yelling and screaming, topped out. 

It was such a good feeling to finally connect the move and stick the pinch that I had tried so many times before without even coming close. I thought about jumping down from some good holds at about the 20-foot mark, but as soon as I started to do the next move I thought about how there were only a few more moves left and committed myself to going for it. I was doing the final tedious slab moves pretty smoothly, but my fingers were numb, so I couldn't really feel if I had the crimps in the right spots and I was hyperventilating. I could hear the nervousness in Chris' voice saying "C'mon Ethan," but tried not to let it get to me. After I topped out and regained composure, John confessed to me that he almost fell off his ladder he was taking pictures from because he was so scared. I was so psyched to get to the top and also that it was documented. Soon after, Chris stuck the crux and climbed up to the good holds at the 20-foot mark, thought about topping out for about two seconds then jumped down. Who can blame him? I repeated This Side of Paradise just for fun and was spent. Then it was off to Whiskey Creek for a happy hour celebration. All in all, it was a very fun and productive trip, but I still have to do The Swarm, so I'm sure I'll be back soon.